Levels of Consciousness

1. Levels of Consciousness Consciousness - An organism’s or individual’s awareness of, or possibility of knowing what is happening inside or outside itself Subconscious - Consciousness just below the level of awareness. It contains thoughts and ideas just out of our awareness. Unconscious - A deeper level of awareness is the unconscious. It contains thoughts and desires about which we have no true or direct knowledge.

2. Waking Consciousness • Levels of information Processing • Parallel processing– subconscious information processing occurs simultaneously on many parallel tracks. • Serial processing– conscious processing takes place in sequence

3. Waking Consciousness • Fantasy-prone personalities someone who imagines and recalls experiences with lifelike vividness and who spends considerable time fantasizing

4. Biological Clocks Biological clocks are internal units that control parts of the body and which are regulated by nature. They operate on free-running cycles (under their own control). Through entrainment, some cycles can be modified to fit a different rhythm (sleep-wake cycle).

8. Premenstrual Syndrome 3 Recalled mood is worse than earlier reported Negative mood score 2 1 Premenstrual Menstrual Intermenstrual Menstrual phase Recalled mood Actual

9. Sleep and Dreams • REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep • recurring sleep stage • vivid dreams • “paradoxical sleep” • muscles are generally relaxed, but other body systems are active

10. Sleep and Dreams • Sleep • periodic, natural, reversible loss of consciousness

11. Sleep and Dreams

12. Brain Waves and Sleep Stages • Beta Waves • Wide awake waves • Alpha Waves • slow waves of a relaxed, awake brain • Delta Waves • large, slow waves of deep sleep • Hallucinations • false sensory experiences • Sleep Spindles • Begin during stage 2 sleep and increase through the cycle

13. The Nature of Sleep and Dreams

14. Awake Sleep stages 1 2 3 REM 4 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hours of sleep Stages in a Typical Night’s Sleep

15. Minutes of Stage 4 and REM Decreasing Stage 4 25 20 15 Increasing REM 10 5 0 1 2 5 6 7 8 3 4 Hours of sleep Stages in a Typical Night’s Sleep

16. Stages of Sleep • Upon reaching stage 4 and after about 80 to 100 minutes of total sleep time, sleep lightens, returns through stages 3 and 2 • REM sleep emerges, characterized by EEG patterns that resemble beta waves of alert wakefulness • muscles most relaxed • rapid eye movements occur • dreams occur • Four or five sleep cycles occur in a typical night’s sleep; less time is spent in slow-wave, more is spent in REM

17. Functions of Sleep • Restoration theory —body wears out during the day and sleep is necessary to put it back in shape • Adaptive theory— sleep emerged in evolution to preserve energy and protect during the time of day when there is little value and considerable danger

18. Sleep Deprivation • Effects of Sleep Loss • fatigue • impaired concentration • depressed immune system • greater vulnerability to accidents

19. Sleep Deprivation • Has little effect on performance of tasks requiring physical skill or intellectual judgment • Hurts performance on simple, boring tasks more than challenging ones

20. More sleep, fewer accidents Less sleep, more accidents Sleep Deprivation Accident frequency 2,800 2,700 4,200 2,600 4000 2,500 3,800 2,400 3,600 Spring time change (hour sleep loss) Fall time change (hour sleep gained) Monday before time change Monday after time change

21. Individual Differences in Sleep Drive • Some individuals need more and some less than the typical 8 hours per night • Nonsomniacs—sleep far less than most, but do not feel tired during the day • Insomniacs—has a normal desire for sleep, but is unable to and feels tired during the day

22. Sleep Disorders • Insomnia • persistent problems in falling or staying asleep • Narcolepsy • uncontrollable sleep attacks • Sleep Apnea • temporary cessation of breathing • momentary reawakenings

23. Sleep Disorders • REM sleep disorder— sleeper acts out his or her dreams • Night terrors— sudden arousal from sleep and intense fear accompanied by physiological reactions (e.g., rapid heart rate, perspiration) that occur during slow-wave sleep • Nightmares– a vivid dream depicting frightening disturbing, anxiety-provoking events.

24. Sleep Disorders

25. Walking and Talking Practical Issues in Sleep Sleepwalking (somnambulism) About 25% of all children have at least one episode of sleepwalking. It typically occurs during the first three hours of sleep. Many people walk and talk in their sleep. It is normal. It is not dangerous to awaken a sleepwalker, as long as the person feels safe and secure.

27. Dream Content Usually contain imagined conquests Take place outdoors more than indoors May be recurrent Usually involve running or jumping Usually involve strong emotions Contain visual, auditory, and even taste sensations. (About 50% of our dreams are in color. No one knows why.)

28. Dreams: Freud • Sigmund Freud--The Interpretation of Dreams (1900) • wish fulfillment • discharge otherwise unacceptable feelings • Manifest Content • remembered story line • Latent Content • underlying meaning

29. Manifest Content Monsters On Bikes • I have this recurring dream of being chased by a gang of monsters on bikes. I know the neighborhood that I am in because I used to live there. I am on foot trying to get away and hiding in places that I know are safe. But they keep finding me. I also know it is Halloween, because I am in costume and so is everyone else. I am screaming for help, but the people around me, and the people whose doorbells I am ringing keep telling me that there is no one after me. They ask me if I want some candy to calm myself down. Then they start taking guns and shooting at me, but they miss. Finally, I can't run anymore, and they catch up to me, and grab me by my nose when I wake up.Thank you!JessicaOctober 1, 2000

30. Latent Content Hi Jessica,Chase dreams are quite common and often reflect a situation that you are afraid in confronting. Being chased by a gang of monsters sounds quite frightening. You indicated that in your dream it was Halloween. These monsters were probably really people dressed in their own mask and costumes. The scenario of your dream and being that it is Halloween, furthers my belief that you are truly afraid in directly confronting a particular situation. Disguises and costumes protect and shield your real self. Behind a mask, you adapt a new persona and and feel freer in releasing your inhibitions. The costume/mask provides some sort of barrier against your vulnerabilities. It protects you from being hurt.Another significant aspect of your dream is that the people you turn to for help turns against you. Does this parallel a situation in your waking life where you felt betrayed or that your trust was undermined? Next time you have another chase dream, turn around and confront the chasers. You may be surprised to find that what you are running from is not all that frightening. In doing so, you will even find that your recurring chase dreams will occur less often.Best Regards,Steve

31. Dreams • As Information Processing • helps facilitate memories • REM Rebound • REM sleep increases following REM sleep deprivation

32. Sleep Across the Lifespan

33. The Purpose of Dreaming One hypothesis about dreaming is that it is a time for the brain to replenish chemicals used up during the day and to process information.

35. Hypnosis Hypnosis is a state of relaxation. Attention is focused on certain objects, acts, or feelings. Anton Mesmer believed power came from magnetism. Hypnotic results really come from the power of suggestion to focus or block. Trances are periods of deep relaxation. No one can be hypnotized to do something they wouldn’t do anyway.

36. 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 • Posthypnotic Amnesia • supposed inability to recall what one experienced during hypnosis • induced by the hypnotist’s suggestion

37. Hypnosis • Unhypnotized persons can also do this

38. Hypnosis • Orne & Evans (1965) • control group instructed to “pretend” • unhypnotized subjects performed the same acts as the hypnotized ones • Posthypnotic Suggestion • suggestion to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized • used by some clinicians to control undesired symptoms and behaviors

39. Hypnosis • Dissociation • a split in consciousness • 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

40. Facts and Falsehoods • Can hypnosis work for anyone? • Can hypnosis enhance recall of forgotten events? Age regression – relive an earlier experience • Can hypnosis force people to act against their will? • Can hypnosis be therapeutic? • Can hypnosis alleviate pain?

41. Explaining Hypnosis

43. Drugs and Consciousness • Psychoactive Drug • a chemical substance that alters perceptions and mood • Physical Dependence • physiological need for a drug • marked by unpleasant withdrawal symptoms • Psychological Dependence • a psychological need to use a drug • for example, to relieve negative emotions

44. Big effect Dependence and Addiction Response to first exposure Drug effect After repeated exposure, more drug is needed to produce same effect Little effect Large Small Drug dose • Tolerance • diminishing effect with regular use • Withdrawal • discomfort and distress that follow discontinued use

45. Psychoactive Drugs • Depressants • drugs that reduce neural activity • slow body functions • alcohol, barbiturates, opiates • Stimulants • drugs that excite neural activity • speed up body functions • caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines, cocaine

46. Psychoactive Drugs • Hallucinogens • psychedelic (mind-manifesting) drugs that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input • LSD

47. Psychoactive Drugs • Alcohol– in large or small doses it is a depressant. Small doses may indeed, enliven a drinker, but they do so by slowing brain activity that controls judgment and inhibitions. It contributes to the greatest number of deaths.

48. Psychoactive Drugs • Barbiturates • drugs that depress the activity of the central nervous system, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgement

49. Psychoactive Drugs • Opiates • opium and its derivatives (morphine and heroin) • opiates depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety

50. Psychoactive Drugs • Amphetamines • drugs that stimulate neural activity, causing speeded-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes