Psychology: Brain, Mind, and Culture, 2e by Drew Westen Paul J. Wellman Texas A&M University John Wiley and Sons, Inc. PowerPoint  Presentation: Chapter 9 Consciousness

Lecture Outline n Consciousness n Perspectives on Consciousness  Psychodynamic  Cognitive n Sleep and Dreaming n Altered States of Consciousness  Hypnosis  Drug-Induced state of consciousness © 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Consciousness n William James (1890):  Consciousness is a constantly moving stream of thoughts, feelings, and emotions n Consciousness can be viewed as our subjective awareness of mental events n Functions of consciousness:  Monitoring mental events  Control: consciousness allows us to formulate and reach goals © 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Attention n 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 n Attention refers to the process by which we focus our awareness n Three functions of attentional processes:  Orienting function  Control of the content of consciousness  Maintaining alertness © 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Sampling Day-Dreams in High School Students (Figure adapted from Csikszentmihalyi & Larson, 1984, p. 117)

Psychodynamic View of Consciousness n Freud argued for three mental systems within consciousness  Conscious: mental events that you are aware of  Preconscious: Mental events that can be brought into awareness  Unconscious: Mental events that are inaccessible to awareness; are actively kept out of awareness © 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Subliminal Perception n Notion that brief exposure to sub-threshold stimuli can influence awareness n Study: subjects are shown aggressive (A) or positive (B) stimuli  and then rate a neutral stimulus (C)  Subjects shown panel A rated the boy in panel C more negatively © 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc. (Figure adapted from Eagle, 1959)

Unconscious Cognitive Processes n 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 consciousness  Functional significance of unconscious mechanisms: Are efficient and rapid Can operate simultaneously © 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Sleep and Dreaming © 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc. n Behavioral characteristics of sleep  Minimal movement  Stereotyped posture  Require a high degree of stimulation to arouse organism n Physiological characteristics of sleep  EEG  EMG: paralysis of muscle  Cardiovascular changes

Species Variation in Sleep © 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Function of Sleep n Memory consolidation n Energy conservation n Preservation from predators n Restoring bodily functions  Sleep deprivation can alter immune function and lead to early death  Sleep deprivation can also lead to hallucinations and perceptual disorder © 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Mortality Rates and Sleep © 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc. (Figure adapted from Kripke et al., 1979)

EEG Stages of Sleep © 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc. (Figure adapted from Cartwright, 1978)

REM Sleep n 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) © 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Dreaming n Psychoanalytic view: Dreams represent a window into the unconscious  The latent content (meaning) can be inferred from the manifest content (the actual dream) n Cognitive view: Dreams are constructed from the daily issues of the dreamer n Biological view: Dreams represent the attempt of the cortex to interpret the random neural firing of the brain during sleep © 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Sleep Disorders n Insomnia: the inability to achieve or maintain sleep  Many causes for insomnia Stress Depression Sleeping pills  Some suggestions for treating insomnia Only use your bed for sleeping Avoid physical activity prior to sleep Avoid consumption of caffeine and alcohol before bed Keep a regular sleep schedule © 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Other Sleep Disorders n Nightmares: refer to vivid fear-evoking dreams  Occur during REM sleep n Night Terrors: are episodes of intense panic  Occur during delta sleep (early in night) n Sleep apnea: refers to awakening brought on by cessation of breathing during sleep n Narcolepsy: falling asleep during the day © 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Altered States of Consciousness n Changes in consciousness can be brought on by  Meditation  Hypnosis  Drug ingestion  Religious experience © 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Hypnosis n Hypnosis is a state of consciousness characterized by  Deep relaxation  Suggestibility n Effects observed during hypnotic state:  Age regression  Change in pain perception  Ability to recall memories into consciousness © 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Changes in Pain Perception during Hypnosis n Hilgard’s demonstration of the “Hidden Observer”  Subjective pain report depends on the aspect of consciousness that is reporting on pain © 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc. (Figure adapted from Cartwright, 1978)

Drug-Induced States of Consciousness n Drug effects on consciousness depend on:  Biological activity of the drug  Expectations of drug effect n Drug classes  Depressants (including alcohol)  Stimulants (amphetamine, cocaine)  Hallucinogens (LSD)  Marijuana © 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Copyright Copyright 1999 by John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY. All rights reserved. No part of the material protected by this copyright may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission of the copyright owner. © 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.