Unit 4: Sensation, Perception and States of Consciousness

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Unit 4 Sensation, Perception and States of
Consciousness

• Essential Task 4-7 Describe various states of
  consciousness and their impact on behavior.

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(No Transcript)
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Circadian Rhythm
Stages/REM
Disorders
Hidden Observer
Actor
Sleep
Hypnosis
Dreams
Meditation
We are here
Waking Consciousness
Daydreaming and Fantasy
Altered States of Consciousness
Drug-Altered Consciousness
Substance Abuse
Depressants
Stimulants
Hallucinogens
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Essential Task 4-7
Outline

• Consciousness
• Waking Consciousness
• Theories of Consciousness
• Evolutionary Explanation
• Tripartite Theory
• Stream of Consciousness
• Chord of subconscious brain events
• Subconscious Processing
• Altered States of Consciousness
• Meditation
• Sleep
• Dreams
• Hypnosis
• Daydreaming / Fantasy

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Consciousness

• Waking consciousness
• Our awareness of ourselves and our environment
• Thoughts, feelings, and perceptions that occur
  when we are awake and alert
• Allows us to reflect and plan
• Altered States of Consciousness
• A mental state that differs noticeably from
  normal waking consciousness

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Subconscious processing

• Well-learned tasks become automatic
• Driving
• Typing
• When you meet people you unconsciously react to
  their gender, age and appearance
• Subconscious processing
• Bird (color, form, movement, distance)
• Unconscious processing is parallel while
  conscious is linear but good at novel problems

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Forms of Altered-Consciousness
Sleep
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History of Consciousness

1. Psychology began as a science of consciousness.
   (Titchner and Structuralism)
2. Behaviorists argued about alienating
   consciousness from psychology.
3. However, after 1960, mental concepts
   (consciousness) started reentering psychology.

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What is waking consciousness?

• Picture this It is a beautiful spring day and
  you are walking down a country lane, absorbed in
  thought. Birds are chirping, roses are in bloom
  and the sun feels warm on your face. Suddenly,
  you hear a dog bark and you switch your attention
  to seeing if the animal means to bite.
• Adapted from How the Brain Might Work A New
  Theory of Consciousness By SANDRA BLAKESLEE

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How do you read how does the brain - bind these
fragmented sensory signals and perceptions into a
single coherent image? I am at the park about
to get eaten by Cujo.
What is waking consciousness?
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Evolutionary Reason for Consciousness

• Consciousness as an adaptation allowing us to get
  along with others in our group (humans)
• Allows us to see ourselves and therefore
  moderate our behavior.

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Tripartite Theory - Freud
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The Stream of Consciousness

• Consciousness results from the activity of the
  thalamus which analyzes and interprets
  information in the cerebral cortex.
• sweeping or scanning total a rate of 40 times
  per second
• Each sweep results in a single image or moment
  of consciousness
• Intralaminar nucleus, a kind of doughnut of cells
  within the thalamus, has nerve cells that send
  out long axons that reach to every part of the
  cerebral cortex. Significantly, there are also
  returning axons that come down from all areas of
  the cortex back to the intralaminar nucleus.

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Consciousness as a Chord of Subconscious brain
events.

• Neuroscientists believe that consciousness
  emerges from the interaction of individual
  subconscious brain events much like a chord that
  is created from different musical notes.
• Move wrist - 0.2 seconds prior to moving your
  wrist, you must decide to move the wrist since it
  takes that long to travel to the wrist.
• But it isnt until 0.35 seconds after that your
  brain waves jump
• If told to hit a button after a tone you can
  respond in 1/10th of a second, but wont show the
  jump in brain waves until .35 seconds.
• You live in the past but only by a bit

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Daydreaming and Fantasy

• Spontaneous shifts attention away from the here
  and now into a make-believe world
• Urge to daydream peaks about every 90 minutes and
  is highest between 1200 and 200pm
• Almost half of your waking hours?
• Daydreams may provide stress relief and encourage
  creativity