Unit VII: States of Consciousness: background Difficult to define Our awareness of ourselves and our environment Relates to the function of the mind: thoughts, feelings, perceptions, etc. Cognitive Perspective

Unit VIII: States of Consciousness: background Two types Normal States Altered States

Unit VIII: States of Consciousness: Waking Consciousness – levels States of Consciousness: background Five levels - waking conscious All working at same time (parallel processing) Information processed at all levels

Unit VIII: States of Consciousness: Waking Consciousness – levels States of Waking Consciousness: 5 levels Freud saw consciousness like an iceberg: only a little bit is visible & most is hidden

Unit VIII: States of Consciousness: Waking Consciousness – levels States of Waking Consciousness: 5 levels 1) Conscious state State of active awareness Tasks needing full attention (learning new skill; complex task) Relatively slow; limited capacity

Unit VIII: States of Consciousness: Waking Consciousness – levels States of Waking Consciousness: 5 levels 2) Preconscious state Stores information not currently being used Can be recalled easily Example: Phone number, address, person’s birthday, memories, information, etc.

Unit VIII: States of Consciousness: Waking Consciousness – levels States of Waking Consciousness: 5 levels 3) Subconscious state Examples Information & mental processes to perform routine activities “Muscle memory” & Automaticity Unaware of this information; can be instantly if attention directed toward it Cocktail party effect: subconsciously aware of other conversations

Unit VIII: States of Consciousness: Waking Consciousness – levels States of Waking Consciousness: 5 levels 3) Subconscious state Related term: Humphrey’s Law/The Centipede's Dilemma For tasks in subconscious: conscious thought about the task impairs performance “We mess up if we think about what we’re doing” Need to add to study guide

Unit VIII: States of Consciousness: Waking Consciousness – levels A centipede was happy – quite! Until a toad in fun Said, "Pray, which leg comes after which?" Which threw her mind in such a pitch, She laid bewildered in the ditch Considering how to run.

Unit VIII: States of Consciousness: Waking Consciousness – levels States of Waking Consciousness: 5 levels 4) Unconscious state Stores memories we are unaware of Retrieved only with difficulty Freud; psychoanalytical Examples: Repressed memories Events that happened long ago (Language learned in high school, 6th birthday party)

Unit VII: States of Consciousness: Waking Consciousness – levels States of Waking Consciousness: 5 levels 4) Unconscious state Unconscious as a state is different than the concept of “unconscious,” as being passed out.

Unit VII: States of Consciousness: Waking Consciousness – levels States of Waking Consciousness: 5 levels 5) Non-conscious state Automatic functions Examples: Heartbeat, breathing, etc.

Conscious Preconscious Subconscious Unconscious Non-conscious

Conscious: Conversation about turkeys Pre-conscious: Story about turkeys, retrieved from pre-conscious And then I said, “who notices the color of turkeys… oops, I think that was my exit… Subconscious: Driving, automaticity – not paying attention, misses exit. Unconscious: Painful memory about turkey eating sister Non-conscious: Breathing, heartbeat, etc.

Unit VII: States of Consciousness: Biological Rhythms (biorhythms) Definition: Regular, internal cycle Biological cycle, influence mental cycles “Biological clock”

Unit VII: States of Consciousness: Biological Rhythms (biorhythms) Three main types: Exogenous Endogenous Free running rhythms

Unit VII: States of Consciousness: Biological Rhythms (biorhythms) 1) Exogenous Influenced fully by external stimuli If external stimuli removed, cycle would end Examples: Migration, hibernation

Unit VII: States of Consciousness: Biological Rhythms (biorhythms) 2) Endogenous Internal cycle Influenced by external stimuli, but not caused by it Most of the ones we’ll be talking about are this type

Unit VII: States of Consciousness: Biological Rhythms (biorhythms) 2) Endogenous Entrainment: Aligning cycle to external stimuli Usually light & dark After: Jet lag or daylight savings time

Unit VII: States of Consciousness: Biological Rhythms (biorhythms) 3) Free running rhythms What happens to sleep cycle when external stimulus taken away Not based on 24 hour clock

• To investigate the nature of biological rhythms, experimenters have enticed subjects to spend up to 6 months in underground environments totally cut off from external cues. The subject is placed in an underground facility, an apartment without windows, television, or any other external cues. The subject has a supply of books, and a newspaper is supplied once a day while the subject is still sleeping. The lights are controlled by the experimenter and are turned off at 11:00 P.M. and on at 7:00 A.M. Body temperature is monitored with a thermometer in the subject’s rectum, urine is collected at regular intervals and the activity and sleep of the subject is continuously monitored. • Results: Subject shows a regular 24 hour cycle in sleep and activity, body temperature, and all other monitored variables. (Circadian Rhythms)

• Now: Give subject control over the lighting in the apartment • Now: Give subject control over the lighting in the apartment. Newspapers are given to the subject when he/she wakes up. What happens? Sleep, activity, and body temperature cycle as before but instead of showing a 24 hour rhythm the subject now shows a 25 hour rhythm (this is the free running rhythm). Each day, the subject wakes up one hour later -- after 25 days, today’s newspaper will arrive in the lab before yesterday’s paper has been given to the subject. • Odd things happen to the perception of time: Naps perceived as short by the subject were actually 8 hours long. Average sleep times may also change -- in one experiment, the subject’s average sleep time was 19 hours. In some cases, subjects may sleep as short as 4 hours and others as long as 18 hours -- some daytimes continue for as long as 30 hours. And while all this is going on in the sleep/wake cycle, the body temperature rhythm chugs along at a 25 hour cycle. • “The subject’s confusion and skepticism were often dramatic when, after two or three weeks by private count of ‘days,’ the supervising scientist entered to announce that the agreed-upon month was finished --but could not convince the subject until he produced a stack of ‘future’ newspapers to prove it.”

Unit VII: States of Consciousness: Biological Rhythms (biorhythms) Endogenous Biological Rhythms: types 1) Annual biorhythms Occurs annually More with animals Example: Migration

Unit VII: States of Consciousness: Biological Rhythms (biorhythms) Endogenous Biological Rhythms: types 2) Infradian biorhythms Period of more than a 24-hour cycle Example: Menstrual cycle

Unit VII: States of Consciousness: Biological Rhythms (biorhythms) Endogenous Biological Rhythms: types 3) Circadian biorhythms Occur on 24-hour cycle Usually influenced by light Example: Wakefulness, body temperature

Unit VII: States of Consciousness: Biological Rhythms (biorhythms) Endogenous Biological Rhythms: types 3) Circadian biorhythms, continued Wakefulness influenced by light Light -> retina -> hypothalamus -> pineal gland: decrease level of melatonin Melatonin – sleep inducing hormone? Recent discovery: signal to trigger nighttime behaviors? Which in humans is sleep Link

Unit VII: States of Consciousness: Biological Rhythms (biorhythms) Endogenous Biological Rhythms: types 4) Ultradian biorhythms Period of less than 24-hour cycle Example: Cycle of sleep

Unit VII: States of Consciousness: Biological Rhythms (biorhythms) Biological Rhythms: other concepts Circadian desynchronization Disruption of Circadian rhythms Disrupts sleep cycle Example: Jetlag, shift work, daylight savings time

Unit VII: States of Consciousness: Biological Rhythms (biorhythms) Biological Rhythms: other concepts Everyone’s biological rhythms are different Why some people need more sleep than others, why some people are “morning people,” etc.