CONSCIOUSNESS
Functions of Consciousness
• Consciousness monitors
– self
– environment
• Consciousness regulates
– thought
– behavior
Consciousness
• The subjective awareness of mental events.
– Thoughts
– Feelings
– Perceptions
• States of consciousness
– Qualitatively different patterns of subjective experience
• Selective inattention
– Selectively diverting our attention away from
information that may upset us
Psychodynamic Unconscious
Freud’s model includes:
• Conscious mental processes
– Subjective awareness of stimuli, feelings, ideas (my
voice)
• Preconscious mental processes
– Not presently conscious but could be quickly brought
into consciousness (your first kiss with a non-relative)
• Unconscious mental processes
– Inaccessible to consciousness as they are too anxiety
provoking (sexual abuse when you were a young child)
Unconscious Motivation
• Our ability to be driven by motives of which we
are not consciously aware of
• Cognitive Unconscious
– Information-processing mechanisms that operate
outside of our awareness
• Procedural Knowledge
– Shift gears on a manual transmission in your car
• Implicit Memory
– How to get on a bicycle
Attention & Selection
• Attention
– Process of focusing consciousness awareness
• Selection
– Deciding where to focus
• External stimuli
• Internal motivation
Divided Attention
• Involves attempts to follow two sources of
stimuli at the same time
– Drive
– Talk on cell phone
Mindlessness
• “Attention not paid precisely to those
substantive elements that are relevant for
the successful resolution of the situation”
Ellen Langer
• Three types
– Categorical Thinking (Stereotyping)
– Act from a single perspective (Rigid adherence)
– Automatic behaviors or habits
Location of Consciousness
• Consciousness involves a network of
neurons distributed through out the brain
• Damage to hindbrain structures, especially
the RAS, can lead to total loss of
consciousness
Sleeping and Dreaming
• Sleep involves a lack of conscious
awareness
• We differ on the amount of sleep we need
– Average range is 6-8 hours per night
• Circadian Rhythms
– Biological cycle of sleep and waking
– Controlled by the hypothalamus
Sleep Deprivation & Disorders
• Sleep deprivation is considered a form of torture
• Negative impact on immune system
• Inability to stay alert
• Sleep Diseases include:
– Narcolepsy-Sleep attacks during conscious states
– Sleep Apnea-Brief periods of not breathing
– Night Terrors- Wake up with intense fear
Insomnia
• Insomnia involves the inability to sleep
• Impacts all of us at some point
• How to control for insomnia
– Avoid sleeping too much, especially during the day
– Do not try to force sleep
– Avoid bright lights or ticking clocks near bed
– Avoid physical exercise late at night
– Avoid caffeine & alcohol before going to bed
– Don’t eat a large meal before going to bed
Stages of Sleep
• Regular and predictable stages of sleep involving
brain waves measured with EEG monitors
• Two types of brain waves
– Beta Waves=High frequency & low amplitude
– Alpha Waves= Low frequency & higher amplitude
Stages of Sleep
• Stage I
– Brief (few minutes)
– Beta waves decrease and alpha waves emerge
• Stage II
– Sleep spindles and K-complexes show up
– Sleep deepens and alpha waves disappear
• Stage III
– Large slow rhythmic delta waves show up
• Stage 4
– When more than 50% of brain activity is delta waves
REM Sleep
• Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep also called
paradoxical stage of sleep
• Occurs when one re-ascends to Stage I sleep
• EEG resembles awake state and the eyes dart
round in a rapid manner for several minutes
• Dreaming takes place in REM sleep
REM and non-REM Sleep
• The sleep cycle repeats over the course of a
sleep cycle
• Stage I when dreaming = REM sleep
• Stages II, III, IV= Non REM sleep
Dreaming
• Psychodynamic View
– Based on unconscious motives
– Manifest Content
• What the person is actually dreaming
– Falling off a mountain
– Latent Content
• The meaning behind the manifest images
– Fear of failing an important examination
Dreaming
• Cognitive View
– Cognitive constructions that reflect concerns
we experience while awake
– A form of thought
• Biological View
– Biological phenomena with no meaning at all
– Random discharges of neurons
Altered States of Consciousness
• Meditation
– Deep state of tranquility
– Alter normal flow of conscious thought
– Focus on a mantra and block out other thoughts
• Hypnosis
– Deep relaxation and suggestibility
– We differ widely on hypnotic susceptibility
– You won’t do something under hypnosis that you
would not do in a normal conscious state
• Chicken Dance
• Hit someone
Drugs, Alcohol &
Consciousness
• Psychoactive Drugs
– Drugs that operate on the nervous system
– Cocaine, Ecstasy & LSD
• Alcohol
– Depressant
– Barbiturates
– Calming effect
Stimulants
• Stimulants
– Energize
– Increase heart rate and blood pressure
• Nicotine & Caffeine are common stimulants
• Cocaine & Amphetamines
– Hyper rush
– Very addictive
Stimulants
• Hallucinogens
– Alter interpretation of sensory information
– Produce bizarre perceptions
– Can do serious, and irreversible, damage to brain cells
• Marijuana
– Manipulates dopamine reward circuits in the brain
– Current product is much stronger than your parents
marijuana as a result of decades of product
enhancement
