General Psychology

1
General Psychology

• Chapter 4
• Varieties of Consciousness

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Consciousness

• Perceptual awareness of the external
  environment
• Introspective awareness of ones own mental
  processes

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Normal Waking Consciousness

• According to William James, it is
• Always changing
• A very personal experience
• Sensibly continuous
• Selective

4
Freuds View of Levels of Consciousness

• Conscious ideas, memories, feelings, or motives
  of which we are actively aware
• Preconscious aspects of our experience that are
  not conscious, but can easily be brought to
  awareness
• Unconscious cognitions, feelings, or motives of
  which we are not aware

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Figure 4.1 Freuds Theory.
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Contemporary Investigations of the Unconscious

• Subliminal perception perceiving stimuli at
  intensity levels just below the absolute
  threshold
• Little evidence for the power of these messages
• More simple stimuli can be processed complex
  messages cannot

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Contemporary Investigations of the Unconscious

• Blindsight individuals with damaged visual
  areas who can still see simple stimuli
• Person without direct vision can be aware of
  stimuli
• There may be intact lower brain centers
  responsible

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Sleep Dreams

• We spend nearly 200,000 hours of our lives
  sleeping!
• EEG measures brain activity
• EMG measures muscle tone

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Sleep Cycle

• Stage 1 is a very light sleep
• Stage 2, you can still be easily awakened
• Stage 3, internal functions are lowering and
  slowing
• Stage 4 is a deep sleep muscles are totally
  relaxed, and about 15 of sleep is in this stage

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Figure 4.2 EEG records showing the general
electrical activity of the brain for a person at
various stages of sleep and wakefulness.
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Sleep Stages, Cont.

• There are also periods of sleep where eyes dart
  around under closed eyelids
• This is called rapid eye movement, or REM sleep
• People awakened during REM often (about 85 of
  the time) report clear, vivid dreams

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Dreaming

• Freud Interpretation of Dreams
• Wish-fulfillment purpose
• Manifest content content of which the dreamer
  is consciously aware
• Latent content true, underlying meaning of the
  dream that resides in a persons unconscious mind

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Jung vs. Freud

• Carl Jung dreams are transparent or obvious,
  and symbolism inherent in dreams is related to
  universal human concerns
• Sigmund Freud dreams preserve our sanity by
  allowing us to gratify forbidden or unrealistic
  wishes

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Dreams

• Activation-Synthesis Theory dreams are
  activated via physiological mechanisms in the
  brainstem
• Brainstem generates neural activity
• Cerebral cortex synthesizes the activity into
  meaningful stories

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Sleep Disorders

• Insomnia inability to fall asleep or stay
  asleep
• Pseudoinsomnia person believes he or she is not
  getting enough sleep, but is sleeping more than
  he or she realizes
• Medications seldom work in treatment

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Table 4.1 Techniques recommended for getting a
good nights sleep.
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Sleep Disorders

• Narcolepsy involves going to sleep without any
  intention to do so
• Associated with the loss of specific types of
  neurons in hypothalamus
• Long treated with prescribed stimulants, but this
  approach has serious side effects

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Sleep Disorders

• Sleep Apnea involves patterns of sleep, usually
  short, during which breathing stops entirely
• Occurs most among men over age 40 who are
  overweight

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Hypnosis

• Marked increase in suggestibility
• Focusing of attention
• Exaggerated use of imagination
• Unwillingness or inability to act on ones own
• Unquestioning acceptance of distortions of reality

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Common Issues Concerning Hypnosis

• Susceptibility to hypnosis varies from person to
  person
• Its unlikely a person will do anything under
  hypnosis that he or she would not do otherwise
• The issue of it being a unique state of
  consciousness is debatable
• Hypnosis can be used to alleviate pain

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Common Issues Concerning Hypnosis, Contd.

• 5. Where one can remember things under hypnosis
  and could not otherwise is debated
• 6. Age-regression hypnotic sessions have not
  proved valid
• 7. Using hypnosis to refresh the memory of a
  witness may lead to false memories

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Meditation

• Self-induced state of altered consciousness
  characterized by focused attention and relaxation
• Physical changes do take place
• David Holmes says there is no difference between
  relaxation and meditation

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Altering Consciousness with Drugs

• Psychoactive drugs chemicals that alter
  psychological processes
• Dependence
• Tolerance
• Withdrawal
• Addiction

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Altering Consciousness with Drugs

• Drug Abuse
• Lack of control
• Disruption of interpersonal relationships or work
  difficulties
• Drug has been used for at least a month

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Stimulants

• Activate an organism, producing heightened sense
  of arousal and elevated mood
• Caffeine
• Nicotine
• Cocaine/Crack
• Amphetamines

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Depressants

• Alcohol
• Most commonly used depressant
• Pregnant mothers should avoid
• Blood alcohol level affected by amount one drinks
  and how fast it is absorbed in bloodstream
• Use and abuse is associated with socio-cultural
  factors

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Depressants

• Opiates can be used to reduce or eliminate pain
• Heroin
• Barbiturates synthetic sedatives

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Hallucinogens

• Chemicals that lead to the formation of
  hallucinations (usually visual)
• LSD
• Acts on serotonin receptor sites
• Small doses can have great effect
• Changes in mood tend to be exaggerated
• Hallucinations tend to be exaggerations of
  perception

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Marijuana

• Consciousness-altering drug from the cannabis, or
  hemp plant
• In small doses, it is a depressant
• In large doses, it is a hallucinogenic
• Active ingredient is THC
• Can reduce nausea, but can cause cancer, lung
  disease, and impairment in judgment

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Ecstasy (MDMA)

• A psychedelic amphetamine
• Popular
• Tolerance can develop
• Unpleasant physical problem can develop

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Table 4.2 A few examples of common psychoactive
drugs.
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Ethnic and Gender Difference in Drug and Alcohol
Abuse

• Illicit drugs drugs whose use, possession, or
  sale is illegal
• More men than women admit to using
• American Indians and Native Hawaiians more likely
  to use
• Asians least likely to use
• Caucasians are most likely to use alcohol

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Figure S.2 Current, binge, and heavy alcohol use
among persons aged 12 or older, by
race/ethnicity 2003 (with permission, from
SAMSHA, 2003).