Unit 5

1. Unit 5 Consciousness

2. Levels of Consciousness Conscious, preconscious, unconscious

3. Conscious Level • Definition: the feelings, thoughts, emotions that we are aware of this moment • perceptions • Thoughts • Example: Dinner smells great!

4. Preconscious Level • Definition: items that you are not immediately aware of but can easily be • Memories • Stored knowledge • Example: what did you have for dinner last night? A week ago?

5. Unconscious Level • Definition: material that is not available under most circumstances • Fears, selfish needs, irrational wishes, shameful experiences, violent motives • Many feelings we have are socially unacceptable so we block them by moving them to our unconscious mind

6. SLEEP Circadian Rhythm, Stages of Sleep

7. Circadian Rhythm • Definition: biological clock • In humans, includes a sequence of bodily changes (temperature, blood pressure, sleepiness & wakefulness) that occurs every 24 hrs • Our rhythm operates on a 24hr day

8. Sleep-wake Cycle • Most studied circadian rhythm • A full sleep-wake cycle is 24hrs • When removed from cues that signal day/night (alarm clocks, sunlight, radio) we the cycle tends to expand to 25hrs • Researchers are unsure why this happens

9. Stages of Sleep • Awake, Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4 Then quickly… • Stage 3, Stage 2, Stage 1, REM • This is ONE cycle of sleep. • Most people experience FIVE of these cycles. • Each cycle is about 90 minutes Stage 1-1.

10. Stage 1 • Lightest period of sleep • easy to wakeup • Easy to remember images we were seeing (usually colors, sensations, falling) • Why do we get that falling feeling? • Muscles relax and our brain tries to make sense of it/ misinterprets it as falling • Approximately 30-40 min long

11. Stage 2 • Very similar to Stage 1 • Still easily awakened • Sleep spindles begin • Sleep spindle: brief burst of brain activity

12. Stage 3 • Begins the period of deep sleep • Longest, slowest brain waves appear

13. Stage 4 • Time of the deepest sleep • Body is completely relaxed • Most difficult time to wake someone up • Now quickly journey back up to Stage 1

14. REM • Definition: rapid eye movement • Eyes actually move back and forth • Increased heart rate, irregular breathing and increased blood pressure • Periods of REM sleep increase as the night goes on • Most vivid dreams occur at this time

15. Why We Need Sleep

16. Physical Reasons • Sleep helps revive the tired body • It also helps our body build up resistance to infection

17. Psychological Reasons • Sleep helps us recover from stress • We seem to need more sleep when we have problems in school, at work or with friends and family

18. Sleep Deprivation Experiment • Ever wonder what would happen if we didn’t sleep? • Randy Gardner, under the watch of a physician, stayed awake for 11 days • He became irritable, could not focus his eyes, had speech difficulties and memory lapses

19. REM Sleep Deprivation • In some studies, animals and humans were deprived only of REM sleep • They experienced REM-rebound • They have MUCH MORE REM sleep when they do sleep later on • Those deprived of REM sleep learn more slowly and forget more rapidly

20. Dreams

21. About Dreaming • During which sleep stage do we have the most vivid dreams? • Dreams can be in black-and-white or color • People seem to dream in “real time” (if task in dream was 10 minutes…you dreamt 10 minutes) • Everyone dreams!

22. About Dreaming Cont. • Animals dream too (mostly mammals studied) • About 12% of people dream only in black and white • Someone blind later in their life still often dreams with visuals/someone born blind usually dreams with all of their senses aside from visuals • We only see faces we already know

23. Types of Dreams • Some dreams seem very realistic • Example: arrive in class to see there is a test you did not study for • Some dreams seem unorganized and less real • Example: you walk into class backwards and it is underwater

24. The Freudian View • “A dream is a wish your heart makes.” • Disney film Cinderella • Could it be true that your dreams reveal what you really want? • Sigmund Freud thought so!

25. Freud Cont. • Freud’s Dream Theory: dreams reflect a person’s unconscious wishes and urges • Believed we dreamed in symbols • Used dreams as a way to deal with things we can’t consciously

26. The Biopsychological Approach • Some psychologists believe that dreams begin with biological, not psychological activity • Theory: during sleep, neurons fire in a part of the brain that controls movement and vision • These bursts are random and the brain tries to make sense of them by weaving in a story

27. Lucid Dreaming • What is it? • the awareness that you are dreaming • These dreamers can often control their dreams • Have you experienced this?

28. Dream Interpretation • More for fun than accurate • No set rules for interpretation • Let’s look at a few common ones and look up a few of our own! • http://www.dreamdoctor.com/dream-dictionary/home.html

29. Dying • Dying, like death, is a consistent symbol for change, transition and separation in dreams. It should not be interpreted literally. Dreams of a child, sibling, or parent dying reflect change in our perception of that relationship. Old qualities of the person are "passing away," new qualities are being recognized. Dreams of a dying ex-lover reflect separation of the relationship. Mothers of toddlers often dream of accidents, including a dying child. These dreams are not precognitive. Rather, a mother's concern for her child's safety, represented by the accident, never rests! Dreaming of dying (a dreamer may witness his or her death and funeral, or may "just know" that he or she has died) symbolizes an inner metamorphosis and an evolution of development. Old ways of perceiving are passing away; new self-discoveries are being made.

30. Being chased • Common metaphor for feelings of being "pursued" by disturbing fears and emotions. Typical chase themes include pursuit by attackers who will hurt, rape, or possibly kill the dreamer, with the dreamer then experiencing all the commotion of running away, hiding, and out-maneuvering the potential attacker. Chase dreams often end with the dreamer waking just before being caught or found. Because we awaken directly from them, chase dreams commonly are described as nightmares. Chase dreams also can reflect literal fears of physical attack, or feelings of unwanted attention.

31. Aliens • Aliens in a dream often symbolize forces beyond your control which are shaping and controlling your waking life. Aliens can also be a symbol for people in waking life that are entirely “alien” to the dreamer. The dreamer has little or no knowledge of them or where they are coming from.

32. Finding money • If money is a pressing issue in our waking life (debt, unemployment, bad job) dreams of stealing or hoarding money can represent our literal anxiety. Dreams of insufficient money commonly reflect feelings of inadequacy and powerlessness. As a rule, dreams of discovering or winning money or the lottery should not be interpreted literally. Instead, dreamers should recognize the value they already have "discovered" or "winnings" in their waking lives-an exciting relationship, an intellectual pursuit, a promising business opportunity-that is or are paying them emotional rewards.

33. No voice • If you can’t communicate in your dreams (you can’t talk or shout), it reflects your feeling that you are not being heard in your waking life (see voice.) You may feel ignored or not valued for your thoughts or suggestions. Difficulty speaking in dreams represents feelings of being “tongue-tied” in our waking lives. Do you work in a position where you have to “watch your tongue” and “swallow your words?” Recurring dreams of a blocked voice that began in childhood symbolize painful events in your past that you still don’t like to talk about.