Psychology Chapter on Consciousness

What is Consciousness?

• Consciousness is the awareness of internal and external stimuli.
• It is our subjective awareness of ourselves and our environment.
• It is subjective and private, meaning others cannot know your reality.
• Consciousness is dynamic, constantly changing.
• Consciousness is self-reflective, meaning our minds are aware of their own consciousness.

Measuring Consciousness

• There is no widely accepted definition of consciousness.
• Self-reports are unreliable as they cannot be verified.
• Physiological studies using electroencephalography (EEG) can measure brain activity but cannot indicate subjective experience.
• Behavioral studies can be used to infer a subject's mental state, an example is the rouge test, which is used to determine if a subject recognizes themselves in a mirror.

The Psychodynamic View of Consciousness

• The Psychodynamic View divides consciousness into three levels:
  • Conscious: Mental events that we are currently aware of.
  • Preconscious: Events outside of current awareness that are easily recalled.
  • Unconscious: Events not brought into conscious awareness, typically repressed or forgotten.

The Cognitive View of Consciousness

• The Cognitive View distinguishes between two types of processing:
  • Controlled Processing: Voluntary, requires conscious attention, is slow but flexible.
  • Automatic Processing: Minimal conscious processing, is fast but static.

Divided Attention

• Divided Attention is our ability to focus on multiple tasks simultaneously.
• It is adaptive but has limitations, particularly when tasks require similar resources, like listening to a lecture and reading a text.
• Divided attention can impact other actions, for instance, using a cell phone while driving.

Circadian Rhythms

• Circadian rhythms are rhythmic daily cycles that regulate our sleep-wake patterns.

Sleep Regulation

• Sleep is regulated by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), a part of the hypothalamus.
• The SCN signals the pineal gland to release melatonin, a hormone important in regulating the body's biological clock.
• Most people require 7-10 hours of sleep daily.
• A genetic mutation in DEC2 can reduce the amount of sleep required.
• Sleep deprivation occurs when an individual misses the required amount of restful sleep for one or more days.
• Accumulated sleep loss over multiple days is known as sleep debt.

Stages of Sleep

• Stage 1: Light sleep, lasts 1-10 minutes, alpha/beta waves transition to theta waves. Hypnic/myoclonic jerks and hypnagogic imagery may occur.
• Stage 2: Deeper sleep, lasts 10-25 minutes. Brain waves decelerate, heart rate slows, body temperature decreases, muscles relax, and eye movements cease. Sleep spindles (1-2 second bursts of rapid brain activity) occur.
• Stage 3 & 4: Deeper sleep, occurs after 10-30 minutes. Delta waves appear. Also called "slow-wave" sleep and is important for feeling rested.
• Stage 5: REM sleep. Rapid eye movement (REM) occurs. Occupies 20-25% of our sleep, cycles of REM sleep last between 20-60 minutes.
• The sleep cycle changes throughout the night: Stage 4 and Stage 3 are no longer observed, REM periods become longer.

Sleep Disorders

• Insomnia: Chronic difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or experiencing restful sleep. The most common sleep disorder, affecting 10-40% of the population.
• Narcolepsy: Sudden episodes of sleep, immediately entering REM sleep. May be accompanied by cataplexy, complete loss of muscle tone while awake. Can be caused by genetic factors, brain damage, or lack of orexin.
• Sleep Apnea: Blockage of the airway interrupts sleep, causing the person to wake up from deeper sleep. May occur hundreds or thousands of times per night.
• Night Terrors: Sudden waking episodes characterized by screaming, sweating, and confusion, followed by a return to deep sleep. Lasts only a few minutes.
• Sleepwalking: Walking while asleep. Between 15-30% of children and 4-5% of adults sleepwalk occasionally. People who have been sleep-deprived are more likely to sleepwalk.

Dreaming

• Dreaming is a nearly universal experience. Even blind people dream.
• There are some constants across cultures in dream content.

Why Do We Dream?

• Dreams may help process emotional memories.
• Dreams may allow us to learn new strategies or ways of doing things.

Freud's Dream Protection Theory

• Described dreams as 'guardians of sleep'.
• During sleep, the ego (mental censor) is less able to repress sexual and aggressive instincts.
• Dream-work disguises and contains impulses by transforming them into symbols that represent wish fulfillment (how we wish things could be).

Activation-Synthesis Theory

• Dreams reflect brain activation during sleep, not unconscious wishes.
• Neurotransmitter balance (acetylcholine, serotonin, and norepinephrine) shifts constantly during sleep. These shifts activate or depress different brain areas, creating a chaotic pattern of neural firing.
• The forebrain translates this chaotic neural firing into the most coherent experience possible (resulting in strange dreams).

Hallucinations

• Realistic perceptual experiences without external stimuli.
• Occur more frequently than many people think, especially in cases of sleep deprivation, migraines, sensory deprivation, intense emotion, or drug use.

Out-of-Body Experiences (OBEs)

• A sense of consciousness leaving the body.
• Around 25% of college students and 10% of the general population report at least one OBE.
• There is currently no evidence to support OBEs as true perceptual experiences.

Near-Death Experiences (NDEs)

• An out-of-body experience reported by people who have nearly died or thought they were going to die.
• Common elements: passing through a dark tunnel, experiencing a bright light, seeing life pass before one's eyes, meeting spiritual beings or deceased relatives.
• No evidence to support NDEs as true perceptual experiences.

Déjà Vu

• A feeling of reliving a novel experience.
• Occurrence declines with age.
• Possible causes:
  • Excess dopamine in the temporal lobes.
  • Abnormal electrical activity in the right temporal lobe.

Hypnosis

• Set of techniques that provide suggestions to alter thoughts, perceptions, feelings, and behaviors.
• Used in clinical settings.
• People's suggestibility varies:
  • High suggestibility (15-20%)
  • Medium suggestibility (60-70%)
  • Low suggestibility (15-20%)

Myths about Hypnosis

• Hypnosis does not produce a trance state where "amazing" things can happen.
• Hypnotic phenomena are not unique.
• Hypnosis is not a sleep-like state.
• People under hypnosis are aware of their surroundings.
• People do not "forget" what happened during hypnosis.
• Hypnosis does not enhance memory.

Sociocognitive Theory of Hypnosis

• Explains hypnosis based on people's attitudes, beliefs, and expectations.
• People who expect to respond to hypnotic suggestions are more likely to do so.

Dissociation Theory of Hypnosis

• Explains hypnosis as a separation between personality functions.
• When hypnotized, part of the mind is subject to suggestion while another part (the "hidden observer") remains awake and aware.

Substance Abuse vs. Dependence

• Substance abuse: Recurrent problems associated with drug use.
• Substance dependence: More serious pattern of drug use causing significant impairment, distress, or both.

Tolerance and Withdrawal

• Tolerance: Decreased responsivity to a drug; requires larger doses to achieve intoxication. Body attempts to maintain homeostasis.
• Compensatory Responses: Physiological reactions opposite to the drug's effects, the brain adjusting to imbalances caused by the drug.
• Withdrawal: Compensatory responses after drug use is discontinued.

Learning, Tolerance, and Overdose

• Environment plays a significant role in drug tolerance and withdrawal.

• Classical Conditioning: Environment becomes associated with the drug.

• Conditioned Drug Responses: Tolerance for a drug is influenced by the familiarity of the setting. A typical dose in an unfamiliar setting may lead to an overdose reaction.

Myths about Substance Abuse

• Drug tolerance does not always lead to significant withdrawal.
• A drug that does not cause tolerance or withdrawal can still cause dependence.
• Physiological dependence is not the primary cause of addiction.

Psychoactive Drugs

• Chemicals similar to those found naturally in the brain.

• Alter consciousness by changing chemical processes in neurons.

• Drug effects are influenced by:

  • Chemical properties of the drug.
  • The user's mental set, beliefs, and expectations.

Depressants

• Depressant drugs reduce the activity of the central nervous system (CNS).
• Examples: Alcohol, barbiturates, benzodiazepines.

Depressants - Alcohol

• Small doses: Relaxation, elevated mood, lower inhibitions, impaired judgment.
• Larger doses:
  • Blood alcohol content (BAC) 0.05 to 0.10: More apparent sedative and depressant effects. Brain centers become depressed, slowing thinking and impairing concentration, walking, and muscular coordination.
• Short-term intoxication effects are directly related to BAC.

Explore the fascinating concept of consciousness in this quiz. Delve into its definitions, measurements, and the psychodynamic perspective that divides consciousness into three levels. Test your knowledge on the subjective nature of consciousness and the challenges of measuring it.