The Nature of Consciousness By: Ally West, Megan Moneypenny, Khadar Mohamed, and Quinton Wyckoff

Nature of Consciousness Crucial part of human experience Our conscious awareness represents that private inner mind where we think, feel, plan, which, imagine, and quietly relive experiences. Early 20th century William James described the mind as a stream of consciousness. Stream of Consciousness- Term used by William James to describe the mind as a continuous flow of changing sensations, images thoughts and feelings.

Defining Consciousness Consciousness- An individual’s awareness of external events and internal sensations under a condition of arousal; including awareness of the self and thoughts of one’s experiences. Parts of consciousness are awareness, metacognition, and arousal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jReX7qKU2yc stop around 2:08

What is Metacognition? Metacognition- refers to the thinking about thinking When you think about your thoughts you are using your conscious awareness to examine your own thought processes. An example would be when you reflect why you are nervous for an exam.

What is arousal? Arousal- physiological state of being engaged with the environment An example of arousal is when a sleeping person is non conscious in the same way that he/she would be while awake; not aware of surroundings.

Consciousness and the Brain Two aspects of consciousness are associated with the brain awareness and arousal Awareness occurs in the global brain workplace that involves a variety of brain areas working in parallel. These areas include a prefrontal cortex, the anterior cingulate (an area associated with acts of will) This wide reaching brain workplace is an assembly of neurons that work together to produce the subjective sense of consciousness.

Levels of Awareness Description Examples Higher-Level consciousness involves controlled processing, in which individuals actively focus their efforts on attaining a goal doing math or science problem; preparing for a debate Lower-Level Consciousness Includes automatic processing that requires little attention, as well as daydreaming Punching in a number on a cell phone, gazing at a sunset Altered States of Consciousness Can be produced by drugs, trauma, fatigue, and sensory deprivation Feeling the effects of having taken alcohol or psychedelic drugs; Subconscious Awareness Can occur when people are awake, as well as when they are sleeping and dreaming Sleeping and dreaming No awareness Freud’s belief that some unconscious thoughts are too laden with anxiety and other negative emotions for consciousness to admit them Having unconscious thoughts; being knocked out by a blow or anesthetized

No Awareness Unconscious thought- Is a reservoir of unacceptable wishes, feelings, and thoughts that are beyond conscious awareness. Sigmund Freud’s (1917) interpretation view of the unconscious was basically a storehouse for vile thoughts. Freud believed that some aspects of our experience remain unconscious for good reasons like we are better off not knowing about them. From Freud’s perspective, the human mind is full of disturbing impulses.

Automatic Processes Automatic processes- States of consciousness that require little attention and do not interfere with other ongoing activities. Part of lower levels of consciousness and awareness. An example is a when you are talking to someone and they are texting and maybe eating lunch at the same time but does not seem aware of his/her phone.

Daydreaming An effect of low levels of consciousness and awareness Happens when we are doing something that does not require our full attention. In between active consciousness and dreaming when we are asleep.

Waking Subconscious Awareness When we are awake processes are just below awareness. An example is when you are trying to solve a problem and the solution pops into your head. This happens when the subconscious connections are strong enough to bring ideas into awareness. This is called incubation.

Subconscious Awareness During Sleep and Dreams Researchers found that when people are asleep they remain partly aware of external stimuli. When people sleep and dream their level of awareness is lower when they daydream. When people hear sounds during sleep their auditory processing areas of the brain are activated. When people are sleeping and they hear their name their language areas (the amygdala and prefrontal cortex) are activated.

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