Transcript chap7psych

Chapter 7: States of Consciousness
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
Consciousness
• Consciousness refers to an organism’s
awareness of itself and its surroundings.
• Levels of awareness:
– TOP: Controlled processes require attention
(and interfere with other functions)
– MIDDLE: Automatic processes require minimal
attention (such as riding your bike)
– LOWEST: Minimal or no awareness of the
environment
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
Circadian Rhythms
• Many of our behaviors display rhythmic
variation.
– Circadian rhythms
• One cycle lasts about 24 hours (e.g. sleepwaking cycle).
• Light is an external cue that can set the
circadian rhythm.
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
Sleep
• Sleep is a behavior AND an altered state of
consciousness.
• We spend about a third of our lives in
sleep.
– A basic issue is to understand the function of
sleep.
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
Myths of Sleep
• Everyone needs 8 hrs of sleep per night to
maintain good health.
• Learning of complicated subjects such as
calculus can be done during sleep.
• Some people never dream.
• Dreams last only a few seconds.
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
EEG Changes During Sleep
• Electrophysiological
instruments can be used in
the sleep laboratory to assess
the physiological changes that
occur during an episode of
sleep.
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
Stages of Sleep
• Hypnagogic state: “pre-sleep” stage marked by
visual, auditory and kinesthetic sensations.
• Non-REM
Stage one
Stage two
Stage three
Stage four
• REM: rapid eyes movements, high frequency
brain waves, paralysis of large muscles and
dreaming
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
Sleep Stages During a Night
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
Functions of Sleep
• REM Sleep:
– Consolidation of new memories
– Role in learning
– Absent in lower mammals
• Non-REM sleep
– People deprived of all sleep show greater
time spent in non-REM sleep the next
night.
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
Effects of Sleep Deprivation
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Reduced immunity
Mood alteration
Reduced concentration and motivation
Increased irritability
Lapses in attention
Reduced motor skills
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
Theories of Sleep
• Repair/Restoration
– Sleep allows for recuperation from
physical, emotional, and intellectual
fatigue.
• Evolutionary/Circadian
– Sleep evolved to conserve energy and
protect our ancestors from predators.
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
Sleep Duration in Mammals
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
Theories of Dreaming
• Psychoanalytic (Freud): Dreams
represent disguised symbols of
repressed desires and anxieties.
– Manifest versus latent content
• Biological: Dreams represent random
activation of brain cells during sleep.
• Cognitive: Dreams help to sift and sort
the events of the day.
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
Sleep disorders
• Insomnia refers to a difficulty in getting to sleep or
remaining asleep and has many causes.
– Situational: related to anxiety
– Drug-induced: Use of sleeping pills or other drugs can
result in insomnia
Sleep apnea: person stops breathing and is
awakened when blood levels of carbon dioxide
stimulate breathing.
• Narcolepsy: Sleep appears at odd times.
•
– Sleep attack: urge to sleep during the day
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
Sleep Disorders Cont.
• Nightmares: Anxiety-arousing dreams
generally occurring during REM sleep.
• Night Terrors: Abrupt awakenings from
NREM sleep accompanied by intense
physiological arousal and feelings of
panic.
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
Drugs
• Drugs are chemicals that have biological
effects within the body.
• Psychoactive drugs are chemicals that
change conscious awareness or
perception.
– Depressants slow down the nervous system.
– Stimulants speed up the nervous system.
– Opiates relieve pain.
– Hallucinogens alter sensory perception .
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
Drug Use and Abuse
• Drug abuse: Drug use that causes emotional
or physical harm to the user.
• Addiction results from repeated drug use.
– Tolerance: more drug is required.
– Drug abstinence leads to withdrawal symptoms.
• Drug dependence can be:
– Physical: withdrawal reactions are noted when drug
use is terminated.
– Psychological: associated with a craving for the
drug
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
Examples of Drug Types
• Depressants:
alcohol, barbiturates
• Stimulants:
caffeine, amphetamine
cocaine, nicotine
• Opiates
heroin, morphine
• Hallucinogens
LSD, mescaline, marijuana
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
Depressants
• Alcohol is particularly dangerous when
combined with barbiturates.
– abuse can lead to serious losses in
cognitive functioning
– involved in nearly half of all murders,
suicides, spousal abuse and accidental
deaths in the united states
– is the third leading cause of birth defects
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
Stimulants
• Nicotine is considered the single most
preventable cause of death and disease
in the United Sates.
• Cocaine causes physical damage,
severe addiction and psychological
dependence.
– Cocaine can interfere with the electrical
activity of the heart.
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
Opiates
• Narcotics, such as morphine and
heroin, produce their effects by
mimicking endorphins.
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
Hallucinogens
• LSD- associated with “bad trips”
• Marijuana has some properties of
depressants, narcotics and
hallucinogens at higher doses.
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
“Club Drugs”
• MDMA- high doses can cause
dangerous increases in body
temperature and blood pressure leading
to seizures, heart attacks and strokes;
can produces long lasting damage to
the brain.
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
How Drugs Work
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
Drug Action on Neurons
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
Factors that Lead to Drug
Abuse
• Positive associations: the drug is portrayed in
a positive fashion in the media.
• Biological factors: the drug induces a
pleasurable state (usually related to
dopamine activity in the brain).
• Prevention of withdrawal: person continues to
take the drug to avoid withdrawal effects.
• Conditioning of drug craving: cues associated
with drug use can elicit craving for the drug.
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
Hypnosis
• Hypnosis is an altered state of
heightened suggestibility.
• The hypnotic state is characterized by:
– Narrow and focused attention
– Imagination
– Passive receptive attitude
– Reduced reaction to pain
– Heightened suggestibility
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
Myths of Hypnosis
• People can be hypnotized against their
will.
• People will do immoral things while
hypnotized.
• Hypnosis improves memory recall.
• Hypnotized persons have special
strength.
• Hypnosis is fake.
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
Altered States
• Meditation refers to a set of techniques
that promote a heightened sense of
awareness.
– can involve body movements and posture,
focusing of attention on a focal point, or
control of breathing
– can induce relaxation, lower blood
pressure, and can be associated with a
sense of euphoria
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
Why do people alter
consciousness?
• Sacred rituals
• Social interactions
• Individual rewards
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E
Copyright
Copyright 2004 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New
York, NY. All rights reserved. No part of the material
protected by this copyright may be reproduced or
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any information storage and retrieval system, without
written permission of the copyright owner.
© 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 7E