States of consciousness

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States of consciousness

• Waking, Sleep, Dreaming

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What is consciousness?

• Root of psychology as a science
• State of awareness

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Waking conscious

• Awareness of self and environment
• Active thought
• Selective attention
• Attention to one stimulus, to the exclusion of
  others
• Divides consciousness

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Inattentional blindness

• Failure to see one stimulus when focused on
  another

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Change blindness

• Failure to notice a change in a stimulus

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Mindsight

• Sensing a stimulus before it is actually perceived

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Levels of information processing

• Conscious awareness
• Unconscious processing
• Priming

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Alterations in consciousness

• Deviation from normal alertness
• Why do human alter their conscious?

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Biological rhythms

• Rest-wake cycles
• Circadian rhythms
• Sleep

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Sleep stages

• Stage 1
• Stage 2
• Stage 3
• Stage 4
• REM sleep
• Paradoxical sleep

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Sleep stages throughout the night
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Why do we sleep?

• Non-REM sleep
• Survival
• Rest
• REM sleep
• Brain development
• Memory consolidation

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Sleep loss

• Teenagers today get 2 hours less sleep every
  night than teens 80 years ago
• 2001 poll 61 of men and 47 of women said they
  get enough sleep
• 2005 study life satisfaction correlated with
  getting enough sleep
• Recurrent insomnia affects 10-15 of adults
• 1 in 20 adults has sleep apnea

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What is enough sleep?

• Varies from person to person
• Subjective evaluation

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Insomnia

• Persistent inability to fall asleep or stay
  asleep
• Subjective
• Subjects overestimate time awake
• Drug-dependent insomnia

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Narcolepsy

• Neurological disorder characterized by sleep at
  inappropriate times
• Sleep attacks
• Cataplexy
• Treatments

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Sleep apnea

• Inability to breathe while sleeping
• Caused by airway obstruction
• Sleeper wakes, gasping for air
• Treatment

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Night terrors

• Disorder marked by heightened arousal, activity
  and fear
• Children
• Slow-wave sleep

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Dreams

• REM vs. daydreams
• Dream content
• Theoretical reasons for dreaming
• Wish fulfillment
• Activation-synthesis
• Memory consolidation

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Hypnosis

• State of altered consciousness
• Focused attention
• Physical relaxation
• Heightened suggestibility

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Hypnosis

• Interaction between the hypnotist and the subject
• Depends on subjects suggestibility
• Belief is critical!

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Hypnosis theories

• Social phenomenon
• Role played by subject
• Divided consciousness
• Split awareness

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Hypnosis Fact or Fiction?

• Everyone is susceptible to suggestion.
• Hypnosis can help people remember events.
• Hypnosis can force people to act against their
  own beliefs.
• Hypnosis can relieve pain.
• Hypnosis can be therapeutic.

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Psychoactive drugs

• Substances originating outside the body that
  affect the brain

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Dependence

• Psychological dependence
• Physical dependence
• Tolerance
• Withdrawal
• Cravings

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Psychoactive drugs

• Each drug has specific properties and effects
• Expectations influence experience

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Depressants

• Decrease CNS function
• Alcohol
• Opiates

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Stimulants

• Increase CNS function
• Caffeine
• Nicotine
• Cocaine
• Amphetamine
• Methamphetamine
• Ecstasy

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Hallucinogens

• Alter sensations and perceptions
• LSD
• THC