States of Consciousness

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States of Consciousness

• Doneisha Burke, MSc.

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States of Consciousness

• It refers to varying degrees of awareness of
  ourselves, our behaviour and the world around us.
• We shift from operating on automatic to
  performing physically and mentally challenging
  tasks which require full and careful attention.
• Also when we go off to sleep or take drugs which
  affect the way we feel we are also experiencing
  different states of consciousness.

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Circadian Rhythms

• Biological rhythms- regular fluctuations in our
  bodily processes and in consciousness over time.
• These changes occur over the course of a single
  day and are known as CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS.
• We experience fluctuations in alertness, energy,
  moods etc which are all due to changes in
  underlying bodily process such as hormone
  changes, body temp changes, b.p. and age.

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Circadian Rhythms

• What this suggest is that we must possess some
  sort of biological clock that time various
  circadian rhythms.
• Evidence points to the SUPRACHIASMATIC NUCLEUS
  located in the hypothalamus which plays a key
  role in the regulation of circadian rhythms

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Circadian Rhythms

• The SCN is responsive to the outside world as it
  responds to light which serves as a ZEITGEBER
  (time giver).
• Morning light resets our biological clock
  synchronizing it with the outside world.
• Why is this necessary?
• If left alone our biological clock seems to
  operate on a 25 hour cycle . if its not reset
  daily our internal biological rhythms would go
  out of sync with the world around us.

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Circadian Rhythms

• How is mating season or hibernation affected by
  Biological Rhythms?
• This is regulated by the Pineal gland (atop the
  midbrain) which secretes melatonin responsible
  for regulating the prod. of hormones and
  affecting many basic biological processes. When
  nights are longer more melatonin is secreted
  resulting in hibernation. When days are longer
  less is secreted and species become more active
  and . seek mates.

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Circadian Rhythms

• Are you a morning/night person? (Table 4.1 pg 133
  Baron)
• What does research say?

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Disturbances in Circadian Rhythms

• Travel
• Traveling across time zones affect our ability to
  adjust our internal clock to the new location
  (JET LAG).
• Research suggest that it is easier to reset our
  bio clock by delaying them rather than advancing
  them.
• Say you departed in night, remember that light
  acts as a time giver so flying into daylight now
  makes your SCN reset the bio clock to morning.
  Just when your body is ready to go off to sleep
  you need to prepare for a new day.

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Disturbances in Circadian Rhythms

• Shift Work
• This requires individuals to work at times when
  they would be sleeping.
• Swing shifts
• The bio clock has to be reset over and over again
  and this is physically and emotionally draining.
• Leads to poorer on the job performance,
  industrial accidents and poor health outcomes.

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Waking States of ConsciousnessControlled
Automatic processing

• Performing 2 tasks at the same time, how do we do
  this?
• We have 2 different levels of controlling ongoing
  activities.
• Level 1 uses very little of our information
  processing capacity, i.e AUTOMATIC PROCESSING in
  which we process information with minimal
  conscious awareness.

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Waking States of ConsciousnessControlled
Automatic processing

• Level 2 uses CONTROLLED PROCESSING which involves
  more effortful and conscious control of thought
  and behaviour requiring significant cognitive
  resources . only one task can be performed at a
  time.
• Research on automatic processing
• Backfiring of our efforts to control our own
  mental processes and our own physical actions (pg
  137-138)
• Efforts to control our thoughts and actions are
  controlled by the intentional operating process
  (ConPro) and the ironic monitoring process
  (AuPro). Usually the 2 work together

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Self-Awareness Thinking about ourselves

• What is SELF AWARENESS?
• A state of consciousness in which we focus our
  attention inward, upon ourselves.
• Why do we enter a state of self awareness?
• Firstly some situations prompt us to do so and
  once we do an interesting process is started.
• This process known as CONTROL THEORY in which we
  compare our current state to internal stds of how
  we would like to feel, think, act
• What do you think happens when the gap is small
  vs. large?

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Self-Awareness Thinking about ourselves

• Secondly our current affective state.
• Studies show that we are more likely to turn our
  attention inward when we are in a bad/negative
  mood vs. a positive mood.
• More recent findings suggest that some affective
  states lead us to think about ourselves while
  others lead us to think about other people.

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Effects of Self-Awareness

• Reflection
• The desire to know oneself better (i.e inner
  thoughts and feelings) which is usually motivated
  by curiosity (private self-awareness).
• Rumination
• The desire to know one self better which is
  motivated by fear. Research indicates that this
  is related to distress and psychological
  problems.
• Choking under pressure
• Reduced performance that occurs under conditions
  in which pressures to perform well are very high

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Sleep

• A process in which important physiological
  changes and slowing of basic bodily functions are
  accompanied by major shifts in consciousness.
• Psychologists study sleep scientifically in a
  sleep laboratory located at a university or
  medical centre.
• Sleep researchers primarily study 3 changes (pg
  142-143)
• Changes in the electrical activity of the brain
  via EEG
• Changes in electrical activity of the muscles via
  EMG
• Changes in electrical potentials in the eyes via
  EOG

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Sleep A picture
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Sleep What function does it serve?

• Slow Wave Sleep
• Restorative function i.e it allows us and our
  brains to recover from the wear and tear of the
  days activities.
• Sleep is a neural mechanism that evolved to
  encourage humans to remain inactive during those
  times of day when they do not usually engage in
  activities related to survival. It basically
  keeps us quiet at night!

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Sleep What function does it serve?

• REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep
• Learning
• REM sleep allows us to consolidate memories of
  the preceding day or possibly to eliminate
  unnecessary memories and clutter from our brains.

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Sleep Deprivation and its Effects

• Research results are mixed (pg 145 Baron)
• Long term effects include FATAL FAMILIAL INSOMNIA
  which is a genetic disorder in which individuals
  experience increasingly severe disturbances in
  sleep the disorder is as its name
  suggestFATAL!

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Sleep Disorders

• Insomnia- difficulty falling or staying asleep
  once it is attained
• Disorders assoc. w/ REM Sleep
• Narcolepsy
• Cataplexy
• REM Sleep w/o Atonia
• Disorders assoc. w/ Slow Wave Sleep
• Somnambulism
• Night Terrors
• Apnea
• The roots of SD lie in the mechanisms and brain
  structures which regulate arousal, slow wave
  sleep and REM sleep

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Dreams

• Dreams are cognitive events often vivid but
  disconnected, that occur during sleep. Most
  dreams take place during REM sleep.
• Some basic facts!
• The nature and function of dreams according to
• The Psychodynamic View
• The Physiological View
• The Cognitive View

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Consciousness-Altering DrugsKey Terms

• DRUGS-chemical compounds that alter the
  functioning of biological systems.
• DRUG ABUSE- refers to instances in which
  individuals take drugs purely to change their
  moods and experience impaired behaviour and
  social functioning as a result.
• DEPENDENCE refers to a strong need for a
  particular drug and an inability to function w/o
  it. There are 2 types of dependence
• Physiological and Psychological

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Consciousness-Altering Drugs

• Tolerance-habituation to a drug in which the body
  requires larger and larger doses in order to
  produce the same effects.
• Cross- tolerance- occurs when tolerance for one
  drug increases the tolerance for another

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Explaining Drug Use

• The Learning perspective
• Rewards, it feels so good
• The Social Perspective
• It is the in thing to do, peer pressure
• The Cognitive Perspective
• Automatic behaviour triggered by the presence of
  internal (wanting to celebrate, feeling sad) and
  external cues (bar, party).

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Consciousness-Altering Drugs

• Many of the drugs which seem to affect
  consciousness seem to fit under one of the
  following headings
• Depressants
• Stimulants
• Opiates
• Psychedelics and Hallucinogens

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Depressants

• They are drugs that reduce many bodily and
  cognitive processes in the CNS. They include
  Barbiturates ( found in sleeping pills and
  relaxants) and Alcohol.
• The tendency to abuse alcohol may have a strong
  genetic component
• 2 major patterns of alcohol abuse exist
• Steady drinkers
• Those who resist h/e when they do drink they binge

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Stimulants

• Drugs that increase activity in the nervous
  system ( cocaine, nicotine and caffeine)
• Such drugs can raise b.p, heart rate and
  respiration. It also produces short periods of
  pleasurable sensations in which users feel
  extremely powerful and energetic.
• Wear off leads to fatigue, anxiety and
  depression.
• Cocaine, Freud Coca-cola and Crack.

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Opiates

• Drugs that induce a dreamy state and, in some
  persons, intense feelings of pleasure. The
  effects derived from opiates is due to the
  stimulation of special receptor sites.
• Inclusive of Morphine, Opium and Heroin.
• Opium comes from the opium poppy.
• Opiates cause lethargy and a pronounced slowing
  of almost all bodily functions and induces a
  dreamlike state intensely pleasurable
  sensations
• Extremely addictive. Withdrawal is like pain.

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Psychedelics and Hallucinogens

• Psychedelics are drugs that alter sensory
  perception and so may be considered mind
  expanding (e.g. marijuana)
• Hallucinogens are drugs that generate sensory
  perceptions for which there are no external
  stimuli (e.g. LSD/acid pg 161)
• Effects of Marijuana include
• Heightened senses of sight and sound, a rush of
  ideas
• Changes in b.p, heart rate, dilation of vessels
  in the eye
• Affects attn. mem. and increased sexual
  pleasure
• Reduced inhibitions and feelings of drowsiness

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Psychedelics and Hallucinogens

• Dangers of marijuana use
• Perceptual distortions accidents
• Seasoned spliff
• Long term use impairs immune functioning
• Lungs exposed to contaminants.
• Gateway Hypothesis
• The view that use of marijuana is uniquely linked
  to the use of other drugs.

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Psychedelics and Hallucinogens

• After use of LSD/acid ppl report changes in
  perceptual experiences of the external world
  which include
• Strange blending of sensory experiences
• Walls swaying and moving
• Objects, people or even ones own body can seem
  distorted or threatening
• Note well that the effects of the drug is
  unpredictable