Chapter 8: Consciousness Slides prepared by Randall E. Osborne, Texas State University-San Marcos, adapted by Dr Mark Forshaw, Staffordshire University, UK 1

Conscious and Unconscious: The Mind’s Eye, Open and Closed 2

Conscious and Unconscious Consciousness Not just ‘being awake’ but maybe ‘being aware’ Cartesian theatre ‘Mind’s eye’ or a ‘mental screen’ Phenomenology The study of how things seem and are experienced Problem of other minds You can’t get inside someone else’s mind 3

Mind/Body Problem Examines how mind related to brain and body Descartes Research suggests brain activity precedes activities of conscious mind 4

Nature of Consciousness Four basic properties: intentionality unity selectivity dichotic listening cocktail party phenomenon transience Necker cube 5

Levels of Consciousness Minimal consciousness Sensory awareness Full consciousness You know and can report your mental state Self-consciousness mirror image You recognise a ‘self’ that is you and refer to ‘I’ 6

Contents of Consciousness What’s on your mind? Think aloud Experience sampling technique 7

Contents of Consciousness 8

Contents of Consciousness Mental control Ironic processes of mental control Thought suppression Rebound effect of thought suppression Dynamic unconscious Repression 9

The Unconscious Mind Many mental processes are unconscious Freudian unconscious dynamic unconscious repression “Freudian” slips 10

Cognitive Unconscious Subliminal perception Passing exposure (like priming) 11

Attention Selective attention Early versus late selection: do you select early in the process, or later on? Information bottleneck Early filter model Attenuation model Response selection model Load model 12

Disorders of Attention Unilateral visual neglect Missing objects from the opposite visual field from the lesion Balint’s syndrome Cannot shift attention to new locations Blindsight Helen the monkey 13

Sleep and Dreaming: Good Night, Mind 14

Sleep and Dreaming Hypnagogic state Hypnic jerk Sleep cycle EEG EOG REM increases throughout night 15

Sleep Sleep needs and deprivation How much sleep do people need? Why do we need sleep? NREM and REM sleep may give us hints 16

Sleep Disorders Insomnia Sleep apnea Somnambulism Narcolepsy people overestimate their insomnia Sleep apnea Somnambulism more common in children tends to happen early in night (usually in slow wave sleep) Narcolepsy Sleep paralysis Night terrors (happen most in NREM sleep) 17

Dreams Dream consciousness Nightmares Intense emotion Illogical thought Full sensation Uncritical acceptance Difficulty remembering on wakening Nightmares average undergrad has 24 nightmares per year 18

Dream Theories Freud’s theory — dream work manifest content latent content Wegner, Wenzlaff, & Kozak (2004) dream suppression study Activation-synthesis model dreams produced when mind tries to make sense of neural activity during sleep 19

Drugs and Consciousness: Artificial Inspiration 20

Drugs and Consciousness Psychoactive drugs Influence brain chemistry and alter consciousness Drug use and abuse Hallucinogens Alter sensation and perception Cannabis Affects co-ordination, addiction potential low 21

Hypnosis: Open to Suggestion 22

Hypnosis Induction Susceptibility Hypnotic effects Mesmer—“animal magentism” Susceptibility Hypnotic effects hypnotized versus those told to fake it 23

Hypnosis Posthypnotic amnesia Hypnotic analgesia Brain activity during hypnosis right anterior cingulate cortex 24

Meditation and Religious Experiences: Higher Consciousness 25

Meditation and Religious Experiences alpha waves low levels of activation on posterior superior parietal lobe Ecstatic religious experiences 40% of Americans report at least one such experience right anterior temporal lobe 26