Defining consciousness:

Two notions of consciousness

1. General state of arousal (sleep vs.

wakefulness)
2. Attentional focus or current awareness
(watching football game or listening to wife)

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Defining consciousness:
Levels of Awareness
Higher-Level Consciousness

controlled processing

actively focus efforts toward a goal

requires attention

Defining consciousness:
Levels of Awareness
Lower-Level Consciousness
Automatic processes

require little attention/conscious effort

do not interfere with other ongoing activities

Daydreaming

wandering thoughts
fantasy, imagination, rumination
potentially useful (reminding, solving)

Defining consciousness:
Altered states
Altered States of Consciousness
drug states
fatigue, illness, trauma, deprivation
meditation, hypnosis
mental disorders

Cognitive Studies of
Consciousness: Generally deal
nd
1. Consciousness
with 2
notionfocus:
as attentional

Cocktail party effect (selective attention)

2. Automatic vs. Controlled processing
(effects of practice on conscious awareness)
3. Implicit vs. Explicit memory

Recall test vs. Perceptual Identification test

Effects of priming

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Cognitive Studies of
consciousness: Priming test

Word or non-word RT measure

FORK = word; DXMZ = non-word
SIGN FORK
DXMZ FORK
SPOON FORK (sig reduction in rt)
Unconscious priming? -- yes

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Cognitive studies of
consciousness: Exclusion task in
Coconutpalm priming
(tree or wrist?) cons: only

tree/uncon: either
Handpalm (tree or wrist?) cons: only
wrist/uncon: either
Stem completion task: complete BUT_ _ _
(could be butter or butler). What happens
when one is presented earlier either
consciously or unconsciously?) But can only
be excluded consciously
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Cognitive studies of
consciousness: Brain Damaged
1. Blindsight: loss
Subjects
of visual consciousness

due to damage to primary visual cortex

2. Prosopagnosia: loss of face recognition
due to damage to temporal lobe visual
pathway.

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Huffman: Psychology in
Action (8e)

Sleep and Dreams: Stages

of Sleep

NREM (Non-Rapid-Eye-Movement) Sleep:

Stage 1 (lightest sleep)
Stage 2 (deeper sleep)
Stages 3 and 4 (deepest sleep)

REM (Rapid-Eye-Movement) Sleep:

Light sleep (also called paradoxical
sleep)
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Sleep and Dreams: Stages

of Sleep (Continued)

NREM (non-REM) sleep:

includes Stages 1 through 4
involves lower-frequency brain waves,
decreased pulse and breathing,and
occasional, simple dreams
serves a biological need (NREM needs
met before REM needs)
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Sleep and Dreams:

Stages of Sleep
(Continued)

REM (Rapid-Eye-Movement) sleep:

also known as paradoxical sleep.
involves high-frequency brain waves,
increased pulse and breathing, large
muscle .
serves a biological need.
may play a role in learning and
consolidating new memories.
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Huffman: Psychology in
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Sleep and Dreams:

Stages of Sleep in a Typical
Night

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Sleep and Dreams:

Research

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The EEG,
EOG, and
EMG are
common
tools for
sleep
research.

What Happens When We Sleep

Sleep and Dreams:

Stages of Sleep & Brain
Waves

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Sleep and Dreams: Over the

Life Span

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Sleep and Dreams: Average

Daily Hours of Sleep for
Different Mammals

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Why Do We Need Sleep?

Adaptive Evolutionary Function

safety
energy conservation/ efficiency

Restorative Function

body rejuvenation & growth

Brain Plasticity

enhances synaptic connections

memory consolidation

Theories of Dreaming
Historical and Religious Significance
Freuds Psychodynamic Approach

manifest and latent content

Cognitive Theory

information processing and memory

Activation-Synthesis Theory

brain makes sense out of random brain activity

Sleep Disorders

insomnia
sleep walking, talking, and eating
nightmares and night terrors
narcolepsy
sleep apnea

Sleep Disorders

Insomnia: persistent
problems in
falling
asleep, staying
asleep,
or awakening too
early
Sleep Apnea: repeated interruption of breathing
during sleep
Narcolepsy: sudden and irresistible onsets of
sleep during normal waking hours
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Sleep disorders

Nightmares: anxiety-arousing dreams

occurring near the end of sleep, during REM
sleep

Night Terrors: abrupt awakenings from

NREM sleep accompanied by intense
physiological arousal and feelings of panic
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Psychoactive Drugs

Psychoactive
Drugs:
chemicals that
change conscious
awareness, mood,
or perception

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Psychoactive Drugs:
Important Terms

Drug Abuse: drug taking

that causes emotional or
physical harm to the
individual or others

Addiction: compulsion to
use a specific drug or to
engage in a certain
activity
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Psychoactive Drugs:
Important Terms

Psychological
Dependence: desire or
craving to achieve effects
produced by drug

Physical Dependence:
bodily processes have
been so modified by
repeated drug use that
continued use is required
to prevent withdrawal
symptoms

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Psychoactive Drugs:
Important Terms
(Continued)

Withdrawal: discomfort

and distress experienced

after stopping the use of
addictive drugs
Tolerance: decreased
sensitivity to a drug
brought about by its
continuous use
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Reward Pathway
for Psychoactive
Drugs

Psychoactive Drugs: Four

Categories
1. Depressants:

act on the CNS

to suppress
bodily
processes
(e.g., alcohol,
valium)

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Alcohol & Neurotransmitters

Psychoactive Drugs:
Depressants (Continued)

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Huffman: Psychology in
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Psychoactive Drugs:
Stimulants
2. Stimulants:
act on the CNS
to increase
bodily
processes
(e.g., caffeine,
nicotine,
cocaine)
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Psychoactive Drugs:
Opiates
3. Opiates:
act as an
analgesic or pain
reliever (e.g.,
morphine, heroin)
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Psychoactive Drugs:
Hallucinogens
4. Hallucinogens:
produce sensory
or perceptual
distortions called
hallucinations
(e.g., LSD,
marijuana)
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John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007

Huffman: Psychology in
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Applying Psychology to
Everyday Life:
Club Drug Alert!

Popular Club Drugs:

Date Rape Drug (Rohypnol)
MDMA (Ecstasy)
GHB (Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate)
Special K (Ketamine)
Crystal Meth (Methamphetamine)
LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide)
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Psychoactive Drugs: How

They
Step 1).Work
Alter the production or synthesis of

neurotransmitters.

Step 2). Change the storage or release of

neurotransmitters.

Step 3). Alter the reception of neurotransmitters.

Step 4). Change the deactivation (block the reuptake

or break-down) of excess neurotransmitters.
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How Psychoactive Drugs

Work (Step 3: Agonists vs.
Antagonists)

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Huffman: Psychology in
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Healthier Ways to Alter

Consciousness

Meditation: group of
techniques designed to
refocus attention, block
out all distractions, and
produce an ASC

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Huffman: Psychology in
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Healthier Ways to Alter

Consciousness

Hypnosis:
trancelike state
of heightened
suggestibility,
deep relaxation,
and intense
focus
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Huffman: Psychology in
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Healthier Ways to Alter

Consciousness

Hypnosis is
used to treat
chronic pain,
severe burns,
dentistry,
childbirth,
psychotherapy.
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Huffman: Psychology in
Action (8e)

Upper Paleolithic Cave Art:

Indications of rituals to achieve
ASC?

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Traditional ceremonies

Mandan Indiana sun-dance: altered state as

pain endurance

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Ritual Use of Altered State

Intoxicants

As far back as we can trace, humans have

used consciousness altering rituals and
intoxicants, but always together and always
under supervision or regulation. The ritual
regulated the drug use.

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Huffman: Psychology in
Action (8e)