AP PSYCHOLOGY

1. AP PSYCHOLOGY States of Consciousness Chapter 7

2. ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What is consciousness? GPS STANDARD: SSPBF2- The student will compare the different states of consciousness. Chapter 7- What is consciousness?

3. Consciousness • What is the nature of reality? • How do we know we exist? • “I think therefore I am” - Rene Descartes

4. Consciousness • MOVIE REVIEW? • The Truman Show

5. Consciousness Can people achieve altered states of consciousness?

6. Consciousness • Can we control the content of our dreams?

7. Consciousness • Can we control the content of our dreams? • YES • LUCID DREAMING or Conscious Dreaming is to dream and know you are dreaming. Here you will learn how to become aware of the dreaming state so you can take control of the dream.

8. Consciousness • Consciousness • our awareness of ourselves and our environments • States of consciousness • levels of awareness ranging from being alert and awake to unconsciousness during deep sleep • Changing levels of awareness

9. Consciousness • Focused awareness • our consciousness is selective • we can fully focus on any important task • we can learn to control and direct our attention to certain objects, events, or experiences while filtering out extraneous stimuli • as we use the computer or send a text message we generally ignore or are not keenly aware of the tactile sensations of our fingers pressing on the keyboard

10. Consciousness • Drifting consciousness • even though we have the ability for focused awareness, it is difficult to maintain a state of focused awareness for too long • our minds start drifting from thought to thought • drifting consciousness is a state of awareness characterized by drifting thoughts or mental imagery

11. Consciousness • Drifting consciousness • daydreaming a form of consciousness when one is awake in which one’s mind wanders to dreamy thoughts or fantasies

12. Consciousness • Divided Consciousness • a state of awareness characterized by divided attention between two or more tasks or activities performed at the same time • typically, one of these activities is a mechanical task such as driving a car • when we drive our brain seems to be on automatic pilot while we are free to think about other things [unless we are driving in a violent rainstorm]

13. Consciousness • States of unconsciousness • unconsciousness a lack of awareness of our external surroundings or a loss of consciousness (due to sleep, head injury, surgical anesthesia, or coma)

14. Consciousness • Altered States of consciousness • sense of time may seem to stand still or speed up • colors may seem more vibrant • the person may see visions or hear voices • the person may claim to taste colors or see sounds

15. Consciousness • Altered States of consciousness • Altered states of consciousness a states of awareness that differ from one’s usual waking state • daydreaming • exercise- being “in the zone”; in which the outside world fades out of awareness • meditation • hypnosis • use of mind-altering drugs- alcohol, marijuana, hallucinogens, other psychoactive substances

16. Consciousness • Altered States of consciousness • all of the world’s major religious figures claimed to have experienced altered states of consciousness • they experienced altered states of consciousness when they had mystical experiences: • prophetic visions • visitation by gods, or angels • achieving a state of enlightenment • were able to perform certain types of miracles after prayer, or meditation, even though the miracle was performed through a supernatural method within that belief system

17. Dreams: Freud • Sigmund Freud--The Interpretation of Dreams (1900) • wish fulfillment • eliminate or deal with otherwise unacceptable feelings • Manifest Content • remembered story line of the dream • Latent Content • underlying meaning of the dream

18. Dreams: Freud • Dreams • sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person’s mind • hallucinatory imagery • discontinuities- lack of logical sequence • incongruities- lack of harmony or agreement; incompatible • delusional acceptance of the content • difficulties remembering

19. Dreams: Why do we Dream? • To satisfy a desire or wish • dreams provide a psychological safety valve that discharges otherwise unacceptable feelings

20. Dreams: Why do we Dream? • To satisfy a desire or wish • dreams provide a psychological safety valve that discharges otherwise unacceptable feelings • As Information Processing to file away memories • REM sleep facilitates memories • dreams help sift, sort, and fix the day’s experiences in our memories

21. Dreams: Why do we Dream? • To develop and preserve neural pathways • dreams may serve a physiological function by providing the sleeping brain with periodic stimulation • To make sense of neural static • dreams are activated from neural activity that spreads upward from the brainstem • This is called the activation-synthesis theory • the signals from the brainstem are processed and our brain creates a story to try to make sense of the random signals

22. Dreams: Why do we Dream? • To reflect cognitive development • dreams may be a part of brain maturation and the development of thinking • dreams are created from our personal knowledge and memories • REM Rebound • We need REM sleep • When deprived of REM, people return more and more quickly to REM sleep when they finally get to sleep • REM sleep increases following REM sleep deprivation • When finally allowed to sleep undisturbed, people sleep deeply and experience REM Rebound

23. Sleep and Dreams • Measuring sleep activity Electroencephalogram

24. Brain Waves and Sleep Stages • Alpha Waves • slow waves of a relaxed, awake brain • Delta Waves • large, slow waves of deep sleep • Hallucinations • false sensory experiences

25. 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 REMoccurs approximately every 90 minutes

26. Sleep Across the Lifespan

27. Sleep and Dreams • Biological Rhythms • periodic physiological fluctuations • Circadian Rhythm • the biological clock • regular bodily rhythms that occur on a 24-hour cycle [23 hrs, 56 minutes], such as of wakefulness and body temperature

28. Sleep and Dreams • REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep • recurring sleep stage (occurs approximately every 90 minutes) • vivid dreams • “paradoxical sleep” • muscles are generally relaxed, but other body systems are active • a mechanism of the brainstem that controls sleep also inhibits spinal motor neurons thus preventing actual physical movement

29. PSYCHOLOGY “Sleep, those little slices of death; Oh how I loathe them.”-Edgar Allan Poe US short story author, editor, & poet (1809 - 1849)

30. Sleep Deprivation • Effects of Sleep Loss • fatigue • memory problems • impaired concentration • depressed immune system • greater vulnerability to • accidents • promotes obesity

31. Sleep Deprivation • Effects of Sleep Loss continued…. • makes our behavior mimic certain • pathological psychiatric conditions • like schizophrenia • can cause hallucinations • can cause delusional beliefs & • paranoia

32. Sleep Deprivation • Effects of Sleep Loss continued…. • makes us more primitive • makes us more violent • makes us more emotional • makes us more fearful • can lead to depression • suicidal thoughts or actions • depressed immune system • greater vulnerability to accidents

33. Sleep Disorders • Night Terrors (not nightmares) • occur within 2 or 3 hours of falling asleep, usually during Stage 4 • high arousal-- appearance of being terrified • usually occurs in children • they may sit up and walk around • they may talk incoherently • heart rate and breathing rate doubled

34. Sleep stages Awake 1 2 3 REM 4 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hours of sleep Night Terrors • Night Terrors • occur within 2 or 3 hours of falling asleep, usually during Stage 4

35. Sleep Disorders • Somnambulism (sleepwalking is also a Stage 4 sleep disorder) • an abnormal condition of sleep in which motor acts (walking) are performed • children are also most prone to sleepwalking • young children have the deepest and lengthiest stage 4 sleep which makes them more likely to experience sleepwalking

36. Sleep Disorders • Somnambulism (sleepwalking is also a Stage 4 sleep disorder) • sleepwalking is usually harmless and is not recalled the next morning • sleepwalkers usually return to bed on their own or are guided by a family member • it is not dangerous to wake them up • after the age of 40, sleepwalking is rare because stage 4 sleep diminishes

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

38. Sleep Across the Lifespan

39. Brain Waves and Sleep Stages

40. 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 REMoccurs approximately every 90 minutes

41. 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

42. Hypnosis • Anton Mesmer (1734-1815) • an Austrian physician • Mesmer passed magnets over the bodies of sick people • some of the people would lapse into a trancelike state • this trancelike state became known as being mesmerized

43. Hypnosis • Anton Mesmer (1734-1815) • Benjamin Franklin was the head of a commission which studied this phenomenon • the commission found no evidence that the phenomenon was “real” • instead the commission found that Mesmer’s “cures” were the “mere imagination” of his subjects

44. Hypnosis • Can anyone experience hypnosis? • to some extent, nearly everyone is suggestible • however, about 20% are highly hypnotizable • the highly hypnotizable usually have rich fantasy lives • they very easily become absorbed in the imaginary events in a novel or movie

45. Hypnosis • Hypnotic ability • Many researchers refer to the highly hypnotizable, those who are most susceptible to hypnosis, as having: • hypnotic ability- the ability to focus attention totally on a task, to become totally absorbed in it, to be able to exhibit an almost unrestrained imagination

46. Hypnosis • Unhypnotized persons can also do this

47. Hypnosis • Orne & Evans (1965) • hypnotized subjects can be induced to perform dangerous acts • control group instructed to “pretend” • unhypnotized subjects performed the same dangerous acts as the hypnotized ones

48. Hypnosis • Orne & Evans (1965) continued… • this illustrates an important concept of social psychology illustrated by Solomon Asch’s experiments on group pressure and conformity • A person in a position of authority in a legitimate context or role can induce people through social influence to perform some unlikely or even dangerous acts

49. Hypnosis Posthypnotic Suggestion • suggestion to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized • used by some clinicians to control undesired symptoms and behaviors: • headaches • asthma • stress-related skin disorders • treatment of obesity (helps the person adjust eating habits toward more healthy foods and eating in moderation)

50. Conversational Hypnosis ? • Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) • a series of well choreographed strategies and verbal manipulations to bring others influence others to take a different point of view • NLP uses rapport, indirect suggestions, and confusions to induce a suggestible state of consciousness and to influence conformity