Consciousness

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Consciousness

• Chapter 5

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Can consciousness be studied?

• John Watson (Behaviorism) and William James
  (Functionalism) said no
• Not observable

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Consciousness as a Construct

• A construct is something we cannot see, touch, or
  measure directly
• i.e. intelligence, emotion
• Constructs effect behavior

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Meanings of Consciousness

• Awareness
• Sensory awareness
• Inner awareness
• A sense of self

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Consciousness as Sensory Awareness

• Using your senses to be aware
• Can be unaware of sensory stimulation
• Is that stimulation a part of your conscious
  self?
• Unusual stimuli and sudden changes

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Consciousness as Direct Inner Awareness

• Imagine jumping in a lake
• Imagine jumping off a building
• To figure out complex thoughts one must be aware
  of the things happening inside of them
• Ethical or abstract concepts

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Consciousness as a Sense of Self

• 3 levels of sense of self
• Awareness is more limited in these 3 levels

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Preconscious Level

• Taking ideas not in your direct awareness and
  giving them priority
• Store information - recall

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Unconscious Level

• Unavailable to awareness in most circumstances
• Hidden information party example p. 105
• Freud unconscious desires
• Mental strategies defense mechanisms

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Non-conscious Level

• Blinking, breathing, etc.
• If we had to concentrate on all of these things

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Altered States

• Drugs
• Meditation
• Hypnosis
• Dozing off

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Section 2 Sleep and Dreams

• We spend 33 of our lives sleeping
• Circadian Rhythms biological clocks
• Sleepiness / wakefulness
• Blood pressure
• Temperature
• Can be harmful if disrupted continuously

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Sleep-Wake Cycle

• A full sleep-wake cycle is 24 hours
• Removal of certain stimuli can extend this cycle
  or vice versa

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Stages of Sleep

• Stages are defined by brain wave patterns
• Measured by electroencephalograph (EEG)
• Brain waves are cyclical
• Beta, alpha, theta, delta 4 patterns of brain
  waves
• Falling asleep
• Gradual change from beta to alpha
• Sensations of falling asleep

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Stages

• Stage 1 lightest sleep stage
• Slowing of brain waves
• Brief dreamlike images
• Easily awakened

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Stages

• Stage 1 lasts 30-40 mins
• After stage 1 we pass through 2,3, and 4
• 3 and 4 are the deepest sleep delta waves

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Stage Transition

• 30 minutes in stage 4
• Transition back to stage 1 the trip through all
  4 cycles takes a total of 90 minutes
• When we enter back towards stage 1 some funny
  things happen

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REM

• Breathing becomes irregular
• Blood pressure rises
• Heart beats faster
• Similar to stage one this is REM sleep
• Other stages are called NREM
• 8 hour sleep 5 rotations up and down stages
• Final REM sleep may last 30 mins or longer

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Why do we sleep?

• Body reset
• Resistance to infection
• Life happenings
• What happens if we refused to sleep?

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Purposes of REM Sleep

• Brain cell exercise in adults
• Brain development in babies
• Better learning capabilities
• Comprehension

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Dreams and REM Sleep

• Some people dream in black and white, some in
  color
• Every time we are in REM sleep we dream
• Some are more realistic than others
• Some people remember dreams, while others have a
  hard time
• States of consciousness may affect this

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Freudian View

• Freud said that dreams are wishes your heart
  makes
• People dream in symbols
• This allows people to deal with issues that may
  be too painful to deal with consciously

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Biopsychological View

• Some psychologists believe that dreams are more
  biological
• Neurons fire at random in the brain that control
  vision and movement
• This could explain why we often dream of things
  that happened during the day or people we
  interacted with

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No Set of Rules

• Psychologists agree that there is no set of rules
  that defines how to interpret dreams

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Sleep Problems

• Insomnia the inability to sleep
• racing mind syndrome
• Forcing sleep makes it worse
• Occasional insomnia is common
• Several tips

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Nightmares and Night Terrors

• Many reasons for nightmares
• Traumatic events
• Anxious / Depressed
• Profession or Activity
• Why do nightmares occur?

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Night Terrors

• Night terrors are turned up nightmares
• May cause physical effects while sleeping
• Vague after occurrence
• Night terrors occur in stage 3 or 4
• Happen in first couple of sleep cycles

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Sleepwalking

• Sleepwalking is often associated with children
• Urban legend says that waking them may cause
  irrational behavior
• Should be supervised if possible because they
  could hurt themselves

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Sleep Apnea

• Breathing interruption that happens at night
• Usually do not wake up completely
• Once they start to breathe normally they go back
  to sleep
• Occur when nasal passages are blocked
• May cause snoring
• May be related to SIDS

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Narcolepsy

• People fall asleep no matter what time or where
  they are
• Several short naps and certain drugs have been
  known to treat this disorder
• Can be dangerous

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