Chapter SummaryConsciousness and Information Processing
Consciousness is our awareness of ourselves and our environment. It occurs in varied states. We experience not only the normal states of seeing and hearing, reasoning and remembering, but also the altered consciousness of sleep, hypnotic states, chemically induced hallucinations, and near-death visions. Psychology began as the study of consciousness, and then turned to the study of observable behavior. Today, scientific investigation of states of mind is again one of psychology’s pursuits. Speedy parallel processing handles subconscious information; conscious processing is serial and much slower. Sleep and Dreams Biological Rhythms Our age-old biological rhythms affect our daily functioning and especially our sleep and dreams. Our internal “biological clocks” regulate four cycles—annual cycles, twenty-eight day cycles, twenty-four hour cycles, and ninety-minute cycles. The Rhythm of Sleep Our daily schedule of waking and sleeping is timed by a body clock known as circadian rhythm. Each night’s sleep also has a rhythm of its own, running from transitional Stage 1 sleep to deep Stage 4 sleep and back up to the more internally active REM sleep stage. This cycle repeats several times during a normal night’s sleep, with periods of Stage 4 sleep progressively shortening and of dream-laden REM sleep lengthening. Why Do We Sleep? Each individual’s sleep needs are established based on their age, genetic makeup, and culture. Therefore, the eight-hour sleep rule does not apply to everyone. Those who do not get their necessary sleep are said to be sleep deprived and suffer many symptoms including slowed reaction time, irritability, and a suppressed immune system. The theories of why we sleep state that it is protective, recuperative, restorative for our memories, and helps us grow. Sleep Disorders The disorders of sleep include insomnia (difficulty falling and/or staying asleep), narcolepsy (sudden uncontrollable sleepiness or lapsing into REM sleep), and sleep apnea (the stopping of breathing while asleep). Children are more prone to night terrors and sleepwalking because they experience the deepest Stage 4 sleep. Dreams Although conscious thoughts can occur during any sleep stage, awakening people during REM sleep yields predictable "dreamlike" reports; awakening during other sleep stages yields only an occasional fleeting image. Our dreams are mostly of ordinary events and everyday experiences; they tend to involve some anxiety or misfortune more than an achievement. Freud believed that a dream’s manifest content, or story line, is a censored version of its latent content, some underlying meaning that gratifies our unconscious wishes. More recent explanations of why we dream suggest that dreams (1) help process information from the day and fix it in memory, (2) serve a physiological function, and/or (3) are the brain’s efforts to synthesize periodic hallucinations (from activity bursts in the visual cortex) into a story line. Some researchers dispute both the Freudian and activation-synthesis theories and feel that dreams help the brain mature and contribute to cognitive development. Despite their differences, most theorists agree that REM sleep and its associated dreams serve an important function, as shown by the REM rebound that occurs following REM deprivation. Hypnosis Facts and Falsehoods Although hypnosis was historically linked with quackery, it has more recently become the subject of serious research. Psychologists now agree that hypnosis is a state of heightened suggestibility to which people are subject in varying degrees, and that, although hypnotic procedures may help someone to recall past events, the hypnotist’s beliefs frequently work their way into the subject’s recollections. They also agree that hypnotized people can no more be made to act against their will than can unhypnotized people. Hypnosis can be at least temporarily therapeutic, and hypnotizable people can enjoy significant pain relief. Is Hypnosis an Altered State of Consciousness? Hypnosis is at least partly a by-product of normal social and cognitive processes. Many researchers believe it also is an altered state of consciousness, perhaps involving dissociation between levels of consciousness. Drugs and Consciousness Psychoactive drugs, including depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens, also alter consciousness. They change perceptions and moods. Dependence and Addiction Drugs often trigger withdrawal symptoms—negative aftereffects that oppose and offset their temporary pleasure. Such symptoms can lead to physical or psychological dependence. Medical use of drugs rarely creates addictions, however, and many who do suffer drug addictions overcome them when their social context changes. Psychoactive Drugs Alcohol, barbiturates, and the opiates act by depressing neural functioning. Each offers pleasures, but at the cost of impaired memory and self-awareness or other physical consequences. Caffeine, nicotine, the amphetamines, cocaine, and Ecstasy (considered a stimulant and a hallucinogen) act by stimulating neural functioning. As with nearly all psychoactive drugs, they act at the synapses by influencing the brain’s neurotransmitters, and their effects depend on dosage and the user’s personality and expectations. LSD, marijuana, and Ecstasy are hallucinogens that can distort the user’s judgments of time and, depending on the setting, can alter sensations and perceptions. Influences on Drug Use Drug use among teenagers and young adults declined during the 1980s, as attitudes changed, and began a rebound during the mid-1990s. Psychological factors (such as stress, depression, and hopelessness) and social factors (such as peer pressure) combine to lead many people to experiment with—and become dependent on—drugs. Some people also appear to have a greater biological susceptibility to dependence on drugs such as alcohol. Key TermsConsciousness - our awareness of ourselves and our environment.
Fantasy Prone Personality - someone who imagines and recalls experiences with lifelike vividness and who spends considerable time fantasizing. Biological Rhythms - Periodic physiological fluctuations. Circadian Rhythm - the biological clock; regular bodily rhythms that occur on a 24-hour cycle. REM Sleep - rapid eye movement sleep, a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur. Alpha Waves - the relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state. Sleep Spindles - short bursts of brain waves (increased frequency) detected in stage 2 sleep Hallucinations - false sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus. Sleep - periodic, natural, reversible loss of consciousness. Delta Waves - the large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep. Insomnia - recurring problems in falling or staying asleep. Narcolepsy - a sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks. The sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times. Sleep Apnea - a sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings. Night Terrors - a sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified; unlike nightmares, night terrors occur during Stage 4 sleep, within two or three hours of falling asleep, and are seldom remembered. Manifest Content - according to Freud, the remembered story line of a dream. Latent Content - according to Freud, the underlying meaning of a dream. REM Rebound - the tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation (created by repeated awakenings during REM sleep). 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. Posthypnotic Suggestion - a suggestion that is made to a person who is hypnotized that specifies an action he will perform (usually in response to a cue) after he has awakened. Addiction - compulsive drug craving and use. Dream - a sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person's mind. Dissociation - a split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others. Hidden Observer - Hilgard's term describing a hypnotized subject's awareness of experiences, such as pain, that go unreported during hypnosis. Psychoactive Drug - a chemical substance that alters perceptions and mood. 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. Withdrawal - the discomfort and distress that follow discontinuing the use of an addictive drug. Physical Dependence - a physiological need for a drug, marked by unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the drug is discontinued. Psychological Dependence - a psychological need to use a drug, such as to relieve negative emotions. Depressants - drugs (such as alcohol, barbiturates, and opiates) that reduce neural activity and slow body functions. Stimulants - drugs (such as caffeine, nicotine, and the more powerful amphetamines, cocaine, and Ecstasy) that excite neural activity and speed up body functions. Hallucinogens - psychedelic ("mind-manifesting") drugs, such as LSD, that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input. Barbiturates - drugs that depress the activity of the central nervous system, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgment. Opiates - opium and its derivatives, such as morphine and heroin; they depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety. Amphetamines - drugs that stimulate neural activity, causing speeded-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes. LSD - a powerful hallucinogenic drug; also known as acid. THC - the major active ingredient in marijuana; triggers a variety of effects, including mild hallucinations. Near Death Experience - an altered state of consciousness reported after a close brush with death such as cardiac arrest often similar to drug induced hallucinations. Dualism - the presumption that mind and body are two distinct entities that interact. Monism - the presumption that mind and body are different aspects of the same thing. Ecstasy - a synthetic stimulant and mild hallucinogen. Produces euphoria and social intimacy, but with short-term health risks and longer-term harm to serotonin-producing neurons and to mood and cognition. |
Psych Sim 5 ActivitiesTricky SpotsBeta, Alpha, Theta, Delta
Mnemonic to Help Memorize: Be a Turtle Dancer *Waves In Order of Occurrence
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