Chapter 2 - States of Consciousness

1. Chapter 2 - States of Consciousness Unit 3 – Area of Study 1: Mind, brain and body Pages 96-131

2. Study Design Content • consciousness as a psychological construct informed by the work of René Descartes and William James • concepts of normal waking consciousness and altered states of consciousness, including daydreaming, meditative and alcohol-induced, in terms of levels of awareness, content limitations, controlled and automatic processes, perceptual and cognitive distortions, emotional awareness, self-control and time orientation • sleep as an altered state of consciousness: purpose, characteristics and patterns of the stages of sleep including rapid eye movement (REM) and the non-rapid eye movement (NREM) stages of sleep • methods used to study the level of alertness in normal waking consciousness and the stages of sleep: – measurement of physiological responses including electroencephalograph (EEG), electrooculargraph (EOG), heart rate, body temperature and galvanic skin response (GSR

3. Defining Consciousness • Consciousness is your awareness of mental activities and processes going on in your mind at any given moment, as well as your awareness of objects and events in the external world • It includes awareness of sensations, perceptions, thoughts, feelings and memories. • Consciousness has been described as being personal, selective, continuous and changing.

4. Defining Consciousness • It is personal because it is your subjective understanding of both your private internal world and the environment. • It is selective because you can select to pay attention to certain things and ignore others. • It is continuous because its contents blend into one another – there is never a time when consciousness is ‘empty’. • It is changing because your consciousness is never stationary.

5. Defining Consciousness • Consciousness is a psychological construct • A psychological construct is a hypothetical concept that is created to explain phenomena that are believed to exist or occur but cannot be observed or measured • French philosopher Rene Descartes (1956-1650) and American psychologist William James (1842-1910)were two influential people who wrote about consciousness

6. The Mind-Body Problem • The mind-body problem asks, “What is the mind?” and “What relationship does it have with the body?” • Is the mind a separate entity from the body? • We need to examine whether or not… • The mind controls the brain • The brain controls the mind • The mind and the brain are the same thing • The body consists of physical parts, including the brain and occupies space and exists in time • The mind relates to our self-awareness, our ability to reflect, think and reason about ourselves and the world – in other words, it relates to consciousness

7. The Mind-Body Problem • The view that the mind is the same thing as the brain and that consciousness is a result of complex physical interactions between neurons is known as materialistic monoism • “Mono” meaning one • The view that the mind is a separate entity from the body is known as dualism • “Dual” or “duo” meaning two

8. Rene Descartes • Rene Descartes attempted to explain the mind-body problem using dualism • He believed the mind and the body were two separate things and that the mind could influence the body, but also the body could influence the mind • He identified the pineal gland as the central structure in the brain where the mind and body come into contact and interact

9. William James • The idea that there is continual movement of thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images and sensations in and out of our conscious minds was first described over 100 years ago by US psychologist William James. • James proposed that: • ‘Consciousness does not appear itself chopped up in bits. It is nothing jointed: it flows. A river or a stream are the metaphors by which it is most naturally described. In talking of it let us call it the stream of thought or consciousness, of subjective life.’

10. William James • James coined the phrase ‘streams of consciousness’ and viewed consciousness as an ever-changing stream of thoughts that can shift smoothly and effortlessly from one moment to the next

11. States of Consciousness • Our brain is continuously bombarded with information about our internal state and with information about the outside world. • But it is our state of consciousness, or level of awareness that determines how much of this information that we take in. • ‘Sometimes our consciousness is highly focused and alert, and at other times it is more passive (Baars 1989)’. • Examples: Lining up a putt (focused) or daydreaming (passive)

12. States of Consciousness • In the course of a typical day we experience many different states of consciousness. • There are no distinct boundaries to indicate where one state ends and another begins. • Psychologists often describe consciousness as ranging along a continuum, or scale, from total awareness to a complete lack of awareness. • Fig 2.6– A continuum of states of consciousness, pg. 101

13. States of Consciousness • When our attention is highly focused, concentration on specific thoughts, feelings or sensations dominates the conscious mind to an extent that other incoming information may be ignored. • At the other end of the continuum, an individual may not experience any thoughts, feelings or sensations at all. For example, someone in an anaethetised state would have very little awareness of their thoughts, feelings or sensations. • Learning Activity 2.2 – Recognising different states of consciousness and levels of awareness, pg. 104

14. States of Consciousness • There are many states of consciousness between the two extremes of the continuum in which individuals have differing levels of awareness. • Psychologists generally agree that there are two broad categories of consciousness that can be distinguished: • Normal waking consciousness • Altered states of consciousness • Learning Activity 2.3 – Review questions, pg. 105

15. Normal Waking Consciousness • Normal waking consciousness refers to the state of when we are awake and aware thoughts, memories, feelings and sensations. • An altered state of consciousness is characterised by a distinctly different level of mental awareness to normal waking consciousness, in that major changes occur in the qualities or characteristics of an individual’s thoughts, feelings or perceptions.

16. Levels of Awareness • There are varying levels or ‘degrees’ of awareness within normal waking consciousness. • With activities that require high levels of concentration (games, exams, driving), they all require controlled processes. • Controlled processes involve information processing requiring conscious, alert awareness and mental effort in which the individual actively focuses their attention on achieving a particular goal.

17. Levels of Awareness • As you gain experience, tasks that require a high level of concentration become easier and become automatic. • Automatic processing requires little conscious awareness and mental effort, minimal attention and do not interfere with the performance of some activities. • Automatic processes require less conscious effort than do controlled processes. • Learning Activity 2.5 – Review questions, pg. 112 • Learning Activity 2.7 – Comparing automatic and controlled process, pg. 112

18. Attention • One way of distinguishing between different states of consciousness is in terms of attention. • Attention involves focusing on specific stimuli and ignoring others. • The states of consciousness at the top of the continuum require more attention than those at the lower end. • Our attention can either be focused on internal thoughts or feelings, or on external stimuli.

19. Attention • Selective Attention refers to the fact that at any given moment the focus of our awareness is on only a limited range of all that we are capable of experiencing. • Example – The cocktail party effect, p. 106 • Neisser& Becklen (1975) experiment, pg. 107

20. Attention • Divided attention refers to the ability to distribute one’s attention and undertake two or more activities simultaneously. • It seems that our ability to divide our attention depends on how much conscious effort is required for the various tasks in which we are engaged. • Performing a difficult task is more likely to require selective attention than a well known or familiar task.

21. Attention • The diversity and quantity of information received by our brain is enormous; thus we rely on selective attention to filter the information. • Selective attention determines which stimuli will be noticed and therefore likely to be processed further to be stored in memory, and which stimuli will be ignored. • Learning Activity 2.8 – Evaluation of research by Neisser and Becklen (1975), pg. 113

22. Attention • However not all the information that we ignore is lost immediately. • For example, you have probably experienced a situation where you have been watching television and you become aware that someone has spoken to you. • Your immediate reaction is to ask ‘What?’, and before the statement is repeated you respond to the initial question. • This happens because you are focusing on the television, and chose to ignore the verbal information. Your memory however has stored the verbal stimuli and you then shift your attention to it.

23. Attention • During normal waking consciousness the brain is actively storing information in memory and retrieving information from memory for use. • During ordinary wakefulness, our memory is accessible and plays an important part in being able to complete routine activities. • During altered states of consciousness our memory processes are more likely to be hampered.

24. Content and Time Limitations • Generally the content of normal waking consciousness is more restricted or limited than the content of that of an altered state. • We are able to show some control into what we acknowledge when we are in normal waking consciousness. • We can choose to block things which make us feel self conscious, embarrassed, depressed, repulsed, sad, afraid or hurt. • During an altered state of consciousness we generally don’t have the same amount of control and the content of our consciousness is not as limited.

25. Content and Time Limitations • Furthermore, the content of our normal waking consciousness is generally more organised and logical than that of an altered state. • When we are in an altered state (i.e. dreaming) the content of our consciousness is often illogical, disorganised and nonsensical. • Box 2.4 – Stroop’s Experiments, pg. 110 (read in own time)

26. Characteristics of Altered States of Consciousness • The term altered state of consciousness (ASC) is used to describe any state of consciousness which is distinctly different in level of awareness and experience from normal waking consciousness, in terms of the quality or intensity of sensations, perceptions, thoughts, feelings and memories that are experienced. • ASC cognitive processes or perceptions of yourself or the world may change, and normal inhibitions or self control may weaken.

27. Characteristics of Altered States of Consciousness • Some ASC’s, such as sleep and daydreaming, are a normal part of our lives and occur naturally. • Other ASC’s are purposely induced – for example through meditation, hypnosis, drugs and alcohol. • There are many reasons why an individual may deliberately try to achieve an ASC.

28. Characteristics of Altered States of Consciousness • Meditation is a useful technique to help people relax and deal with stress and pain. • Hypnosis may be practiced as part of therapy to help someone deal with fears or anxieties. • Some people use drugs for psychological pleasure or as an escape from the pressures of their life.

29. Characteristics of Altered States of Consciousness • Psychological changes that occur from an ASC differ from person to person. Common changes that occur include: • Perceptual and cognitive distortions • A disturbed sense of time • Changes in emotional feeling • Changes in self control

30. Distortions of Perceptions and Cognitions • An ASC appears to have one of two effects on the senses: • It either makes them more receptive to external stimuli. • It either dulls the senses to such an extent that some sensations are not experienced at all. • For examples drugs such as ecstasy and speed heighten the senses, whereas marijuana and heroin block some senses and even cause hallucinations.

31. Disturbed Sense of Time • Estimation of time is often distorted when in an ASC; that is time seems to pass at a different speed. • In some ASC’s – the passing of time may appear to be quicker, while in others it may pass very slowly. • When you are awoken from a nap – you may be surprised that you have only been asleep for 15 minutes. • Or when you sleep between snooze cycles on your alarm – it seems that you have been asleep for a lot longer.

32. Changes in Emotional Awareness • A change in the way an emotion is experienced is also associated with many ASC’s. • ASC’s appear to sometimes put an individual’s feelings into a state of turmoil, resulting in uncharacteristic responses. • For example, while under the influence of alcohol, some people become more emotional or express their emotions more openly.

33. Changes in Self Control • Changes in ability to maintain self control are often evident during ASC’s. • In an alcohol induced ASC, individuals often have difficulty in coordinating and controlling movements, sometimes being unable to walk without stumbling. • They also have trouble maintaining control of their emotions by behaving aggressively or affectionately to people with whom they would withhold this behaviour normally. • Learning Activity 2.11 – Review questions, pg. 116 • Manual Activity 2 – The differences between the characteristics of normal consciousness and altered states of consciousness, pg. 5

34. Examples of ASC • Three examples of an ASC we are going to examine in more detail are: • Daydreaming • Meditation • Alcohol-induced state

35. Daydreaming • Daydreaming is a state of consciousness in which we voluntarily shift our attention from external stimuli to internal thoughts and feelings. • Almost all people daydream; however, individuals differ in the frequency and intensity (vividness) of their daydreams. • Daydreaming is more likely to occur when we are stationary than when we are moving about.

36. Daydreaming • Some theories on daydreaming suggest that: • It enables us to try out a range of possible actions to a particular situation. • It assists us to solve problems. • It allows us to stay mentally alert when there is insufficient external stimulation. • Students spend 1/3 of their waking hours daydreaming (especially in psychology classes).

37. Meditation • Meditation is a process of employing mental exercises to achieve a highly focused state of consciousness • Mediation usually involves sitting in a relaxed position and breathing slowly, deeply and rhythmically • Attention is directed at only the breathing movements of the diaphragm, with all other thoughts blocked from consciousness • This leads to the individual entering a sense of relaxation as they proceed into a naturally induced ASC

38. Meditation • Mediation may induce a state of physical relaxation by increasing alpha and theta brain waves, as well as decreasing heart rate and respiration • It can also be beneficial in reducing the experience of pain

39. Alcohol-Induced State • Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant which can affect people in a variety of ways • Slowed reaction time, visual distortions and loss of focus or control may occur as a result of ingestion of alcohol • Interference in cognition can lead to a disruption in memory formation • Anaesthetic effects can result in a decreased sense of pain and a sense of relaxation

40. ASC of Consciousness Learning Activity 2.12 – Review questions, pg. 121 Manual Activity 3 – Normal waking consciousness and altered states of consciousness – An application task, pg. 6

41. Measuring Physiological Responses of Consciousness • Unlike other body systems, states of consciousness cannot be observed or measured directly. • Consequently, a state of consciousness is referred to as a hypothetical construct. • Much of what psychologists know about an individual’s state of consciousness can only be inferred or assumed by information provided by the individual.

42. Measuring Physiological Responses of Consciousness • Various devices have been developed to measure physiological responses, which in turn guide psychologists by linking the patterns of responses to differing states of consciousness. • These physiological measurements include – electrical brain activity, heart rate, body temperature and galvanic skin response (GSR).

43. Electrical Activity of the Brain • Brain wave patterns as shown in EEG recordings can vary in frequency (number per unit time). • A pattern of high frequency brain wave activity is faster and has more brain waves per unit of time. • A pattern of low frequency brain wave activity is slower and has less brain waves per unit of time. • The amplitude (height) of brain wave activity can also indicate different kinds of brain activity.

44. Electrical Activity of the Brain • Four different groups of brain wave patterns, named after letters in the Greek alphabet, have been identified. • Each group of brain wave patterns has a different combination of frequency and amplitude that distinguishes it from different groups.

45. Electrical Activity of the Brain • Beta waves are those that when brain activity is at its highest (high frequency and low amplitude). • Alpha waves are those that when an individual is in a relaxed or meditative state (high frequency and medium amplitude). • In early stages of sleep, theta waves occur (medium frequency with a mixture of high and low amplitude). • In the deepest stages of sleep, delta waves occur (low frequency and high amplitude).

46. Electrical Activity of the Brain • Fig 2.19– Typical EEG patterns associated with consciousness pg. 122 • Classroom Activity: Learning Activity 2.14 – Brain activity associated with different states of consciousness, pg. 123 • Manual Activity 4 – Measurements of states of consciousness – Identifying EEG brain wave patterns

47. Body Temperature • Body temperature is less variable than heart rate, however a general pattern has been identified which indicates that body temperature changes with ASC’s. • The most predictable change in body temperature is evident during sleep. • Compared to normal waking consciousness, body temperature drops markedly while a person is asleep. Chapter 7 - States of Consciousness

48. Body Temperature Chapter 7 - States of Consciousness

49. Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) • Changes in GSR are closely related with emotional experiences. • Since ASC’s are closely associated with heightened emotional and reduced emotional reactions, the GSR can be used as one indicator of an alteration in an individual’s state of consciousness. • Learning Activity 2.15– Review questions pg. 125 • Chapter 2 Test, pg. 128-131 Chapter 7 - States of Consciousness