Introduction to Psychology Consciousness

William James (1890): –Consciousness is a constantly moving stream of thoughts, feelings, and emotions Consciousness can be viewed as our subjective awareness of mental events Functions of consciousness: –Monitoring mental events –Control: consciousness allows us to formulate and reach goals Consciousness may have evolved to direct or control behavior in adaptive ways

Cortex and Consciousness The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is activated during conscious control tasks –Subjects asked to name the ink color in the Stroop task below have difficulty when the word name and color are different –This color-naming task was associated with activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

Attention Our conscious awareness is limited in capacity and we are aware of only a small amount of the stimuli around us at any one time Attention refers to the process by which we focus our awareness Three functions of attentional processes: –Orienting function toward the environment –Control of the content of consciousness I will think about this issue but not that one… –Maintaining alertness

Subliminal Perception Notion that brief exposure to sub-threshold stimuli can influence awareness Study: subjects are shown aggressive (A) or positive (B) stimuli –and then rate a neutral stimulus (C) –Subjects shown panel A first subsequently rated the boy in panel C more negatively (Figure adapted from Eagle, 1959)

Unconscious Cognitive Processes Information-processing view can be extended to analyses of unconscious processes Notion is that many brain mechanisms operate in parallel –Some of these mechanisms operate outside of the level of consciousness Functional significance of unconscious mechanisms: –Are efficient and rapid –Can operate simultaneously –Operate in the absence of consciousness?

Neurology of Consciousness Consciousness is distributed throughout the brain –Hindbrain and midbrain are important for arousal and for sleep –Damage to the reticular formation can lead to coma –Prefrontal cortex is key for conscious control of information processing

Function of Sleep Memory consolidation Energy conservation Preservation from predators Restoring bodily functions –Sleep deprivation can alter immune function and lead to early death –Sleep deprivation can also lead to hallucinations and perceptual disorder

EEG Stages of Sleep (Figure adapted from Cartwright, 1978)

REM Sleep Characteristics of REM sleep –Presence of rapid-eye-movements –Presence of dreaming –Increased autonomic nervous system activity –EEG resembles that of awake state (beta wave) –Motor paralysis (except for diaphragm)

Dreaming Psychoanalytic view: Dreams represent a window into the unconscious –The latent content (meaning) can be inferred from the manifest content (the actual dream) Cognitive view: Dreams are constructed from the daily issues of the dreamer Biological view: Dreams represent the attempt of the cortex to interpret the random neural firing of the brain during sleep

Dreaming Evolutionary view: on-line threat simulation and behavioral rehearsal system Virtual reality training center Problem solving Perspective.

Lucid Dreaming 1)Dream journaling – note dream signs 2)Reality testing 3)Relaxation techniques 4)Pre-sleep suggestions 5)Sleep in a different place or position

Lucid Dreaming Suggested Readings Garfield, P. (1974). Creative Dreaming. New York: Ballantine. LaBerge, S. (1985). Lucid Dreaming. Los Angeles: J. P. Tarcher. LaBerge, S. & Rheingold, H. (1990). Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming. New York: Ballantine. Zadra, A.L., Donderi, D.C. & Pihl, R.O. (1992) Efficacy of lucid dream induction for lucid and non-lucid dreamers. Dreaming, 2, Zadra, A.L., & Pihl, R.O. (1997). Lucid dreaming as a treatment for recurrent nightmares. Psychotherapy Psychosomatics, 66,

Meditation Focused Breathing Physiological responses Cognitive responses Attentional Focus Quieting the mind (self-talk) Alpha waves (EEG)

Hypnosis Hypnosis is a state of consciousness characterized by –Deep relaxation –Suggestibility Effects observed during hypnotic state: –Age regression –Change in pain perception –Ability to recall memories into consciousness Dissociation?

Altered States of Consciousness Changes in consciousness can be brought on by –Meditation –Hypnosis –Drug ingestion –Religious experiences