1. Chapter 5: Consciousness

2. Chapter Outline The Nature of Consciousness Sleep
Altered States of Consciousness

3. Learning Objectives
Understand how consciousness may provide us with survival advantages.
Understand how daily body rhythms regulate our activities.
Understand the distinct stages of sleep.
Understand how psychoactive drug use can lead to dependence.
Understand how depressants slow body functions and induce relaxation.

4. Definition of Consciousness
Consciousness is awareness of yourself and your environment.
Consciousness is:
Subjective
Selective
Divided
Continuous
Consists of many levels

5. Attention
Selective attention is focused awareness on a single stimulus to the exclusion of all others.
Our brains have the ability to separate different signals from each other.
Divided attention is split and simultaneously focused on different stimuli.
For example, getting dressed while listening to music

6. Continuous Consciousness
Consciousness is continuous and changing.
Daydreaming is a relatively passive state involving turning attention away from external stimuli to internal thoughts and imaginary situations.
Fantasy-prone personalities have regular, vivid fantasies, and they sometimes cannot separate fantasy from reality.

7. Levels of Consciousness
Mindfulness is a heightened state of awareness of the present moments.
Survival advantages:
Consciousness helps plan future activities
Consciousness helps make sense of emotions

8. Daily Body Rhythums Sleep-wake cycle
Circadian rhythms are internally generated behavioral and physiological changes that occur on a daily basis.
Suprachiasmatic nucleus located in the hypothalamus controls the timing of the sleep- wake cycle.
Melatonin is a hormone produced by pineal gland that induces sleep.

9. Stages of Sleep
Approximately every 90 to 100 minutes we cycle through distinct sleep stages.
Awake brain wave patterns:
Beta waves are associated with active and alert mind
Alpha waves are associated with relaxed wakefulness

10. NREM Sleep (Slide 1 of 2)
NREM sleep: non-rapid-eye-movement; brain activity slows
Stage 1 sleep is a transitional state between wakefulness and sleep.
Characterized by theta waves (smaller, more rapid and irregular)
Stage 2 sleep lasts about 20 minutes.
Characterized by sleep spindles (rapid, rhythmic waves)

11. NREM Sleep (Slide 2 of 2) Stage 3 sleep: deeper slow wave sleep
Characterized by delta waves (higher amplitude and slower frequency)
Stage 4 sleep: deep sleep
Characterized by delta waves becoming more pronounced

12. Figure 5-4: EEG Brain Wave Patterns

13. Why Do We Sleep? A body needs to sleep.
Restorative theory of sleep: Sleep allows the body to restore itself.
Adaptive theory of sleep: Sleeps prevents us from moving about and being injured during a time of day in which our bodies are not well adapted.

14. Dreaming
Dreams: a story-like sequence of vivid images experienced during sleep
People awakened from REM sleep often report dreams.
Lucid dreams: dreamer aware of dreaming and often able to change the plot of the dream
Manifest vs. latent content dreams

15. Dreams
Problem-solving theory: provides people with the opportunity to creatively solve everyday problems
Off-line dream theory: cognitive processes that consolidates and stores information gathered during the day and occurs during dreaming
Activation-synthesis theory: forebrain’s attempt to interpret random brain activity during dreaming

16. Hypnosis (Slide 1 of 2)
Hypnosis: state of altered attention and awareness in which a person is unusually responsive to suggestions
Has been practiced for thousands of years
Characteristics of hypnosis:
Enriched fantasy
Cognitive passivity
Hyper-selective attention
Reduced reality testing
Posthypnotic amnesia

17. Hypnosis (Slide 2 of 2) The common misconceptions of hypnosis:
Hypnotized people can be forced to violate their moral values.
Memory is more accurate.
People are stronger than normal.
It can act as a truth serum.
It can be age-regressed
Hypnotizability: degree to which a person can enter a hypnotic state
In western culture, children are the most hypnotizable.

18. Psychoactive Drugs
Chemicals that modify mental processes and behavior

19. Stimulants
Stimulants: class of drugs that speed up the nervous system and increase mental and physical activity
Cocaine
Amphetamines
Ecstasy
Methylphenidate
Stimulant-induced psychosis: schizophrenic-like symptoms that can occur following excessive or prolonged use of cocaine or amphetamines

20. Hallucinogens
Hallucinogens– Psychoactive drugs that distort perceptions and generate sensory images without any external stimulation
LSD
Marijuna

21. Factors in Drug Use Genetic predisposition toward drug use
Interpersonal factors
Cultural factors