States of Consciousness

Introduction

What is Consciousness?• Our level of awareness about

ourselves and the environment• We have different levels and

states of consciousness»Not “On/Off” switch

Psych’s History of Consciousness©• Early in the discipline, the very definition of psych. was

“the description and explanation of the states of ©.”• The difficulty of studying © led many in the early 20th

cent. to abandon © and focus on the direct observable behavior (Behaviorism)– “Psychology must discard all references to consciousness”

» John Watson - Behaviorist

• By 1960, advances in neuroscience made it possible to study brain activity and the importance of © re-entered psych.

Freud’s Iceberg Theory and Levels of Consciousness

Level 1: Conscious Awareness

• What you are aware of and thinking about now. (on top of the surface)

• Level 2: Non-Conscious – body processes that operate automatically (autonomic NS – heart beat, lungs, digestion, eye blink, etc.). You can be aware of these things but you do not have to think about them in order for them to operate.

Level 3: Pre-Conscious

• Info you are not currently thinking about, but you can bring to the surface/conscious level (memories)

• Level 4: Sub Conscious levelInformation you're not aware of but affects your behavior nonetheless

- mere exposure – earlier exposure affects your preferences

- priming – earlier exposure affects your ability to relearn a task

Level 5: Unconscious

• Damaging, harmful, hurtful events that you cannot recall or do not fully accept

• Too difficult to face on the conscious level so you repress them to the unconscious

• Can still impact your behavior and healthy development in a significant way

• Level Freud is most interested in

Dualism V. Monism

• Dualists believe the mind/spirit/ (conscious) and the body are two distinct entities. Mind/spirit (conscious) continues to exist after death. Would believe in out of body experiences or life after death.

• Monists believe the min/spirit (conscious) and body are one and the same. When the body is dead your essence is also dead.

SLEEP

• Sleep is its own state of © because, while we sleep we are less aware of ourselves and our environment

• Circadian Rhythm– Our bodies synchronize with the 24 hour cycle

of the day– Our own biological clock regulates body

rhythms • Ex – energy, temperature, metabolism, etc.

– Part of our (CR) is our sleep cycle

Sleep Stages

• An EEG measures brain activity during sleep• Creates brain waves to illustrate different stages• The entire sleep cycle for humans is 90 minutes (you

cycle all the way through in one 90 minute segment)• Other mammals go through the same cycle/stages

Sleep Stages• Sleep onset – period when falling asleep. –Weird feeling–May hallucinate

Sleep Stages• Stage 1 – alpha waves.

– High frequency, low amplitude– Similar to waves when we’re

awake. » Lasts about 5 minutes

Sleep StagesStage 2• Waves get progressively

slower and higher in amplitude

• Sleep spindles occur in stage 2 – rapid bursts of brain activity

Sleep Stages• Stage 3- transitional stage that is only a few minutes and takes us into a deeper sleep

Sleep Stages• Stage 4- Delta Sleep (slow wave sleep/

large, slow brain waves) • The slower the wave, the deeper the sleep

and the less aware we are of our environment.

• People in delta sleep are very hard to wake and will be groggy when they come to

Sleep Stages• Stage 4 cont . . . Delta sleep is important

in replenishing body’s chemical supplies (releasing growth hormones in children and fortifying the immune system)

• People deprived of delta sleep = susceptible to illness and physical exhaustion

• Increased exercise increases time spent in delta sleep

Sleep Stages• REM Sleep (stage 5)- about one

hour after falling asleep, you pass back through stages 3 and 2 and go into REM (rapid eye movement).

REM sleep cont . . .• Paradoxical sleep- because brain waves

appear as active and intense as when we’re awake (alpha waves)–Internally the body is aroused with high

heart rate, breathing, tense muscles; externally the body appears calm

REM sleep cont . . .• REM lasts about 10 minutes• Purpose of REM is not clear• Effects of REM: dreams usually occur at

this time•REM deprivation interferes with the memory

»More stress in our day = longer time in REM

Sleep Cycle

• As the night wears on, time in stage 4/delta gets progressively less and eventually disappears. REM sleep periods get progressively longer.

• i.e. you spend more time the first half of the night in Stage 4

• You spend more time the second half of the night in REM

Sleep Disorders and Dreams

INSOMNIA

• Most common sleep DO (affects about 10% of the population at some time)

• CHRONIC – persistent problems falling or staying asleep

• Sleep debt leads to physical, emotional problems – wears you down

• Treatment – less caffeine, no naps, consistent sleep schedule, comfortable sleep environment, regular exercise, no electronics before bed

• Sleeping pills are NOT a long term solution because you become dependent

Narcolepsy

• Very rare (less than .001% of the population

• Suffer from periods of intense sleepiness and may fall asleep at unpredictable and inappropriate times – suddenly and uncontrollably fall into REM sleep no matter what you are doing

• Treated with meds• http://www.youtube.com/wat

ch?v=GmXSJooA6T4

Sleep Apnea

• Person periodically stops breathing during sleep – wakes up gasping for air, then continues sleeping

• Robs person of good, uninterrupted sleep

• Can be fatal• Are also often loud snorers• Overweight men especially

at high risk• Treated with a breathing

machine – respirator• http://www.youtube.com/wat

ch?v=4JkiWvWn2aU

Night Terrors

• During sleep person sits up, screams, walks around, talks incoherently, etc.

• Usually doesn’t recall when later awakened

• Much more common in children – most people outgrow in teen years

DREAMS• Story like images• Usually occur in REM sleep• Information Processing Theory – we

dream about things that have been weighing heavily on our mind – brain’s way of dealing with stress in a non-threatening way

• Freud argued that dreams were “windows into the unconscious”– Manifest content – the actual story– Latent content – the hidden meaning

DRUGShttp://teens.drugabuse.gov/quiz/national-drug-facts-week/take-iq-challenge/2015

Take the 2015 Drug Quiz at the link above

Drugs

• Chemicals that alter your body’s own chemical balances – create an altered state of consciousness

• Blood brain barrier – usually protects the brain from harmful chemicals in the bloodstream with thicker walls that surround the brain’s blood vessels. But molecules of drugs are small enough to pass the blood brain barrier

Drugs disturb natural neurotransmitters in the brain

• AGONISTS – mimic NT. Fit into receptor sites (dendrites) of neurons and act as the NT would

• ANTAGONIST – block the receptor sites (dendrites) so that the natural NT cannot bind

DRUG AFFECTS

• Tolerance – a user needs to take the drug more often and in increasingly larger doses to achieve the same result

• Withdrawal – undesirable side effects the body experiences when coming off the drug. Withdrawals are the opposite of whatever the drug does to you. Withdrawal symptoms drive the user to take again.

DRUG CATEGORIES

• Stimulants – uppers, speed up body processes, confidence, euphoria, energy (crack, cocaine, amphetamines)

• Depressants – downers, slow body processes, slow reaction and judgment (alcohol, barbiturates, valium)

• Hallucinogens – causes hallucinations, false perceptions (LSD, pot, mushrooms); drugs linger in body for weeks

• Opiates – from poppy plant, pain killers and mood elevators; extremely physically addictive (morphine, oxycotin, codeine)

Dateline/NBC – June 7, 2015Growing Hope – Medical Marijuana – Treatment of Epilepsy??

• http://www.nbc.com/dateline/video/dateline-june-7-2015/2870103?onid=209511#vc209511=1

HYPNOSIS

Dissociation Theory

• Believes hypnosis is a legit altered state of Con

• When hypnotized our con awareness is divided– One part under the control of the hypnotist– Other part is “the hidden observer” – is

subconsciously aware of reality– Ernest Hilgard’s ice bucket experiments– Many seek hypnosis for pain management

• Post-hypnotic Amnesia – forgetting events that occurred during hypnosis

• Post-hypnotic Suggestion – suggesting a person behave a certain way after being brought out of hypnosis

Role Theory

• Is skeptical of hypnosis – not truly an altered state

• Some people have higher hypnotic suggestibility – rich fantasy life, ability to focus and follow directions, believes in it

• These people subconsciously play the role of being hypnotized (placebo effect)