Transcript Introduction to Psychology

Chapter 6
States of Consciousness
States of Consciousness

Consciousness


our awareness of ourselves and our
environment
Selective Attention


our awareness focuses on only a limited
portion of what we experience
cocktail party effect
Attention

Inattentional blindness

failure to see visible objects when we are
attending to another task


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahg6qcgoay4
Conscious attention

can only be in one place at a time
Sleep and Dreams

Circadian rhythm



the biological clock
roughly corresponds to 24-hour day/night cycle
cyclical bodily rhythms


wakefulness
body temperature
Measuring Sleep Activity
Sleep Stages






Cycle through 5 sleep stages every 90 minutes
Stage 1 Sleep
 brief stage; sensation of falling
Stage 2 Sleep
 20 minutes; spindles (bursts of brain activity)
Stage 3 Sleep
 brief; transitioning to deeper sleep
Stage 4 Sleep
 30 min.; delta (large, slow) brain waves; deep sleep
REM Sleep
 10 minutes; vivid dreams
Sleep Stages

REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep
 recurring

becomes longer as night goes on
vivid dreams
 paradoxical sleep



externally calm (muscles)
internally aroused (heart rate)
Brain Waves and Sleep
Stages

Alpha Waves


Delta Waves



slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state
large, slow waves of deep sleep
stage 3 and stage 4
Hallucinations


false sensory experiences
stage 1: may experience hallucination-like
images
Brain Waves and
Sleep Stages

Sleep

loss of
consciousness
that is:



periodic
natural
reversible
Typical Nightly Sleep
Stages
Awake
Sleep
stages
1
2
3
REM
4
0
1
2
3
4
Hours of sleep
5
6
7
Typical Nightly Sleep
Stages
Minutes
of
Stage 4
and
REM
Decreasing
Stage 4
25
20
15
Increasing
REM
10
5
0
1
2
3
4
5
Hours of sleep
6
7
8
Sleep Deprivation
Are You Sleep Deprived?
1. Need an alarm clock in order to wake up at the appropriate time.
2. It’s a struggle for me to get out of bed in the morning.
3. Weekday mornings I hit the snooze bar several times to get more sleep.
4. I feel tired, irritable, and stressed out during the week.
5. I have trouble concentrating and remembering.
6. I feel slow with critical thinking, problem solving, and being creative.
7. I often fall asleep watching TV.
8. I often fall asleep in boring meetings or lectures or in warm rooms.
9. I often fall asleep after heavy meals or after a low dose of alcohol.
10. I often fall asleep while relaxing after dinner.
11. I often fall asleep within five minutes of getting into bed.
12. I often feel drowsy while driving.
13. I often sleep extra hours on weekend mornings.
14. I often need a nap to get through the day.
15. I have dark circles around my eyes.
Sleep Deprivation

Effects of Sleep Loss





fatigue
impaired concentration
immune suppression
irritability
slowed performance

increased accidents


planes
autos and trucks
Sleep Deprivation
Less sleep,
more accidents
Accident
frequency
More sleep,
fewer accidents
2,800
2,700
4,200
2,600
4000
2,500
3,800
2,400
3,600
Spring time change
(hour sleep loss)
Monday before time change
Fall time change
(hour sleep gained)
Monday after time change
Why do we need sleep?

Protective


Recuperation


restore and repair brain tissue
Remembering


kept our early ancestors from navigating at night
restore & rebuild memories from the day
Growth

growth hormone released during deep sleep
Sleep Disorders

Insomnia


persistent problems in falling or staying
asleep
Natural Remedies






Exercise
Avoid caffeine (including chocolate)
Dimmer lights
Avoid naps
Wake at same time each day
Turn clock away
Sleep Disorders

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2yfUL8uct0&feature=channel

Narcolepsy



uncontrollable sleep attacks
may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at
inopportune times
Hypersomnia



12-14 hours per day plus nap
Fatigue, stressed –out feeling
Rule out medical
Sleep Disorders

Sleep Apnea




intermittently stop breathing during sleep
frequent momentary awakenings
usually unaware of these episodes
Night Terrors




mostly seen in children
appearance of being terrified (fast heart rate)
occur during Stage 4
not the same as nightmares (which occur
during REM)
Sleep Walking/Talking





occur during Stage 4 (non-REM) Sleep
runs in families
more common in childhood
usually harmless
not remembered the next morning
Dreams

Dreams (REM)





images, emotions, and thoughts passing
through a sleeping person’s mind
hallucinatory imagery
discontinuities
incongruities
vivid recall: if we are awakened during REM
sleep (or right after)
Dreams - Freud

Sigmund Freud-The Interpretation of
Dreams (1900)


dreams viewed as wish fulfillment
outlet for otherwise unacceptable feelings
Dreams - Freud

Manifest Content


remembered story line of a dream
includes real experiences from the day


Tetris experiment
Latent (Hidden) Content


underlying meaning of a dream
Freud: uncovering this hidden meaning
can help people resolve personal issues
Dreams

REM Rebound


tendency for REM sleep increases following REM
sleep deprivation
Why do we dream?

Freud: outlet for unacceptable feelings


Not supported by research
Information processing: to help “file” memories

Link between REM & memory confirmed by brain
scans
Hypnosis

Hypnosis


one person (the hypnotist) suggests to
another (the subject) that certain
perceptions, feelings, thoughts or
behaviors will spontaneously occur
Depends on the subject’s openness to
suggestion
Hypnosis

Posthypnotic Amnesia

supposed inability to recall what one
experienced during hypnosis
 induced by the hypnotist’s suggestion
Memory Recovery



Research has not supported the claim that hypnosis
recovers memories that are always accurate
Testimony based on hypnosis is often banned
Hypnosis

“Acid” Study (Orne & Evans, 1965)

hypnotized subjects told to plunge hand into “acid” &
throw it in researcher’s face



Next day: denied they would follow such commands
control group: told to “pretend” they were hypnotized
unhypnotized subjects performed the same acts as
the hypnotized ones
Hypnosis

Unhypnotized
persons can
also do this
Hypnosis

Posthypnotic Suggestion




suggestion to be carried out after the subject is no
longer hypnotized
used by some clinicians to control undesired
symptoms and behaviors
has been found to be helpful for treatment
of obesity
addictions (drug, alcohol, smoking) do not
respond as well
Hypnotic Pain Relief

2 Theories
 Dissociation



a split between different levels of
consciousness
example: “ice bath study” - dissociate the
sensation of cold from the emotional
suffering we define as painful
Selective Attention

hypnosis doesn’t block sensory input, but it
may block our attention to painful stimuli
Hypnosis

Hypnosis as a social phenomenon:



normal state of consciousness
subjects feel and behave in ways appropriate for
“good hypnotic subjects”
Hypnosis as divided consciousness

most researchers believe there is more to it than
just being a “good subject”


sometimes subjects carry out behaviors even if they
think no one is watching
brain activity – areas light up as though subjects are
really seeing a color
Hypnosis

Divided Consciousness or Social Phenomenon?
Attention is diverted
from an aversive odor.
How?
Divided-consciousness
theory:
hypnosis has caused a
split in awareness
Social Influence
theory:
the subject is so caught
up in the hypnotized
role that she ignores
the odor
Drugs & Consciousness

Psychoactive Drugs


Tolerance



chemicals that change perceptions & moods
brain adapts chemistry to offset drug effects
increasingly larger doses are needed to get the
effect
Withdrawal

discomfort following the discontinuation of a drug
Drug Tolerance
Dependence & Addiction

Physical Dependence


Psychological Dependence



indicated by physical pain and craving when the
drug is absent
not physically addictive, but user has a
psychological need to use the drug
stress-relieving drugs
Addiction

compulsive drug craving and use
Addiction Myths

Addictive drugs quickly corrupt (False)

In most cases addiction does not occur when drugs
are used medically

Example: Those given morphine to control pain do not
crave the drug like addicts who use morphine to change
their mood
Even with highly addictive drugs (cocaine) only
some people (about 15%) become addicted
Therapy is required to overcome addictions (False)



Therapy & group support is helpful, but people do also
recover on their own
Psychoactive Drugs

Three Categories






Depressants
Stimulants
Hallucinogens
All work at the brain’s synapses
Stimulate, inhibit, or mimic neurotransmitter
activity
Our expectations also play a role
Depressants



Reduce neural activity
Slow body functions
Examples:



Alcohol
Barbiturates (tranquilizers)
Opiates
Depressants - Alcohol





Slows reaction times
Speech slurs
Lowers inhibitions
Feelings of invincibility
Disrupts processing of recent experiences into longterm memories


Blackouts result partly from the suppression of REM sleep
Prolonged & excessive drinking can affect cognition
(brain shrinking)
Depressants - Barbiturates





Tranquilizers
Mimic the effects of alcohol
Depress nervous system activity
Prescription barbiturates used to induce
sleep or reduce anxiety
Can be lethal if taken with alcohol or in large
doses
Depressants - Opiates

Opium and its derivatives



Depress (slow down) neural activity
Lessen pain and anxiety by creating a sense
of pleasure




Morphine; Heroin
Pleasure is short term and another dose may be
craved
Larger and larger doses are needed
Withdrawal symptoms can be extreme
Increasing dose can lead to overdose death
Stimulants



Excite neural activity
Speed up body functions
Examples:



Caffeine
Nicotine
Amphetamines



Methamphetamine (“speed”)
Cocaine
Ecstasy
Stimulants - Cocaine


Enters bloodstream quickly
Rush of euphoria




Brain’s supply of dopamine, serotonin, &
norepinephrine are depleted
Crash 15-30 minutes later as drug wears off
Many regular users do become addicted
May lead to: emotional disturbances,
suspiciousness, convulsions, cardiac arrest
Stimulants - Ecstasy



A synthetic stimulant
Also a mild hallucinogen
Triggers release of serotonin and blocks its
reabsorption



Prolonged feeling of euphoria
Risks: dehydration, overheating, death
Long-term: damages neurons that make
serotonin (permanent depressed mood)
Hallucinogens

Hallucinogens



distort perceptions
evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory
input
can be natural substances (marijuana) or
synthetic (LSD or Ecstasy)
Hallucinogens - LSD





lysergic acid diethylamide
created & accidentally ingested by a chemist
perceived striking images and intense
patterns of colors
chemically similar to serotonin
produces a variety of emotions



panic
detachment
euphoria
Hallucinogens - Marijuana


THC – major active ingredient
Mix of effects (difficult to classify drug type)



By-products stay in body for 1 month+


Relaxes, disinhibits, euphoric feelings
Mild hallucinogen: increased sensitivity to colors,
sounds, tastes, and smells
regular users need lower doses for same effect
Amplifies current state (e.g., anxiety or
depression)
Hallucinogens - Marijuana

Impairs:





motor coordination
reaction time (makes machine operation unsafe)
formation of memories
information recall
Marijuana smoke


Can be toxic
Lung damage
Drug Use Influences

Biological Factors



Adopted individuals more susceptible to
alcoholism if one or both parents have history
Genes identified that are more common among
people predisposed to alcoholism
Psychological Factors



Feeling that life is meaningless
Stress
Psychological disorders (e.g., depression)
Drug Use Influences

Social-cultural influences



peer influence
cultural attitude toward drug use
urban environment