States of Consciousness Carolynn DuBois Period 1 AP Psych

Definition of Consciousness William James referred to consciousness as the stream of thought It serves two functions: 1. Monitoring ourselves and our relationship with our environment 2. Plans our responses to the information gathered by monitoring

Levels of Consciousness PRECONSCIOUS: contains info available to consciousness, stores automatic behaviors SUBLIMNAL: a form of preconscious processing when we are faced with stimuli so rapidly, we are unaware of it. SUBCONSCIOUS/UNCONSCIOUS: the level at which information is stored that is too difficult to deal with (repressed ideas or memories)

SLEEP! Is an altered state of consciousness Follows a 24 hour pattern due to circadian rhythms Divided into stages based on brain wave patterns measured by EEGs (electroencephalograms) that show the electrical activities of the brain

Sleep Stages Each sleep cycle is about 90 minutes long Before sleep: awake, relaxed, ALPHA WAVES Drifting off: Stage 1, small irregular BETA Deeper sleep: THETA Even deeper: Stage 2, skeletal muscles relax SLEEP SPINDLES, broken up by large, slow K COMPLEXES Stages 3 and 4: DELTA WAVES Rapid Eye Movement: REM , eyes move vigorously, associated with dreaming, very deep sleep Each sleep cycle is about 90 minutes long

Sleep Disorders Insomnia is a lack of sleep that can take the form of the inability to sleep or maintain sleep Narcolepsy-inability to stay awake Sleep apnea- breathing stops breathing while sleeping Somnambulism- a.ka. Sleepwalking Activation-synthesis hypothesis- proposed that dreams are the product of our awareness of neural activity due to sensory input while we sleep

Hypnosis An altered state of consciousness in which the hypnotized person is relaxed and open to suggestion Has some clinical applications: extraction of memories, posthypnotic suggestion to treat pain or stop a bad habit

Psychoactive Drug Overview Produce altered states of consciousness Include CNS Depressants, CNS Stimulants, Narcotics-substances derived from the opium plant hallucinogens-drugs that induce illusions and hallucinations Barbiturates are drugs that inhibit neural arousal centers