ch 4 conciousnes

A person’s awareness of everything that is going
on around them at any given moment

State in which thoughts, feelings, and sensations are
clear and organized and the person feels alert

State in which there is a shift in the quality or
pattern of mental activity as compared to waking
consciousness

focused attention

some awareness, but minimal attention require

a cycle of bodily
rhythm that occurs over a 24-hour period

feeling of tiredness

numerous health problems

Animals and humans evolved sleep patterns
to avoid predators
-when we sleep

Sleep is necessary to the physical health of
the body and serves to replenish chemicals
and repair cellular damage
-why we sleep

Theta waves
– Hypnagogic imagery
– Myoclonic jerks

Alpha & Beta waves

– Sleep spindles and K-complexes
– As much as 65 percent of total sleep

– Delta waves
– Crucial to feel rested; suppressed by alcohol
– 40 percent of sleep in children; 25 percent in
adults

– Brain activity similar to wakefulness
– Becomes longer as the night goes on

– Stage of sleep in which the eyes move rapidly
under the eyelids
– Dreaming

All the other stages of sleep

4-6 cycles per night
– 90 to 110 min. each

Newborns—16 hours
– Adolescent and College students—9 hours
– Most people—7–10 hours (though many adults
get about 6)

• Rare (most common in children)
• Extreme fear and screaming
• Person doesn’t fully wake-up
• N3 (deep sleep, not REM)

– Mechanism that blocks the movement of the
voluntary muscles fails, allowing the person to thrash
around and even get up and act out nightmares
– Acting out dreams

– 20% of population

– Problems falling asleep, staying asleep, getting
quality sleep

– Multiple bursts of not breathing

– Sleep “Seizure”
– Sudden slip into REM sleep

6 years

– Freud
– Dreams preserve our sanity by allowing us to
gratify forbidden or unrealistic wishes

– Dreaming is an unimportant by-product of
RANDOM stimulation of brain cells
– Cerebral cortex tries to make sense of this
random stimulation
• Results in a fragmented story

Dreams help us sift through memories of our
everyday experiences and thoughts
• Like thinking during sleep.
– Mental housecleaning

realistic perceptual
experiences in the absence of external
stimuli

the sense that
our consciousness has left our body.

Differ cross culturally, in response to
expectations about the afterlife

involve a sense of
unity or oneness with the world
-Can be induced via fasting or
hallucinogenic drugs
-like sitting out under
the stars on a really
dark night

– A trance-like state
– Great concentration
– High suggestibility
– Reduced response to outside stimuli
-Widely used to help treat pain, obesity,
anxiety, and habit disorders (e.g., smoking
cessation)

no

Yes. Self-suggestion can
heal too.

no

no

yes, to an extent

no

– Hypnosis works on the immediate, conscious
mind
– A “hidden observer” remains aware
• Driving home and not remembering

– People are playing the role expected of them
in the situation
• People may not be aware that they are pretending

1. Depressants
– 2. Stimulants
– 3. Hallucinogens

– A physiological need
– Tolerance
– Unpleasant withdrawal symptoms

– A psychological need
– Continued use because they think they need it

• Drugs that increase functioning of the
nervous system

• 1. Caffeine
• 2. Nicotine
• 3. Cocaine
• 4. Amphetamines

• Increase heart and breathing rates, and other
autonomic functions to provide energy
-25% of all Americans smoke today
• Inhaled into the lungs and then enters
bloodstream

Withdrawal
– depressed mood, Insomnia, Irritability, Anxiety,
Problems concentrating, Increased appetite

Effects
– Euphoria, energy, power, pleasure
• Animal research
– Rats will use cocaine until they starve to death

Drugs that decrease functioning of the
nervous system

– Drugs that lower anxiety and reduce stress

Depressant drugs that have a sedative effect

• Narcotics (opioids)
• Alcohol
– Rohypnol(“date rape” drug)
• Barbiturates
-Benzodiazepines

Alter sensations and perceptions
• Synesthesia
• Examples:
– Ecstasy (MDMA)
– LSD
-Weed/marijuana

• Plant based drug
• Visions, delusions, paranoia
• Strong Psychological Dependence
• Mixed evidence for physical dependence
• Chronic use linked to depression and
suicide, recreational use = no relationship