Psychology of Consciousness and Free Will

Consciousness Literature & Research Methods

• Narcolepsy is a rare, long-term brain disorder causing sudden sleep attacks at inappropriate times.
• It has a prevalence of 0.5% in the population.
• Genetic factors are linked to the condition.
• The Pandemrix vaccine, used to combat H1N1 influenza, may have increased the prevalence of narcolepsy.
• Symptoms include cataplexy (temporary muscle weakness), sleep paralysis, and excessive daytime sleepiness.
• Consciousness refers to a person's subjective experience of the world and their mind.
• Consciousness is a vital human function.
• It is unique to humans compared to other unconscious processes.
• Ways to explore consciousness include examining altered states of consciousness by using intoxication or hypnosis.

Consciousness and Unconsciousness

• Philosopher Daniel Dennett (1991) proposed the idea of a "Cartesian theatre," contrasting with the notion of a central processing point in the mind.
• He suggested that the mental screen is impossible to be shared and no way to measure actual conscious experience.

Mysteries of Consciousness

• Chalmers (1996) highlighted the problem of explaining how subjective experience arises and proposes hoping to understand the phenomenology of what being human means, including experience in understanding mind and behavior. The hope is to understand what it means to be human.

Homunculus Problem

• The homunculus problem highlights the difficulty of explaining consciousness by positing a smaller, internal observer within the mind recursively processing experience.
• Is there an internal observer to explain the external observer, and so on?

Problem of Other Minds

• The problem emphasizes the fundamental difficulty of perceiving other people's subjective conscious experience.
• There is no verifiable way to know how others experience the world.

Mind-Body Problem

• Descartes proposed that the human body is physical, while the mind is non-physical.
• The mind and body interact in a specific way.
• Neuroscience rejects philosophical arguments about zombies.

Fray et al. (2007)

• Online survey compared subjective experiences in various individuals.
• Participants compared mental capacities of different entities.
• Determined that understanding people's minds depends on the capacity for experience and agency.

Libet (1985)

• Participants were asked to report when they chose to move, while monitoring electrical activity in the brain.
• Results suggested activity preceded conscious awareness of the decision to move.

Johansson et al. (2005)

• Participants were asked to justify choices, and explanations did not accurately represent the choices made.
• Results suggested there is a lack of control over conscious thoughts and actions.

Neisser and Becklen (1975)

• In a study, participants were asked to react to two simultaneous events; successfully responding to events concurrently was difficult.

Simons and Chabris (1999)

• Study demonstrated limited capacity of attention and how easily people can miss salient events.

Cherry 1953

• In a study in auditory processing, participants filtered, and less attention paid to unattended messages.

Nikula et al. (1993)

• In a study, people measured galvanic skin response (GSR) to assess response to certain stimuli.
• GSR increased in emotional reactions.

Armstrong (1980)

• Minimal consciousness involves connections between stimuli and the world.
• Experiential awareness, but lack of self-awareness.

Schooler et al. (2001)

• Participants reported their state of mind, and how frequently they were not fully conscious of their thoughts and actions..

James (1980)

• Self-awareness draws attention to the self as an object in a state of mind.

Duval and Wicklund (1972)

• Self-awareness was involved in avoiding reminders one felt inferior.

Pyszczynski et al. (1987)

• Self-consciousness was associated with chronic pessimism and unhappiness.

Gibbons (1990)

• More people saw their reflection, behaving more helpfully and less aggressively.

Beaman et al. (1979)

• Conducted a study of children's behavior around mirrors, suggesting greater awareness by children in the presence of a mirror.

Diener and Wallbom (1976)

• Study looked at how mirrors influence cheating behavior.
• Cheating behavior decreased when a mirror was present.

Gallup (1970,1977)

• Conducted studies with various species and humans, and found that some species could recognize themselves in the mirror.

Csikszentmihalyi and Larson (1987)

• Experience sampling techniques to systematically examine what people are thinking about.
• The research found that consciousness was dominated by immediate environment.

Wegner et al. (1987)

• Participants instructed not to think about a white bear, which increased the thoughts of the white bear.

Motley and Baars (1979)

• Study involving slips of speech to understand what unconscious thoughts/concerns can influence explicit speech.

Corteen and Dunn (1974)

• Studied attentional selection and the role of stimuli that were not the focus.

Posner (1980)

• Studied attentional processes.
• Participants performed tasks when presented with varied cues.

Bisiach and Luzzati (1978)

• Study focused on how people can have a misrepresentation of space due to damage to brain regions.

Smith et al. (2007)

• Study found that people with neglect fail to notice portions of space on opposite to brain damage.

Albert (1973)

• Study focused on bisection task affecting perception when the right visual field was damaged.

Marshall and Halligan (1988)

• Study involved visual neglect.

Balint's syndrome

• Attention disorder, where people lose their ability to shift their attention, characterized by impaired visual attention.

Riddoch (1917)

• Studies on cortical blindness demonstrated residual vision in the absence of visual cortex processing.

Weiskrantz (1986)

• Investigated and defined blindsight, which involved residual vision in brain injury.

Dement and Kleitman (1957)

• Study measured brain activity; confirmed that dreams occurred in REM sleep and are active.

Dement (1978)

• Study concerned with sleep deprivation, and sleep rhythms.

Rechthauser et al. (1983)

• Study concerns sleep deprivation, and its effects on the body and its functioning.

Stickgold et al. (2001)

• Study concerning the occurrence of geometric figures in dreams, related to experiences during wakefulness.

Skaggs and McNaughton (1996)

• Studies of activity in rats' hippocampus, in relation to pattern changes in sleep and wake states.

Skaggs and McNaughton (1996)

• Studies of activity in rats' hippocampus to see if patterns emerge during sleep and wakefulness,

Wegner et al. (2004)

• Study asking participants to refrain from thinking about a particular object, suggesting people often struggle doing so.

Wood and Bootzin (1990)

• Study concerning frequency of nightmares, in college students

Wood et al. (1992)

• Study of nightmares in earthquake survivors.

Neylan et al. (2002)

• Study concerning nightmares, and the experience of danger in police officers

Hobson (1988)

• Presented 5 factors in relation to differentiating waking state from dream states.

Druckman and Bjork (1994)

• Study suggested that meditation had an impact on the brain, but questioned whether these impacts are long-lasting.

Dillbeck and Orme-Johnson (1987)

• Study concerning brain scans in connection with meditation and mental experience.

Freeley (1975)

• Study on the frequency of profound altered state experiences.

Bourguignon (1968, 1969)

• Looked at religious experiences around the world.

Saver and Rabin (1997)

• Relationship of epilepsy and religious experiences.

Morgan (1990)

• Epilepsy and religious experiences.

Strahan et al. (2002)

• Study used computer tasks to look at whether subjects could process stimuli that were not consciously aware of.

Wilson and Schooler (1991)

• Study focused on how consciousness often hinders correct decision making.

Dijksterhuis (2004)

• Demonstrated better decision-making by using unconscious and unconscious process.

Laurence and Perry (1983)

• Study on the effects of hypnotic suggestions on false memories.

Stern et al. (1977)

• Found that hypnosis can be more effective than medicine in pain management.

Szechtman (no date)

• Study used PET scans to understand states of the mind.

LaBerge and Rheingold (1990)

• Idea of lucid dreaming (awareness while dreaming).

Bargh and Mosella (2008)

• Study concerning subliminal perception. Critiqued some interpretations.

Klinger (1975)

• Study that consciousness is dominated by immediate surroundings.

Watson (no date)

• Conditioning behavior.
• Classical conditioning.

Nikula et al. (1993)

• Measured galvanic skin response (GSR) to assess emotional responses.
• Increased GSR with emotional reactions.

Kihlstrom (1985)

• Study on hypnosis and the enhancing of confidence with false memories.

Tart (1969)

• Attractiveness of altered states of consciousness, using stimulants like dancing, fasting, and chantings.
• Investigated perceptions and motivations for using consciousness-altering drugs.

Bozarth and Wise (1985)

• Study examined the motivations for using drugs in laboratory animals.

Williams and Kirkham (1999)

• Study on the impact of cannabis on human behavior.