Psychology Around Us: Chapter 6 - Consciousness PDF

Psychology Around Us: Chapter 6 Consciousness  Learning Objectives (1 of 2) 1.Define different levels of conscious awareness and describe key brain structures and functions associated with those levels. 2.Summarize the ideas of preconscious and unconscious states, including Fre...

Psychology Around Us: Chapter 6 Consciousness  Learning Objectives (1 of 2) 1.Define different levels of conscious awareness and describe key brain structures and functions associated with those levels. 2.Summarize the ideas of preconscious and unconscious states, including Freud’s thinking on the unconscious. 3.Describe sleep, key theories of why we sleep and dream, and problems with sleep and how they affect functioning.  Learning Objectives (2 of 2) 4.Discuss theories and evidence about what hypnosis is, how it works, and how it can be used. 5.List and describe common depressant, stimulant, and hallucinogenic psychoactive drugs and their effects. What does it mean to be “Conscious?”  Consciousness Our immediate awareness of our internal and external states What is consciousness? Everything you are thinking about right now! Your awareness of your surroundings and yourself Stream of consciousness—a continuing flow of changing thoughts (William James, 1890)  Conscious Awareness Made of two components: States of consciousness – level of awareness for our external surroundings and internal states Contents of consciousness – specific thoughts we are aware of about our internal states or external surroundings  Altered states of consciousness: Being asleep Having a dream Hypnosis Meditation Anaesthesia Psychoactive drugs  When We Are Awake Most of our neurons are active. We don’t merely use 10% of our brains  When We Are Awake We must pay attention and be aware we are paying attention Inattention blindness — if you aren’t paying attention to something visual, you are unable to report on the details of what the visual stimuli contain  Conscious Awareness and the Brain Reticular formation – Role in being awake and, therefore, able to be conscious Thalamus and hypothalamus – An awake brain needs information processed – Signals from reticular formation go to and through thalamus and hypothalamus Cerebral cortex – Important for the “awareness” aspect of consciousness  Conscious Awareness and the Thalamus Different areas of the brain are responsible for attention and for one’s awareness of that attention Damage to the brain impacts conscious awareness Reticular formation – loss of consciousness Hypothalamus – disturbances of wakefulness Thalamus – lack of conscious awareness Cerebral cortex – lack of awareness E.g. Weiskrantz “blindsight” studies Conscious Awareness and the Cerebral Cortex—Split Brain Patients Visual areas in the cerebral cortex.  Development of Consciousness Conscious awareness of self seems to develop around 18 months Full conscious awareness develops at around 22 months BREAK TIME!  States other than consciousness Preconsciousness and Unconsciousness It’s about the level of awareness Preconscious and Unconscious States (1 of 2) Preconsciousness – level of awareness in which information can become readily available to consciousness if necessary Example: What did you do last weekend? Automatic Behaviours – a type of preconscious behaviour Example: Do you remember every step each time you brushed your teeth last week? Preconscious and Unconscious States (2 of 2) Unconscious state – state in which information is not easily accessible to conscious awareness Example: What did you eat last weekend?  Cognitive Views of the Unconscious (1 of 2) We have two main types of memory: Explicit memory – involves pieces of knowledge that we are fully aware of Implicit memory – knowledge that we have stored in memory that we are not typically aware of or able to recall at will  Cognitive Views of the Unconscious (2 of 2) – Unconscious decision-making – are there decisions that we make unconsciously? – People making snap decisions often rely on “unconscious” thought processes Freud’s View of the Unconscious Freud imagined a very large role for the unconscious mind. Not only does the unconscious contain a lot of stuff but it also guides our behavior in a whole bunch of ways, according to Freud. Freud’s view of the unconscious.  When We Are Asleep We sleep a lot.  When We Are Asleep Why do we sleep? Still a bit of a mystery. Adaptive theory of sleep – theory that organisms sleep for the purpose of self-preservation, to keep away from predators Restoration theory – holds that sleep restores our brains and bodies  Circadian Rhythm Circadian rhythm (biological clock) – pattern of sleep-wake cycles that in human beings roughly corresponds to periods of daylight and night  Sleep–Wake Rhythms What causes our circadian rhythm? Genetic differences? Environmental differences?  Controlling the Clock What’s going on in our brains when we sleep? Suprachiasmatic nucleus: a small group of neurons in the hypothalamus responsible for coordinating the many rhythms of the body. Directs pineal gland to produce melatonin, which triggers sleepiness  Controlling the Clock During the day, photoreceptors in the retina of the eye, send signals to the SCN about daylight, which helps regulate dopamine and melatonin production – This is why artificial lighting has an impact on our sleep quality Sleep Cycle(s) (1 of 2) The stages of sleep.  Sleep Cycle(s) (2 of 2) 90 to 100 minutes per sleep cycle One cycle consists of five stages Over the latter part of the night, we spend most time in stages 1 and 2 and REM sleep  Stages of Sleep (1 of 3) Pre-sleep period (hypnagogic state) Alpha waves Hypnagogic hallucinations Myoclonic jerk  Stages of Sleep (2 of 3) Stage 1 – a few minutes Bridge between wakefulness and sleep Alpha waves change to slower theta waves Stage 2 – 15 to 20 minutes More relaxed Rhythmic breathing Sleep spindles (burst of rapid brain waves)  Stages of Sleep (3 of 3) Stage 3 Deep sleep 20%-50% delta waves Stage 4 Heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rates at lowest levels Muscles relax Sleepwalking more likely Stage 5 Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep  Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep A stage of sleep is associated with rapid and jagged brain wave patterns, increased heart rate, rapid and irregular breathing, rapid eye movements, and dreaming Non-REM versus REM sleep.