1. Psychology Ch. 4 States of Consciousness Notes & Text Summary

2. Introduction:
Research:
1950’s: Advances in technology made it easier to study various aspects of consciousness.
1960’s:
- Psychedelic and mind altering drugs
- Eastern Religions- mystical aspects of faith
- Computer “Electric Brain”
Today?
- Studies with brain injured patients- amnesia and unconscious memory
- Learning- ability to learn unconsciously (sleeping)
- Experiments by neurophysiologists (EEG, CAT or PET scans)

3. Consciousness:
Def.- our awareness of various cognitive processes, such as sleeping, dreaming, concentration and making decisions.

4. Waking Consciousness:
Def.- mental state that encompasses the thoughts, feelings and perceptions that occur when we are awake and reasonably alert.
Processes:
Sensation & Perception
Learning
Memory
Thinking
Problem Solving
Decision Making
Intelligence
Creativity

5. Altered States of Consciousness:
Def.- mental state that differs noticeably from normal waking consciousness.
Processes:
Daydreaming
Sleep
Dreaming
- Hypnosis
Meditation
Under Medication

6. What is Waking Consciousness?
List some external stimuli:
List some internal stimuli:
List everything (all stimuli) you are exposed to this right now:
Why can’t we pay attention to everything at once?

7. “Its meaning we know so long as no one
Conscious Experience
“Its meaning we know so long as no one
asks us to define it.”
-William James
Our brain continues to process information outside
our immediate awareness and will shift our
attention to things that may be especially important.
Examples:
1. Breathing, blood pressure, blinking, swallowing, etc.
2. Sign your name
3. Conversation in a crowd “Cocktail Party Effect”
4. Driving

8. Explaining Waking Consciousness
Our waking consciousness seems to have a natural tendency to roam; concentrating on a single task for an extended period requires effort.
Explaining Waking Consciousness
Summarize William James’s theory of the “Stream of Consciousness”:
“a kaleidoscope that transforms internal and external information into a coherent and continuous stream of thought.”
What is the hypothesized relationship between the cerebral cortex, the thalamus and a “moment of consciousness”?

9. What is Sigmund Freud’s theory of Consciousness?
Sketch-
The driving force behind
human actions is sexual
and aggressive instincts
which are hidden from
the waking conscious.

10. What do Cognitive Psychologists think of Consciousness?
Consciousness is subjective or a first person element of information processing.
Our sense of “self” is a process and the conscious provides input in times of challenge or need.

11. Daydreaming & Fantasy
Daydreaming:
Def.- Apparently effortless shifts in attention away from the here-and-now
into a private world of make believe.

12. The urge to daydream seems to come in waves, surging about every 90 minutes and peaking between noon and 2:00 PM.
On the average: People spend almost half of their life daydreaming- this varies from person to person and situation to situation.