ap psych prep 5 - states of consciousness

8/13/2019 AP Psych Prep 5 - States of Consciousness

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States of Consciousness


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Consciousness has always beeninteresting to psych. but has beenresearched more these days because

we have much better tools to studythe brain.


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Monism vs. Dualism Monism mind and body are one; mind

arises from the body and itsfunctioning

Dualism mind and body are separate;the mind can survive separate from thebody

More of a historical philosophicaldebate, not fundamentally important topsychologists today.


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Our level of awareness of ourselvesand our environments.

E.g. waking (different levels), sleep,hypnotic states, drugged states, etc.


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We can operate on different levels(more than just conscious orunconscious).

As well, more than one might beoperating at the same time.

Some suggested possible Levels ofConsciousness include:


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Conscious Level: information youre currentlyaware of; the current focus of your mind

Nonconscious Level: body functions like

heartbeat, breathing, digestion, temperature,etc. We are not usually aware of these.

Preconscious Level: info. That is not inconscious awareness, but that you can bringthere. - e.g. Roommate easily brought tomind


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Subconscious Level: info. we cantconsciously access, but that must existbecause we can see the effects of theinfo. on our behaviour.

E.g. mere-exposure effect previouslyexperienced stimuli are preferred, evenif we cant remember it consciously.

Nonsense words presented; later cantremember them, but when asked tochoose among various nonsense words,

we pick ones we saw earlier.


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Priming is another example, where

people do better on questions

theyve seen before, even thoughthey cant remember seeing thembefore. Not consciouslyremembered, but affects behaviour.


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Unconscious Level: Psychoanalytic(Freudian) concept that unacceptable /painful thoughts and feelings arepushed out of our conscious minds

down into our unconscious.

NOT the same as being unconscious(from a head injury, anesthesia, etc)

Not all agree with this concept. We willdiscuss it in more detail later when wetalk about psychoanalytic perspectives.


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Sleep is one state of consciousness.

Sleep is not the same as beingunconscious (unconscious states canresult from head injuries, anesthesia,etc)

Sleep is one part of our circadianrhythm, our daily cycle in ourmetabolism, activity levels, states of

consciousness, etc.


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Sleep Onset when we fall asleep;period of time between being awakeand asleep.

Stages 14 of sleep. 1 is lightersleep, 4 is the deepest sleep.

We cycle between these stages as wesleep. We spend less time in deeper

sleep levels as the night goes on.


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Muscle atonia muscles lose strength, they dont make big movements

during REM sleep maybe to keep us from moving too much in our sleep.


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Stage 1 Sleep EEGmeasures theta waves whichare generally high frequency (comeoften) and low amplitude (low height).

Stage 2 Sleep Also theta waves, andthey get less frequent and higheramplitude as we progress into deeper

sleep. Stage 2 we can also see sleep spindles,

which are short periods of rapid brainwaves.


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Stages 3 and 4 can also be calleddelta sleep because we can see deltawaves in these stages.

Delta waves are low frequency (slower),

and indicate deep sleep.

Delta sleep is important for

maintenance of our healthy body andimmune system.

If deprived, immune system problems

can occur.


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From stage 4, we climb back up throughthe stages towards Stage 1 Sleep again.

When we get to stage 1 we go into aspecial sleep stage called REM Sleep.

Rapid Eye Movement Sleep (REM)

brains become very active, includessome muscle twitching, especially theeyes, but large muscle movements aresuppressed.


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Muscle atonia muscles lose strength, they dont make big movements

during REM sleep maybe to keep us from moving too much in our sleep.


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REM sleep can also be calledparadoxical sleep, because eventhough we are asleep, our brains are

very active. Dreams are much more likely to

happen in REM stages of sleep.


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If you stop people from getting REMsleep, they will spend more time inREM stages the next time they sleep.

Being more stressed will also increasethe time spent in REM sleep.

This suggests that it is important formaintenance or functioning somehow,though this is not well understood yet.


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Some psychologists think that REMsleep is important for processing newinformation and sorting out mentalthings, including setting memories

firmly into our long term memory.

Babies do a lot of REM sleep, which

might support this idea. Because theylearn so many new things andencounter new stimuli a lot, maybe theyneed to do more sorting that adults do.


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We spend less time both sleepingand in REM sleep as we get older.


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1. Sigmund Freud / Psychoanalysis -

think we act out our desires in our dreams,studying dream content can tell us aboutour secret, hidden unconscious desires.

These are usually hidden from ourconscious mind, but our dreams can giveus clues to help us find out what they are.

Even in our sleep we are protected fromthese thoughts and desires protectedsleep


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Because we are still protected from these

unacceptable or painful thoughts andmemories, our dreams have TWO layers ofmeaning.

Manifest Content the actual content ofthe dream, the literal story, characters, etc.

Latent Content the symbolicmeaningthat our mind wraps in manifest content toprotect us. Latent shows our trueunconscious desire


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For example, falling in a dream is the

manifest content, but the latent content(or meaning) might be interpreted asgiving in to (or surrendering yourself

to) an unconscious desire.

Psychoanalytic dream theory is verydifficult to test, so it is not oftenconsidered very seriously bypsychologists these days.


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2. Activation-Synthesis Theory: Abiological explanation; our brains arebiologically activated, and meaninglessneural signals are sent during sleep.

Our brains automatically make up astory to match the kinds of signals thatare being sent.This could be whydreams can be so illogical andnonsensical.


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3. Information-Processing Theory: stressand new information increases ourdreams, so maybe dreams are when ourbrains are integrating and processing

that information. Dreams can often include important

things from our recent daily activities.

This is connected to activation-synthesis(story making), but alsoincludesmeaning.


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Insomnia persistent problemsgetting to sleep, or staying asleep.

Diagnosed, insomnia is more serious

and continuing than an occasionalproblem sleeping.

Changed patterns of sleep,exercise, and avoiding caffeine

can often help insomniacs.


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Narcolepsy feelings of intensesleepiness and falling asleep at strangeand possibly dangerous times. Somesay overwhelming sleepiness)

Narcolepsy can be very dangerous; e.g.people could fall asleep while driving.

Medication and sleeppattern changes (includingdaytime naps) can help.


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Sleep Apnea breathing difficulty in

night that wakes people, preventingthem from getting the deep sleep thatthey need for normal functioning.

More likely to affect overweight people.

Hard to diagnose because people oftendont remember waking up due to sleep

apnea. Respirators used to keep people

breathing properly throughout thenight.


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Somnambulism (sleep walking) andNight Terrors movement andspeech that occurs while the person

is asleep; usually in stage 4 sleepearly in the night; much more oftenin children.

Usually not remembered when theperson wakes up.


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Somnambulism (sleep walking) andNight Terrors

Night terrors are similar to sleepwalking, but involve fear; the personwill scream and move around.

Dans Father apparently suffered fromNight Terrors when he was a child.


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Post-hypnotic amnesia forgetting what

happened while you were hypnotized.

Post-hypnotic suggestion whilehypnotized, an instruction is given that theperson should follow afterthe hypnoticstate is over.

Some people are more easily hypnotized.Those who are, are often also more likelyto follow directions, and to strongly focusfor long periods. - Dans hypnosis story


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1. Role Theory hypnosis is not analtered state of consciousness, butpeople are just acting the way thatsociety expects them to act in a

hypnosis situation.

Maybe some people are morewilling to fill this role, so that couldbe why some are more easilyhypnotized.


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2. State Theory believe it really is an

altered state of consciousness.

Evidence people report experiencing

their environment differently, and beingable to change their health andexperience of pain or addiction thanksto hypnosis.

However, very difficult to study / test.Many still skeptical of hypnosis.


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3. Dissociation Theory (one specific

version of state theory) Ernest Hilgardstheory of hypnosis;

involves us allowing our consciousnessto split into TWO parts

One part responds to suggestions fromhypnotist

Other is hidden observer that watchesreality and keeps track of whats goingon; protects us.


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Blood-Brain Barrier protectionmechanism; separates circulatingblood from the brain fluid by thicker

blood vessel walls Allows our

body to control

what goesinto our brainfluid.


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Strong tolerance will mean withdrawal

symptoms if the person stops taking thedrug. Body reacting to the lack ofneurotransmitter or the substance that wasreplacing it.

E.g. headaches, nausea, sweating, shaking,anxiety, etc.

Addiction a psychological or physical (orboth) need to take a drug. Also calleddependence. Physical dependence willmean withdrawal symptoms will occur ifyou quit


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Stimulants Speed up brain and body

processes, including autonomic nervoussystem processes (heartbeat rate,breathing, etc.); also feelings of elevated

mood / euphoria

E.g. caffeine (coffee), nicotine

(cigarettes), cocaine, amphetamines, Side Effects disturbed

sleep, reduced sleep,increased anxiety.


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Depressants slow down mentaland body systems, also euphoricfeelings.

Include alcohol, barbiturates (kindof sedative), tranquilizers, anti-

anxiety drugs (e.g. Valium).


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Alcohol very well studied drug; also

commonly used, for thousands of years

It slows our reactions, reduces our

ability to make judgments, reduces ourinhibitions (so we might do things wewouldnt do without alcohol)

Also affects cerebellum, so we becomeless coordinated, clumsy; a lot can makeit hard to walk and move around.


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Hallucinogens / Psychedelic Drugs:change how we perceive reality,possible hallucinations, change inperception of time, vivid fantasies, etc.

Effects can be more unpredictable thanthose of depressants and stimulants.

E.g. LSD, peyote, psychoactivemushrooms, marijuana


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Hallucinogens tend to stay in the body

for longer periods, which means takingthe drug again later can cause largereffects.

The remaining drug from last time addsto the newly taken drug, to add to a

larger effect.

This can be called reverse tolerance.


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Opiates: agonists for endorphins (our

natural painkilling / euphorianeurotransmitter) so they elevate ourmood and kill pain.

E.g. opium, morphine, heroine, methadone(sometimes used totreat heroine addiction),codeine

Very physically addicting.Strong tolerance and

withdrawal.

ap psych prep 5 - states of consciousness

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