Altered States of Consciousness PDF

Altered States of Consciousness Waking consciousness - Thoughts, feelings, and perceptions that occur when we are awake and alert Altered States of Consciousness - A mental state that differs noticeably from normal waking c...

Altered States of Consciousness Waking consciousness - Thoughts, feelings, and perceptions that occur when we are awake and alert Altered States of Consciousness - A mental state that differs noticeably from normal waking consciousness, including sleep, dreaming, meditation, hypnosis, or drug-induced states  Forms of Consciousness Consciousness, modern psychologists believe, is an awareness of ourselves and our environment. Arrange 4 people taking hallucinogen, meditate, sleep, daydream)  Altered States of Consciousness Mental experiences that transcend ordinary experiences. Literally an “altered state” deviating from one’s normal mental state. May induce emotions like: fear/anxiety, well-being, or connection to supernatural entities. Encouraged and interpreted by many different cultures as  Continuum of Consciousness Utilize the papers to plot out what the level of Consciousness may be... Awake to Out Controlled Near Death Processes  Continuum of Consciousness AWAKE to OUT Automatic Unconscious Altered Unconsciousne Processes and Implicit States ss Memory Controlle Daydreamin Sleep & Death/Near d g Dreams Death Processe s  Explaining Waking Consciousness Consciousness - Stream of information resulting from the activity of the thalamus which analyzes and interprets information Consciousness is also viewed as an adaptation allowing us to get along with others in our group (humans) Consciousness may only be the “tip of the iceberg” that includes unconscious mental activities  Your Mind is an Iceberg! The unconscious mind processes information simultaneously on multiple tracks, while the conscious mind processes information sequentially. Conscious mind Unconscious mind *Ever notice the effect where you can’t remember something till you stop thinking about it, then it just comes to you? Memory  Controlled Processes You are at full awareness, alertness, and concentration. Anh is 100% awake for this experience, not 100% comfortable though… Controlled Processing - requires attention & conscious control; driving a car for the first time, *Was Anh’s experience really Controlled Processing? Travis Pastrana’s (a racecar driver who completes courses for speed) was…(Video) Interferes or distracts from other  Automatic Processes Require little awareness or attention Eg. Stuff you know by rote, being able to say the alphabet… Doesn’t interfere with other activities The Stroop effect-when there is interference on the reaction time between two brain processes that requires selective attention, such as word recognition vs. color recognition-the first list is easy to read and is automatic, the others not so much (try to say the color you see and not the word on the 3rd list) …  Daydreaming and Fantasy Spontaneous shifts in attention away from the here and now into a make-believe world Urge to daydream peaks about every 90 minutes Daydreams may provide stress relief and encourage creativity Very low awareness, but still awake  Altered States Result from procedures that produce awareness different than normal consciousness Cause changed perceptions Examples include meditation, hypnosis, drugs, sleep deprivation (video, “no #2”)  Sleep & Dreams Sleep involves 5 different levels (stages) of consciousness Dreams involve visual, auditory, and tactile hallucinations during sleep *What are your common dreams/nightmares? (Death=potential  How do Animals Sleep? As a general rule, predatory animals can indulge, as humans do, in long, uninterrupted periods of sleep The survival of animals that are preyed upon, however, Mr. Lion sleeps much depends much more more soundly than Mr. critically on continued Mouse… vigilance. Such species—as diverse as rabbits and giraffes—sleep during short intervals that usually last no more than a  *Dolphins have to breathe, How do they Sleep? Not all animals sleep, but like humans, those that do have powerful sleep needs. For example, dolphins must voluntarily breathe air, which means they face the choice of staying awake or drowning. The dolphin solves this problem by sleeping on just one side of its brain at a time! The other half of the brain, which remains awake, controls breathing (Jouvet, 1999).  Unconscious or Implicit Memory Sealed off from voluntary recall Can influence conscious thoughts Implicit memory - is a type of memory in which previous experiences aid in the performance of a task without conscious awareness of these previous experiences In daily life, people rely on implicit memory every day in the form of procedural memory, the type of  Unconscious Total lack of sensory awareness Loss of responsiveness to environment Can be caused by disease, trauma, anesthesia, or a swift elbow to the head…or a karate move (turn sound off)...