Psychology – 8th Edition (David Myers)

Chapter 7 – States of Consciousness

Consciousness and Information Processing

Consciousness – our awareness of ourselves and our environment

Beneath the surface, our brain processes unconscious information on parallel tracks (simultaneously)…

o Ex: we see a bird flying and are consciously aware of our thought processing – “It’s a

hummingbird!” – but not consciously aware of our subconscious processing of the bird’s color,

form, movement, distance, and identity.

Theories on consciousness…

o Consciousness is the result of brain activity among interconnected brain areas that crosses a

threshold of intensity

o Consciousness emerges from the interaction of individual brain events

o Consciousness lags behind the brain activities that produce it

Info processing for conscious mind – relatively slow, sequenced/serial, limited capacity at one time, but

is skilled at problem solving

Info processing for unconscious mind – fast, multiple/parallel tracks simultaneously

Sleep and Dreams

Biological rhythms – periodic physiological fluctuations – controlled by your “biological clock”

Annual cycles – hibernation, migration, humans - seasonal variations in appetite/moods (seasonal

affective disorder)

28-day cycles – menstrual cycle in females

24-hour cycles – varying alertness, body temperature, growth hormone secretion

90-minute cycles – various stages of sleep in 90 minute cycles

The Rhythm of Sleep

Circadian rhythm – the biological clock; regular bodily rhythms that occur in a 24-hour period

Light, processed by the retina, signals to the brain to be alert by the production of melatonin in the

pineal gland (more melatonin in the evening, and less in the morning/day) – you can buy melatonin OTC

to aid with sleep.

Biological clocks can be reset or disrupted by adjusting your sleeping schedule (jetlag, sleeping in too

late, etc)

Artificial light delays sleep 25-hour circadian rhythm

Sleep Stages

Sleep – periodic, natural, reversible loss of consciousness

5 distinct sleep stages – 90 minutes

Awake/relaxed Alpha waves

Stage 1 slowed breathing, irregular brain waves (typical of unremembered moments)

may experience hallucinations – sensory experiences that occur without sensory

stimuli – feeling of free falling to be awoken by a jerk

Stage 2 20 minutes

Periodic appearance of sleep spindles (bursts of rapid, rhythmic brain wave activity)

Stage 3 Several minutes

Begin to produce large delta waves – the large, slow brain waves associated with deep

sleep

Hard to awaken

Stage 4 Combined with stage 3 to last about 30 minutes

Delta waves – deep sleep

Hard to awaken

At the end, sleepwalking or wetting the bed may occur

Sleep-talking can occur in any stage

REM sleep REM sleep – rapid eye movement sleep, a recurring sleep stage during which vivid

dreams commonly occur (also known as paradoxical sleep because the muscles are

relaxed but other body systems are active.)

Occurs about an hour into sleep cycles

Return through stages 3 and 2 from stage 4

10 minutes of sharp, short brain waves – look like waves of stage 1

Heart rate rises, breathing quickens and becomes irregular, eyes dart around behind the

lids

Genitals aroused, except during very scary dreams

Motor cortex is active, but blocks movement messages – essentially paralyzed –

paradoxical sleep

Hard to awaken

Gets longer throughout the night (accounts for 20-25% of a night’s sleep)

Hallucinatory dreams – vivid, story-like

No snoring

While in deep sleep, your brain can still process some stimuli

o You can move in bed, but not fall out

o You will not roll over an infant (unless intoxicated)

o Occasional sounds (cars, tv, etc) will not awaken you, but sounds from a crib might

o The sound of your name will alert you

Everyone dreams, however everyone does not remember their dreams

o 600 hrs/yr dreaming

o 1500 dreams/year

o 100,000 dreams/lifetime

Why Do We Sleep?

Not everyone needs 8 hours of sleep

o Newborns spend 2/3 of the day asleep

o Adults spend no more than 1/3 of the day asleep

Smaller sleep differences can be genetic

Sleep differences can also be cultural

o Industrialized nations sleep less – light bulb, shift work, social diversions

Most adults, if unhindered, would sleep 9 hrs/night = no grogginess

Deprived of sleep – tired, irritable, etc

Sleep Deprivation

Sleep can…

o Strengthen memory

o Improve concentration

o Boost mood

o Moderate hunger and obesity

o Strengthen the immune system

Teenagers need about 9 hours of sleep a night, but usually get around 7… sleepiness in class

Sleep deprivation can increase depression, the likelihood of accidents, and irritability, while decreasing

mood, alertness and concentration

Sleep Theories

Several theories…

o Sleep protects us (evolutionary theory) – our ancestors were better off in a cave to rest and be out

of harm’ rather than try to hunt or navigate treacherous conditions in the dark

o Sleep helps us recuperate – restores and repairs brain tissue; weakens unused connections

between neurons

o Sleep helps us remember – restores and rebuilds our fading memories of the day’s experiences;

helps with creative thinking/problem solving by allowing us to “sleep on it” (incubation)

o Sleep helps us grow – during sleep, the pituitary gland releases growth hormone (sleep often

when young and less when older – lessened amount of growth hormone as we age)

Sleep Disorders

Insomnia – recurring problems in falling or staying asleep

o Common quick fixes – alcohol and pills

Alcohol is not helpful because it can lessen REM sleep leaving the person feeling tired

the next day

Pills can cause addictions which lead to higher doses and the inability to fall asleep

without them.

o Better trustworthy fixes

Relax before sleeping in dim light (no tv or cell phones or computers)

Avoid caffeine

Have a regular sleep schedule

Avoid naps

Exercise regularly but not in the evening

Reassure yourself that a little loss of sleep is not a huge deal.

Hide the clock to avoid being stressed out by the time if you cannot sleep

Aim for less sleep to make yourself tired

Narcolepsy – uncontrollable sleep attacks; falling directly into REM sleep at inappropriate times

o Lasts only about 5 minutes

o 1 in 2,000 people

o Brain disease – underproduction of neurotransmitters that help alertness

o Can be treated with medication that stimulates alertness

Sleep apnea – temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings

o Mostly overweight men, high blood pressure

o Causes irritability due to being awaken up hundreds of times in the night - less deep sleep

o 1 in 20 people

o Can cause snoring

o Suffers may not be aware they have sleep apnea

o Can be treated with weight loss or wearing a metal mask attached to a machine that pumps air

into the lungs keeping the airway open

Night terrors – high arousal and an appearance of being terrified; more severe than nightmares

o Occur during the first few hours of sleep in stage 4, not REM when nightmares occur

o Seldom remembered

o Targets mostly children

Sleepwalking (somnambulism) and sleep talking

o Occur in stage 4 sleep

o Mostly children

o Genetic

o As we grow older, stage 4 sleep decreases as do sleepwalking and nightmares

Dreams

Occur in REM sleep

Dream – a sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person’s mind;

notable for hallucinatory imagery, discontinuities, and incongruities, and for the dreamer’s delusional

acceptance of the content and later difficulties remembering it.

o Hallucinations of the sleeping mind

o Tend to involve familiar details from our lives (people, events mundane activities)

Lucid dreaming –aware of dreaming while having a dream; testing the dream to see if it is a dream

(trying to float in mid-air and succeeding I’m in a dream right now)

Most dreams report negative emotions (rejection, sadness, fear, failure, being attacked, chased, etc)

If woken in REM sleep, you can report your dream more vividly than other times.

sensory input may also be present – the sound of a nearby tv, an odor, telephone ringing

things that happen in the 5 minutes before slipping into sleep are typically not remembered

Why Do We Dream?

Regardless of the theory (listed/explained below) all sleep scientists agree that the body needs REM

sleep.

o If woken several times in REM sleep, you will fall back into REM sleep quicker than before

(REM rebound)

To satisfy our own wishes - Sigmund Freud claimed that the content of dreams represented our

unconscious wishes

o Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams (1900) – dreams fulfill wishes as a psychic safety valve that

discharges otherwise unacceptable feelings.

Manifest content – the remembered story line of a dream; sometimes involves the

previous days’ experiences and events

Freud - Is a censored or symbolic version of the latent content

Latent content – the underlying meaning of a dream

Freud - consists of unconscious drives and wishes that would be threatening if

expressed directly (often sexual desires, but not represented sexually in the

manifest representation)

o Freud considered dreams to be the key to understanding our inner conflicts.

o Scientists dismiss Freud’s theories

No scientific evidence to support the claim that the manifest content represents any kind

of hidden latent content

Even if dreams have latent meanings, everyone can interpret these differently

To file away memories – dreams allow for information processing to help sift, file, store, or discard

information

o People deprived of REM sleep (when dreams occur) do poorly on memory tests and other tasks

than those who experience REM sleep and dreams

o Students who get more REM sleep do better in school compared to those without as much sleep

and REM sleep don’t cram for tests, the brain needs time to process the information with

sleep/dreams

To develop and preserve neural pathways – psychological function of dreams to help stimulate neural

pathways that are needed and weaken those are not needed

o Babies spend a good deal of time in REM sleep, possibly to help build neural

pathways/networks/connections

To make sense of neural static – activation-synthesis theory of dreams proposes that dreams result from

the brain trying to make sense of random neural firings while sleeping

o Firings in the occipital lobe can cause visions without sensory input

o Firings in the limbic system can produce emotions

o Firings in the frontal lobe can inhibit actions causing us to act inhibited in our dreams.

To reflect cognitive development – dreams reflect maturation and cognitive development (their

knowledge and understanding)

Hypnosis

Hypnosis – a social interaction in which one person (the hypnotist) suggests to another (the subject) that

certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur

Popularized by Anton Mesmer (1734-1815) who would pass magnets over ailing peoples’ bodies, some

of whom would fall into a trancelike (“mesmerized”) state, then awaken feeling better and improved

discredited by a commission led by Benjamin Franklin when found to have no actually curing powers

SNL Hypnotist skit - http://www.hulu.com/#!watch/404165

During hypnosis, the hypnotist gives a brief introduction and then presents a series of suggested

experiences that range from easy to difficult.

Facts and Falsehoods

The power of hypnosis lies not in the hypnotist, but in the subject’s openness to suggestion

Can anyone experience hypnosis?

To some extent, nearly everyone is suggestible.

o Ex: if told to stand with your eyes closed and sway, you will probably sway a little.

20% of people are highly suggestible – typically become engrossed in movies, novels, stories; have rich

fantasy lives

Anyone can be hypnotized to some degree if led to expect the results and believe in the power of the

suggestions

Can Hypnosis Enhance Recall of Forgotten Events?

No – repressed memories uncovered in hypnosis are highly susceptible to be obtained with leading

questions or suggestions from the hypnotist

People who report recalling past memories and events (especially UFO abductions) are found to be

highly suggestible people, often undergoing hypnosis before

Can Hypnosis Force People to Act Against Their Will?

1965 study found that hypnosis could induce people to commit dangerous/involuntary acts, however it

depends on the suggestibility of the hypnotized and also their conformity to orders from people in

authority positions

Can Hypnosis Be Therapeutic?

Post hypnotic suggestions – a suggestion made during a hypnosis session, to be carried out after the

subject is no longer hypnotized; used by some clinicians to help control undesired symptoms and

behaviors.

o Has helped alleviate headaches, asthma, skin related disorders

o Found unhelpful for helping those with drug, alcohol, or smoking addictions.

Can Hypnosis Alleviate Pain?

Yes – hypnosis can relieve fear which can be linked to stress and pain (dentists); hypnotized patients in

surgical experiments were found to require less medication, recover sooner, and leave the hospital

earlier inhibition of pain-related brain activity.

Theory 1: Dissociation – a split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur

simultaneously with others.

o Hypnosis can dissociate the sensation of the pain stimulus from the emotional suffering that

defines the pain experience.

Theory 2: The alleviation of pain can come from selective attention – not focusing on the painful

stimulus (like distraction)

Hypnosis does not block sensory input, but it may block our attention to and perception of the stimuli

does hypnosis relieve pain by dissociating the pain sensation from conscious awareness OR does

hypnosis relieve pain by distracting our attention on to other things or away from certain things?

Is Hypnosis an Altered State of Consciousness?

Hypnosis as a Social Phenomenon Social Influence Theory

o Power of social influence

o Attention guiding perception (ex: distracted attention from pain, not hypnosis, changes the

perception of pain)

o Imaginative actors getting caught up in playing the good hypnotism patient

Hypnosis as Divided Consciousness Divided Consciousness Theory

o Special state of divided alertness/consciousness

Hypnosis could be explained by both theories

Hypnosis as a Biopsychosocial Phenomenon

Biological Psychological Social-Cultural

Distinctive brain activity

Unconscious information

processing

Focused attention (selective

attention)

Expectations

Heightened suggestibility

Dissociation between

normal sensations and

conscious awareness

Presence of an authoritative

figure in legitimate context

Role-playing “good

subject”

Drugs and Consciousness

Psychoactive drugs – a chemical substance that alters perceptions and mood

Dependence and Addiction

Tolerance – the diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug requiring the user to take

larger and larger doses before experiencing the drug’s effect.

Neuroadaption – the brain adapts its chemistry to offset the drug

Withdrawal – the discomfort and distress that follows discontinuing the use of an addictive drug (aches,

nausea, distress)

o Physical dependence – a physiological need for a drug, marked by unpleasant withdrawal

symptoms when the drug is discontinued

o Psychological dependence – a psychological need to use a drug, such as to relieve negative

emotions

Misconceptions About Addiction

Addiction – compulsive drug craving and use

Addictive drugs do not lead every user to quick and chronic addiction.

o 10% of people using a psychoactive drug develop addiction

o People typically do not become addicted to medical drugs with psychoactive properties

Addictions can be overcome individually or alone, or with the help of groups/therapy.

o it depends on the individual and their needs

There is debate on whether the addiction-as-disease model can be extended past drug/substance

addictions and be applied to all rewarding/repetitive actions.

o Can we call “gambling addictions” fed by embezzling a disease? What about extensive credit

card debt due to “shopping addiction?”

Psychoactive Drugs

Depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens

Work at the brain’s synapses by stimulating, inhibiting, or mimicking neurotransmitters

Effects also influenced by expectations

Depressants

Depressants – drugs that reduce neural activity and slow body functions (slow the activity in the CNS)

o Alcohol, barbiturates, opiates

Alcohol

o Increases harmful tendencies (aggressive, sexually aggressive)

o Increases helpful tendencies (leaving large tips for waiters, becoming more chatty and pleasant)

o The urges you would feel if you were sober are the ones you will more likely act upon if

intoxicated.

o Slow reaction time, slurred speech, decreased skills, lower inhibitions

o More alcohol higher blood alcohol content/level (BAC/BAL)

o Large amounts of alcohol blackouts in memory because alcohol suppresses REM sleep when

your day’s events become memories

o Alcohol works biologically, but also is affected by expectations of drunkenness

Barbiturates

o Barbiturate – (tranquillizers) suppress the CNS, reduce anxiety, impair memory and judgment

o Can be used as anti-anxiety drugs or sleep aids

o Often consumed during suicides

Opiates

o Opiates – opium and its derivatives, such as morphine and heroin; lessen pain and anxiety

o Can cause the brain to stop producing endorphins (natural opiates)

Stimulants

Stimulants – drugs that easily excite neural activity and speed up body functions

o Amphetamines – drugs that stimulate neural activity causing speeded up body functions and

associated energy and mood changes.

Caffeine, nicotine, cocaine

o Methamphetamine – a powerfully addictive drug that stimulates the CNS with speeded up body

functions and associated energy and mood changes; reduces baseline dopamine levels

permanent dopamine deficiency

o Increase heart rate, decrease appetite (blood sugar increases), energy/self-confidence rises

o Addictive, followed by a “crash” (fatigue, irritability, depression)

o Cocaine Sniffed (“snorted”) or injected/smoked (“free-based”)

Quick euphoria. Followed by deep crash

Crack is a more potent form of cocaine (higher high, lower low)

Emotional disturbance, suspiciousness/paranoia, convulsions, cardiac arrest, respiratory

failure, aggression

Highly addictive (studies show monkeys, rats, and cats that are addicted will push buttons

thousands of times to receive cocaine or will sustain shocks to receive the drug)

Its effects are also linked to expectations placebo cocaine and same results

o Ecstasy – MDMA, stimulant and hallucinogen; produces euphoria and social intimacy, with

risks to serotonin-producing neurons, and risks to mood and cognition

Triggers the release of dopamine and serotonin, but blocks the reabsorption of serotonin

A few hours of social connectedness and intimacy

Dehydration, overheating, increased blood pressure, death; damage to serotonin

producing neurons permanently reduced mood

Hallucinogens

Hallucinogens – psychedelic drugs, such as LSD, that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in

the absence of sensory input

o LSD – a powerful hallucinogenic drug; also known as acid

o Effects depend on expectations – pleasure or panic

Marijuana

o Leaves and flowers of the hemp plant

o THC – major active ingredient in marijuana, triggers a variety of effects including mild

hallucinations

o Smoked or eaten

o Relaxes, lowers inhibitions, may produce a euphoric high; amplifies sensitivity to color, sound,

taste, and smell

o Effects depend on the users expectations

o Can be therapeutic in relieving pain

o Disrupts memory, impairs motor coordination and reaction time

o Brain has special cannabinoid receptors that prove the brain naturally produces a THC pain

relieving substance.

o Byproducts of THC can linger in the body for months

Influences on Drug Use

Drug use increased in the 1970s (in the US) and has fluctuated since

Drug Use

Biological Psychological Social Cultural

Genetic tendencies

(alcoholism)

Dopamine reward circuit –

drug use activates the

reward circuit triggering the

production of dopamine

signaling reward/pleasure…

increased drug use =

tolerance = more drugs to

feel effect cycle

Lacking sense of purpose or

direction

Significant stress and urge

to avoid

Psychological disorders,

such as depression

Cultural ethnic group

Belonging to a drug using

culture group

Peer pressure/influence

Possible channels for drug prevention for young people…

Education about drugs’ negative effects

Efforts to boost self esteem and purpose in life

Attempts to modify peer associations, or inoculate youth against peer pressure

Near Death Experiences – an altered state of consciousness reported after a close brush with death; often

similar to drug-induced hallucinations

Replay of memories

Out-of-body sensations

Vivid visions of tunnels and bright lights

1/3 of people who have had a brush with death report having a near-death experience

Can the mind exist apart from the body?

o Dualism – the presumption that the mind and body are two distinct entities that interact.

o Monism – the presumption that mind and body are different aspects of the same thing.