States of Consciousness

1
States of Consciousness

• Naturally Occurring

2
What is Consciousness

• More than just being alert or aware
• Psychologists awareness of various mental
  processes
• Two variations Waking Conscious and Altered
  States of Conscious

3
What is Consciousness

• Waking Consciousness mental state that
  encompasses the thoughts, feelings, and
  perceptions that occur when we are awake and
  reasonably alert
• Altered States of Consciousness mental states
  that differs noticeably from normal waking
  consciousness
• Sleep, daydreaming, dreaming, meditation, hypnosis

4
Waking Consciousness

• Awareness is only part of consciousness
• Many external stimuli affect us at any given
  moment, as well as internal stimuli
• Heat, cold, hunger, thirst, etc.
• We cannot pay attention to all stimuli (it would
  overwhelm us)
• The brain processes information outside of our
  awareness
• Ex. you can hear people around you, but you focus
  on your conversation with your friend but you
  can shift attention when you hear your name

5
Waking Consciousness

• Sometimes people get so absorbed in what they are
  doing they are oblivious to whats going on
  around them
• Most often consciousness roams, concentrating
  on a single task for a period of time then moving
  on
• Because consciousness is not observable, many
  psychologists turned to focus on observable
  behaviors (Watson and Behaviorism)
• Growth in interest due to increased understanding
  of the brain, rise of cognitive psychology,
  alternative states of consciousness

6
Waking Consciousness

• Stream of Consciousness the brain translates
  incoming bits and pieces of information into a
  fluid, coherent stream
• Individual pieces of information are forwarded
  to specific areas of the cerebral cortex (primary
  visual cortex, Wernickes area, etc)
• The thalamus sweeps and scans all areas
  (approx. 40 times a second) and flows information
  together

7
Waking Consciousness

• Consciousness is the tip of the ice berg
• Freud believed that most behaviors are driven by
  unconscious needs and primal drives, also
  automatic actions

8
Daydreaming and Fantasy

• Read The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
• Popcorn reading you may call on someone after at
  3 sentences (only at the end of a sentence)
• Answer the questions on the half-sheet of paper

9
Daydreaming and Fantasy

• Few people experience day dreams as vividly as
  Walter Mitty his real life is not full filling
• Everyone has daydreams
• Effortless, spontaneous shift of consciousness,
  taking you to a private world of make-believe
• The urge to daydream comes in waves (about every
  90 minutes, peaking between noon and 2pm)
• Average person spends ½ of waking time
  daydreaming/fantasizing

10
Daydreaming and Fantasy

• Most daydreams are thoughts and images related to
  unfulfilled goals and wishes
• There are 4 types of daydreamers
• Positive imagine pleasant, playful scenarios
  (happy people)
• Negative feelings of guilt, frustration, fear of
  failure (goal oriented people)
• Scattered fleeting, loosely connected (anxious
  people)
• Purposeful solve problems, think ahead
  (curiosity people)

11
Daydreaming and Fantasy

• Purpose of daydreaming 2 views
• Retreat from the world when the world is not
  meeting our needs
• can become a problem, interfere with the real
  world, productive activities, replace
  friends/family ? need to seek help
• Refreshing break from the world
• remind us of neglected personal needs, can build
  problem solving, encourage creativity, endure
  difficult situations (torture)

12
Sleep

• Humans spend about 1/3rd of their lives asleep
• State of rest, reduced voluntary body movement,
  decreased awareness of surroundings
• Everyone sleeps, deprivation causes people to
  crave sleep
• All animals also have some sort of rest state

13
Sleep

• Reasons for sleep
• Conserving energy
• Allowing the brain to re-energize or re-create a
  vital substance (unproven)
• Circadian Cycles an ancient adaptation to the
  24-hour solar cycle
• Tiny biological clock is a cluster of neurons
  in the hypothalamus ? produce proteins that block
  hormones
• Manages metabolism, body temperature, heart rate
• Hormones balance each other (hormone that
  produces alertness drops at night as the one that
  promotes sleep increases)

14
Sleep

• Circadian cycles reset themselves based on
  changes in season
• artificial lights interfere with this
• Jet lag is caused by changes in time zones,
  abrupt changes in light/dark schedules
• Sleep cycles are better understood than waking
  consciousness
• Studied in sleep labs

15
Sleep

• There are 5 stages in sleep
• Each stage has distinct characteristics even
  though there may be variation between people
• Changes in brain waves, muscular activity, and
  body temperature
• twilight is the stage just before sleep
  relaxed state, eyes closed, floating or falling
  sensation ? being brought out of it feels like a
  jolting sensation

16
Sleep

• Stage 1The brain is producing alpha waves as we
  are transiting from wakefulness to sleep this
  stage takes about 7 minutes.
• Slowing of the pulse
• Muscle relaxation
• Eyes may shift side-to-side
• After stage 1, sleepers move to stage 2, then 3,
  then 4

17
Sleep

• Stage 2, 3, 4 During these stages you are
  going into deeper and deeper sleep. Muscle
  tension, heart rate, respiration and body
  temperature gradually decline.
• During stage 3 and stage 4 the brain is producing
  delta waves
• Stage 4 is the deepest stage of sleep.
  Sleepwalking, and night terror occur in stage 4
  and neither of these experiences are remembered.

18
Sleep

• After about an hour, sleeper leaves stage 4 and
  moves back to 3, to 2, and to REM
• REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep It takes anywhere
  from 30 to 90 minutes to go from stage 2 sleep to
  REM sleep. The brain acts like it is fully awake.
  REM sleep is also known as Paradoxical Sleep
  because the body is in the state of physiological
  arousal.
• Heart rate, oxygen consumption, breathing and eye
  movement are the same as when awake. 80 of
  people that are awakened report to be dreaming.

19
Sleep Disorders

• Sleep walking/talking
• More common among children, especially boys
• 20 of children experience
• Not dangerous, during deep sleep (hard to wake)
• Temporary disruption to sleep paralysis
• Night Terrors
• Suddenly sitting up in bed, screaming, fearful
• Are not remembered the next day (unlike
  nightmares)
• Occur 4-12, more often in tired people
• Nightmares
• Diminish with age, if triggered by traumatic
  experience they last longer

20
Sleep Disorders

• 35 million Americans are affected by insomnia
• Most is stress related and temporary
• Some caused by other disorders (depression)
• Bad sleep habits aggravate or can cause insomnia
  (varying bed times, distracting settings)
• One area of the hypothalamus seems to be
  important in switching from awake to sleepy

21
Sleep Disorders

• Apnea affects 10-12 million Americans
• Breathing difficulties and snoring which leads to
  restless sleep
• Wake up, or almost wake up hundreds of times a
  night
• Can lead to other problems depression,
  difficulty concentrating, headaches, contributing
  factor to cardiovascular problems

22
Sleep Disorders

• Narcolepsy is a hereditary disorder
• Victims nod off without warning
• Happens in the middle of conversations or other
  alert activities
• Sudden loss of muscle control collapse
• Immediately enter into REM sleep, leading to
  frightening hallucinations (dreams experienced
  while awake)
• Thought to be caused by a problem in the central
  nervous system

23
Dreams

• Most people dream in color.
• Dreams are visual in nature. Taste, smell, and
  touch seem to be deactivated.
• Dreams are more frequently disturbing and
  unpleasant rather than pleasant.
• The most common setting for dreams is indoors
  rather than outdoors.
• Dreams usually involve motion and action.
• The length of dreams may vary but most are as
  long as daydreams.
• We dream approximately 5 to 6 times per night
  during REM sleep.
• Dreams do not occur exclusively during REM sleep.
  It is possible to dream duringa short nap or at
  any time during the night.

24
Dreams

• Sigmund Freud theorized that dreams were vital
  keys to unlocking the mysteries of an
  individual's personality, motivations, and the
  overall psyche.
• He first used the term "interpretation" to refer
  to the unscrambling of dream content
• Manifest content whats literally going on
• Latent content the hidden, unconscious wants
  that are symbolized by manifest content

25
Dreams

• Dreams could be the brain way of processing
  information gathered during the day
• Time to put things into long-term memory if
  needed, or forgotten
• Both humans and animals spend more time in REM
  after intense learning
• Dreams are a method of cleaning house or sorting
  out problems

26
Dreams

• Dreams could be the brains way to trying to make
  sense of activity in the Pons (regulates
  breathing, body temp)
• Dreams tend to be emotional
• the Limbic system (regulates emotions,
  motivations, memories) is wildly active during
  sleep fore brain (regulates emotions) is inactive

27
Dreams

• Dreams could be an extension of conscious
  concerns
• Similar topics as those that occupy waking
  consciousness
• Individuals seem to have themes over years
• Dreams may seem realistic and coherent during and
  while awake