Transcript Powerpoint Presentations to Accompany 1st ed.

Psychology:
From Inquiry to Understanding 1/e
Scott O. Lilienfeld
Steven Jay Lynn
Laura Namy
Nancy J. Woolf
Prepared by Jennifer Sage
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Chapter 5:
Consciousness
Expanding the Boundaries of
Psychological Inquiry
Lecture Preview
Understand different types of sleep and
sleep disorders
 Discuss theories regarding dreaming and
dream analysis
 Explore scientific explanations for
alterations of consciousness
 Distinguish different types of drugs which
alter consciousness

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Biology of Sleep

Consciousness - our subjective
experience of the world, our bodies, and
our mental perspectives

Circadian rhythm - cyclical changes that
occur on a roughly 24-hr basis in many
biological processes (e.g., hormone release,
body temperature)
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Biology of Sleep

Biological clock - the SCN
(suprachiasmatic nucleus) of the
hypothalamus, triggers our sense of
fatigue (via increasing melatonin)
 Disruptions:
• Jet lag
• Night shifts
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
True or False?
Extreme sleep deprivation can be fatal.
(For example, if you deprive yourself of sleep
for two weeks, you’re risking your life.)
FALSE. Although the lack of sleep could lead to
brief hallucinations, depression, difficulty
concentrating, and other symptoms, the
deprivation itself would not be fatal.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Stages of Sleep and Dreaming

Measuring sleep - EEG, EOG, EMG

Stages (cycle through every 90 min.)

Non-REM (no eye movements, less dreaming)
• Stage 1 - light sleep, may contain hypnagogic imagery,
hypnic myoclonia
• Stage 2 - sleep spindles, K-complexes, theta waves
• Stages 3 and 4 - deeper sleep, delta waves

REM (paradoxical sleep) - stage 5, eye movements,
vivid dreaming
• REM rebound
• Muscle paralysis (lack of = REM behavior disorder)
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
EEG Waves During Different Sleep Stages
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Stages of Sleep and Dreaming

REM dreams



More dreams occur
during REM than nonREM
Emotional, illogical,
prone to plot shifts
Non-REM dreams


Shorter dreams
More thought-like,
repetitive, and
concerned with daily
tasks
Lucid dreaming - experience of becoming
aware that one is dreaming
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Disorders of Sleep

Insomnia - difficulty falling and staying
asleep
Higher rates in those with depression, pain,
medical conditions
 Restless leg syndrome - urge to move one’s
legs or other body parts while attempting to
sleep
 Sleeping pills and rebound insomnia

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Disorders of Sleep

Narcolepsy - rapid
and unexpected onset of
sleep
 Cataplexy
 Role of orexin

Sleep apnea blockage of airway
during sleep
 Fatigue next day
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Disorders of Sleep

Night Terrors - during Stages 3 and 4,
sudden waking episodes characterized by
screaming, perspiring, and confusion followed
by a return to a deep sleep
 Most common in children

Sleepwalking - usually occurs during nonREM sleep (not dreaming)


May include complex behaviors (e.g., climbing out
windows, driving)
Most common in children
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Bell ringer for Dec. 6, 2010

Reflect in a written format in your
notebook on your dreams:
What is your most memorable dream?
 What has been your worst nightmare?

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Theory and Psychology of Dreams

Freud’s wish fulfillment and dream
protection theory - dreams transform our sexual
and aggressive instincts into symbols that represent
wish fulfillment and require interpretation

Evidence against this:
• most dreams have negative content (not wish
fulfillment)
• sexual dreams are rare
• many are straightforward details of everyday
activities (not disguised)
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Theory and Psychology of Dreams

Activation-synthesis
theory - dreams reflect
brain activation
originating in the pons,
followed by efforts of the
forebrain to weave these
inputs into a story


However, damage to the
forebrain can eliminate
dreaming, even when the
pons is intact
Dreams are fairly
consistent over time (not
random)
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
So, what can we really say
about dreaming?
1. Dreams are often concerned with everyday
preoccupations, and they recur
2. Acetylcholine turns on REM sleep
3. The forebrain plays an important role in
dreaming
• And why do we dream? Although we still don’t
know, there are many theories concerning the
establishment of memories
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Apply Your Thinking

Thinking generally, what are some issues
with the idea that dreaming may be
important for the establishment of
memories?

Dreams are often filled with fantasy, not just
daily occurrences.
When we are sleep- and/or dream-deprived we
don’t become amnesic.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Other Alterations of Consciousness
and Unusual Experiences

Out-of-body experience (OBE) - sense of
consciousness leaving one’s body
 No scientific evidence to support
 May be related to ability to fantasize and to become
extraordinarily absorbed in experiences

Near-death experience (NDE) - OBE reported by
people who have nearly died or thought they were going
to die
 NDE-like experiences can be triggered by stimulating
the temporal lobes, lack of oxygen to the brain, and
psychedelic and anesthetic drugs
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Other Alterations of Consciousness
and Unusual Experiences

Déjà vu - feeling of reliving an experience that is new


Theories:
• Small seizures in right temporal lobe
• Dual processing theory – slightly out-of-sync arrival of sensory
info from separate pathways
• Prior unconscious processing of the information
• The present experience resembles an earlier experience
Meditation - variety of practices that train attention and
awareness
 Wide range of positive effects (increased empathy, alertness,
blood flow, immune function, etc)
 Correlation vs. causation? Does meditation change brain activity
or do people with certain brain signaling patterns seek out
meditation?
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Other Alterations of Consciousness
and Unusual Experiences

Hypnosis - set of techniques that provides people
with suggestions for alterations in their perceptions,
thoughts, feelings, and behaviors

Misconceptions:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
Produces a trance state in which “amazing” things happen
Hypnotic phenomena are unique
Hypnosis is a sleeplike state
Hypnotized people are unaware of their surroundings
Hypnotized people forget what happened during hypnosis
Hypnosis improves memory
Hypnosis can induce past life and age regression
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Theories of Hypnosis

Sociocognitive Theory - approach to
explaining hypnosis based on people’s beliefs
and expectations

Dissociation model - approach to
explaining hypnosis based on separation of the
parts of the personality responsible for planning
from the part that controls memories
(dissociation from consciousness)

Hidden observer vs. flexible observer
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Hypnosis in Clinical Practice:
Smoking Cessation
Some advertisements for the
effectiveness of hypnosis in
treating smoking are misleading
and exaggerated. Still,
hypnosis can sometimes be
combined with well-established
treatments as a cost-effective
means of helping some people
quit smoking.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Apply Your Thinking

Suppose I was hypnotized, and the hypnotist
suggested I kill my landlord. I immediately leave
and kill my landlord. Am I responsible for my
actions? Is the hypnotist? Why or why not?

The murderer is responsible (though the
hypnotist is certainly sketchy). Hypnosis
doesn’t have a large impact on suggestibility,
and does not induce robot-like states. People
can resist and oppose hypnotic suggestions at
will.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Drugs and
Consciousness

Depressants - decrease
nervous system activity
 Alcohol - most widely used
and abused drug
• Effects vary from stimulation
(low doses) to sedation (high
doses)
• User expectancies influence
mood and social behaviors
• Balanced placebo design
studies
• Idiosyncratic intoxication state in which small amounts
of alcohol produce dramatic
behavioral changes
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Influences on BAC
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Depressants: Alcohol

Tolerance - reduction in the effect of a drug as a
result of repeated use, requires greater quantities to
achieve the same effect

Delirium tremens (DTs) - disorientation,
confusion, visual hallucinations, memory problems
resulting from alcohol withdrawal, may be fatal without
proper medical care
 Alcohol hallucinosis - auditory hallucinations,
sometimes with paranoid beliefs, resulting from alcohol
withdrawal
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Depressants:
Sedative-Hypnotics

Prescribed for insomnia, anxiety

3 categories
 Barbiturates (e.g., Seconal)
 Nonbarbiturates (e.g., Quaalude)
 Benzodiazepines (e.g., Valium)
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Drugs and
Consciousness

Stimulants - Increase heart rate, respiration, blood
pressure
 Tobacco - nicotine; activates acetylcholine receptors
• Induces feelings of stimulation, relaxation, alertness

Cocaine - one of the most powerful reinforcers
• Euphoria, enhanced mental/physical abilities, decrease in
hunger/pain, sense of well-being

Amphetamines - varied patterns of use
• Occasional use - to postpone fatigue, elevate mood
• Regular use
A) Prescription abuse
B) Street users (“speed freaks”) - speed binges and crashes
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Opiate Narcotic Drugs
Relieve pain, induce sleep
 Derived from opium poppy:


Heroin - similar action to morphine, but much
more powerful
• Heroin withdrawal syndrome
Morphine
 Codeine

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Psychedelic Drugs:
Hallucinogenics

Produce alterations in perception, mood, and
thought

Marijuana - activates cannabinoid receptors


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Amotivational syndrome - correlation or causation?
Gateway drug? Rival hypothesis?
LSD - changes in sensation and perception,
paranoia, panic


Mystical experiences - sense of unity with world
Panic, paranoia, confusion, flashbacks
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Apply Your Thinking

Crystal meth is a highly addictive stimulant, but
the same drug is used to treat ADHD. Why
don’t ADHD patients become addicted?




Some of them do become addicted.
The dose is much lower than an addict takes
(5–30 mg vs. 0.5–2 g).
Something about ADHD makes the drugs act
differently in their brains than in typical children.
The route of administration (pill) is less addictive
than the way addicts take crystal (smoke or snort).
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009