Chapter 7 States of Consciousness

Psychology and Consciousness zIn the beginning, psychology was the description and explanation of states of consciousness yToo hard to observe zLater, psychology changed to study of behavior zAdvances in science brought consciousness back into psychology zWe can look at brain activity in various states zCan be altered by hypnosis and dreams

Consciousness  Consciousness  our awareness of ourselves and our environments  Variations in consciousness enable us to plan and reflect  Awareness

Conscious Awareness and the Unconscious zEnables us to exert voluntary control and to communicate our mental states to others zTip of information processing zWe process a great deal of information beyond our awareness zUnconscious information processing occurs at the same time

Lag Time zConsciousness is known to lag behind the brain events that evoke it yWe experience a musical chord after all the notes are present zConsciousness arrives late to the decision- making party! zIf you move your wrist you will be aware of it.2 seconds before you do it, BUT your brain is.35 seconds ahead of your conscious perception of the decision

Conscious Processing zConscious processing takes place in a sequence zRelatively slow zLimited capacity zSkilled at solving novel problems zRunning on auto pilot allows consciousness to monitor the whole system and deal with new issues zNew/novel tasks require conscious attention

Testing! Testing! Testing! zMove the foot of your dominant hand in a counter-clockwise circle in front of you zAt the same time write the number 3 over and over zCan you do it? zProbably not. Both tasks require conscious attention, which can only be one place at a time zNatural protection to keep us from doing too much

Hypnosis zA social interaction in which one person suggest to another that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, and behaviors will occur zMake people do, say, believe things that they would not otherwise zHas been around forever zIs it an altered state of consciousness?

Fact or Fiction? zPower is not in the hypnosis but the subject’s openness to suggestion zNo magical mind control zEveryone is suggestible, to some degree yEveryone stand up yStanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale Test zSome are highly hypnotizable, others are not zAnyone who can turn attention inward and imagine is hypnotizable – that is what hypnosis is

Fact or Fiction Continued zCan hypnosis be used to remember forgotten events? ySuppressed memories? yMost people believe that our experiences are all “in there” xNOT true (chapter 9!) yResearch says no! yTend to combine fact with fiction yHypnotist can plant ideas, i.e. do you hear loud noises yCourts are banning testimony hypnotic testimony

Fact v Fiction Continued zCan hypnosis force people to act against their will? yPerform dangerous acts? yAuthoritative person has the power yCan “make” people do things they would not otherwise do – hypnotized or not yStudies have been done that show hypnotized and non-hypnotized will do the same things

Fact v Fiction Continued (yes again) zCan hypnosis be therapeutic? yUsed as a treatment for many disorders yGoal is to have patients harness their own healing powers yPosthypnotic suggestions have been know to “result” in some amazing things – but it is power of suggestion and how that works on an individual

Fact v Fiction…yep, more! zCan hypnosis help alleviate pain? yYes! How? yDissociation: split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts to occur at the same time as others xSensation of pain separate from emotional perception of pain ySelective attention: Focused on one things, so we don’t notice the pain xAthlete does not notice pain of injury until after game Bottom line – it is not that pain does not happen – it is that we don’t pay attention to stimuli

So…About that Altered State zKnowing that pain stimuli can be not recognized, does that mean that hypnosis is an altered mental state? zAttention guides perceptions zPeople don’t fake hypnosis they just get caught up in it – just like an actor can get caught up in a role zSocial influence theory contends that it is a social behavior and that hypnotic subjects are caught up in the role playing

Divided Consciousness? zThe other theory is divided consciousness zThere are behaviors that are unique to hypnosis yDistinctive brain activity yHilgard yVivid form over every day mind splits (doing one thing our of routine while thinking about something else – thinking while reading a book) yWe do process information without conscious awareness

Explaining Hypnosis

End Day 1 zHomework: yResearch at home. Use these notes. Use your book. Answer the following question: xExplain apparent hypnotic states. Are they a social phenomena or divided consciousness? Defend/explain your conclusion. (2 paragraphs)