Chapter 2- States of consciousness

Question 1

What is consciousness?

Answer 1

Consciousness is the awareness of objects and events in the external world and of our own existence and mental experiences at any given moment

Question 2

Why is the conscious experience described as personal, selective, continuous and changing?

Answer 2

It is personal because it is your subjective understanding of both your unique internal world and the external environment. Consciousness is selective because you can choose to attend to certain things and ignore others.Consciousness is continuous because there is never a time of the day when your consciousness is empty. Consciousness is constantly changing with new information continually coming into awareness, particularly while you are awake.

Question 3

What are states of consciousness?

Answer 3

States of consciousness refer to the different levels of awareness that we experience at different times. Our state of consciousness, or level of awareness of our internal state and external surroundings, determine how much information we take in and respond to.

Question 4

What are the qualities that distinguish the different states of consciousness?

Answer 4

• Level of awareness
• The content of consciousness
• The use of controlled or automatic processes to perform tasks
• Perceptual experiences
• Cognitive abilities
• Emotional awareness
• Self-control
• The experience of time
• Physiological changes (brainwaves, muscle tension etc)

Question 5

What is normal waking consciousness?

Answer 5

Normal waking consciousness refers to the states of consciousness associated with being awake and aware of our thoughts, memories, feelings, and the sensations we are experiencing from the outside world.

Question 6

How do we perceive the world in normal waking consciousness?

Answer 6

We perceive the world as real and it has a familiar sense of time and place .

Question 7

What is attention?

Answer 7

Attention is a concentration of mental activity that involves focusing on a specific stimulus while ignoring other stimuli. In normal waking consciousness our attention can be focused on internal thoughts or feelings or on external stimuli.

Question 8

What is selective attention?

Answer 8

Selective attention involves choosing and attending to specific stimulus to the exclusion of others. This illustrates that the focus of our awareness is on only a limited range of all that we are capable of experiencing.

Question 9

What factors determine whether we will attend to a particular stimulus during normal waking consciousness?

Answer 9

If a stimulus is personally important to us, we are more likely to take notice of it. Our attention is also attracted by any changes in stimulation or the introduction of a novel stimulus; that is, a stimulus that is new or unusual in some way.

Question 10

Can we process information outside of our conscious awareness?

Answer 10

Yes, evidence can be shown through our ability to understand or acknowledge information from our environment even when focusing our attention onto one stimulus. e.g. you are at school and are thinking about what you will do this weekend with your friends, but you know that you are meant to be copying down a question from the board even if you don’t understand what the question is saying. Thus, even when your attention is focused on one thing, you are still capable of reacting to other stimuli.

Question 11

What is divided attention?

Answer 11

Divided attention refers to the ability to distribute our attention and undertake two or more activities simultaneously. Our ability to use divided attention depends on the similarity of the tasks, their complexity and how accomplished, or ‘experienced’. we are at doing them.

Question 12

Are there content limitations to consciousness?

Answer 12

Generally, the content (type of information) held in our normal waking consciousness is more restricted, or limited, than the content of consciousness during an altered state. The content of normal waking consciousness tends to be more organised and logical than that in an altered state of consciousness.

Question 13

What is a controlled process?

Answer 13

A controlled process involves conscious, alert awareness and mental effort in which the individual actively focuses their attention on achieving a particular goal. A controlled process is often required when a task is novel, or unfamiliar, or difficult. Controlled processes tend to be serial; you can usually only perform on task requiring controlled processing at a time.

Question 14

What is an automatic process?

Answer 14

An automatic process requires little conscious awareness and mental effort, minimal attention and does not interfere with the performance of other activites. It is used when a task is simple or familiar and tneds to be rapid. Automatic processing tends to be parallel, this means that we usually can handle two or more tasks at the same time.

Question 15

What is the Stroop effect?

Answer 15

The Stroop effect is the observation that it takes longer to name the colour of the ink a word is printed in if the word names a different colour than it does to identify a block of colour. Psychologists believe that the Stroop effect occurs because when we are presented with a word, out automatic response is to read it.

Question 16

What did Stroop’s experiments on automatic and controlled processes show us ?

Answer 16

When we are simultaneously presented with more than one cognitive task, those tasks involving automatic processing override tasks that involve controlled processing. When presented with conflicting stimuli, we cannot prevent automatic processing from dominating - even if we want it to.

Question 17

How much of the day do we usually spend in normal waking consciousness?

Answer 17

two-thirds of each day are spent in normal waking consciousness during which there are variations in mental alertness as streams of information flow in and out of awareness.

Question 18

When do we switch from normal waking consciousness into an altered state of consciousness?

Answer 18

When changes in mental awareness occur to the extent that you can notice differences in your level of mental functioning, you have entered an altered state of consciousness.

Question 19

What is an altered state of consciousness?

Answer 19

The term altered state if consciousness (ASC) is used to describe any state of consciousness that is distinctly different from normal waking consciousness in terms of level of awareness and experience, and the quality or intensity of sensations, perceptions, thoughts, feelings and memories that are experiences. Cognitive processes or perceptions of yourself or the world may change, and normal inhibitions or self-control may weaken

Question 20

What are some natural ASC’s?

Answer 20

• sleep
• daydreaming
• dreaming

Question 21

What are some purposely induced ASC’s?

Answer 21

• meditation
• hypnosis
• alcohol
• certain medications/drugs

Question 22

What are some common characteristics of ASC’s?

Answer 22

• Perceptual and cognitive distortions
• A disturbed sense of time
• Changes in emotional awareness
• Changes in self-control

Question 23

What effect do ASC’s have on the human senses?

Answer 23

An ASC seems to have one of two effects on the senses - it either makes them more receptive to external stimuli or dulls them to such an extent that sometimes sensations are not experienced at all.

Question 24

What effects do ASC’s have on human perceptions?

Answer 24

Perceptions can be so distorted in an ASC that people may lose their sense of identity. Distortions can occur in our perception and experience of:

• Time orientation: time seems to pass at a different speed than normal
• Changes in emotional awareness: ASC’s sometimes put an individual’s feelings into a state of turmoil, resulting in uncharacteristic responses, or result in an emotionless like state. Also, includes unpredictable and inappropriate emotional behaviour.
• Changes in self-control: ACS’s can affect our coordination and control of bodily movements and our general behaviour/choices

Question 25

What effects do ASC’s have on human cognitive function?

Answer 25

• Thought processes are often more disorganised.
• Thinking is often illogical and lacking in sequence, and difficulties may be experienced in problem-solving.
• Individuals often have trouble remembering events that occur during an ASC

Question 26

What is daydreaming?

Answer 26

Daydreaming is an altered state of consciousness in which we shift our attention from external stimuli to internal thoughts, feelings and imagined scenarios

Question 27

When is daydreaming most likely to occur?

Answer 27

Daydreaming is more likely to occur when we are stationary than when we are moving about, perhaps because at these times our active behaviour and directed attention are ‘turned off’. It is also more likely to occur when we are alone, waiting to fall asleep, travelling on public transport, or doing routine or boring activities such as washing dishes.

Question 28

What is an assumption based on the reason for why and when we daydream?

Answer 28

It appears that our consciousness may respond to an unchanging external world by turning inwards and creating more interesting thoughts and images

Question 29

What type of EEG and EOG readings occur when day dreaming?

Answer 29

Unlike night dreams, daydreams are associated with minimal eye movements and high levels of alpha brainwaves (similar to that seen when we are relaxed and drifting off to sleep in NREM stage 1).

Question 30

Is the content of daydreams or night dreams more organised and less disjointed thoughts ?

Answer 30

The content of daydreams frequently consists of a series of disjointed, unrelated and emotional thoughts - even less organised and meaningful than many nightdreams.

Question 31

What were Sigmund’s, Singer’s and Schachter’s thoughts on why we daydream?

Answer 31

Sigmund Freud believed that the purpose of daydreams is to allow us to do in our fantasies what we are unable to do in reality, reducing frustration and tension. Singer proposes that daydreaming enables us to mentally try out a range of courses of action that could be applied to particular situations. Schachter has suggested that daydreaming may also assist us to solve problems.

Question 32

What type of drug is alcohol?

Answer 32

Alcohol is considered to be a psychoactive drug. Psychoactive drugs are chemicals that change conscious awareness, perception or moods. Alcohol is also classed as a depressant drug as it depresses activity experienced in the brain that centres around judgment and self-control.

Question 33

The specific effects of alcohol on consciousness depend on what variables?

Answer 33

• The concentration of the alcohol consumed
• The amount of alcohol consumed
• The conditions under which the alcohol is consumed
• Variables related to the individual, such as the rate of consumption, drinking history, the amount of food i stomach, body weight, age, gender, body chemistry, physical well-being, emotional state and mood.

Question 34

What type of effects might a person experience under the influence of alcohol?

Answer 34

• Shortened attention span (difficulty concentrating)
• Impaired perceptions: e.g. slowed processing of sensory information
• Impaired thinking: e.g. difficulties understanding, thinking clearly, applying good judgement.
• Impaired memory: e.g. difficulties forming new memories or memory loss
• Slower reaction times
• Reduced self-awareness: e.g. focussing on the immediate situation no the consequences
• Impaired emotional awareness and control: e.g. exaggerated states of emotional experiences
• Impaired perception of time
• Less self-control: e.g. saying first thought that comes to mind rather than appropriate comment
• Difficulties with voluntary muscular control and fine movements
• Deterioration in performance of complex tasks

Question 35

What are the characteristics of the BAC levels?

Answer 35

up to 0.05%- more confident, lowered alertness
0.05-0.08%- judgement impaired, less self-control
0.08-0.15%- speech slurred, slow reflexes, unsteady
0.15-0.30%- cannot walk, confused, impaired memory
0.30-0.40%- barely move, no response, stuporous
over 0.40%- coma and/or death

Question 36

What is a psychological construct ?

Answer 36

A psychological construct is a concept that is ‘constructed’ to describe specific ‘psychological’ activity, or a pattern of activity, that is believed to occur or exist but that cannot be directly observed or measured

Question 37

What type of information do psychologists use to determine or study an individual’s state of consciousness?

Answer 37

• Information provided by the individual (e.g. self-report)
• Behaviour that is demonstrated (e.g. experimental research)
• Physiological changes that can be measured (e.g. brain recording and scanning techniques)

Question 38

What is an electroencephalograph (EEG)?

Answer 38

An electroencephalograph, or (EEG), is a device that detects, amplifies and records general patterns of electrical activity of the brain.
The electrical activity measured in the brain is caused by the billions of neurons in the brain (particularly in the cerebral cortex).

Question 39

What does an EEG do?

Answer 39

The EEG amplifies and translates the relatively weak electrical activity in areas of the brain beneath the electrodes into a visual pattern of brain waves.

Question 40

What are the four types of brain waves?

Answer 40

Beta waves- High frequency, low amplitude. Associated with normal waking consciousness and focused attention
Alpha waves- High frequency, low amplitude. Associated with a relaxed, wakeful state
Theta waves- Medium frequency, mixture of high and low amplitude. Associated with the early stages of sleep
Delta waves- Low frequency, high amplitude. Associated with the deepest stages of sleep.

Question 41

What is an electrocardiograph (ECG or EKG)?

Answer 41

An electrocardiograph is a device that detects, amplifies and records the electrical activity generated by the heart (through electrodes attached to the chest). Heart rate specifically refers to how fast the heart beats. EEG’s also measure heart rhythm.

Question 42

How does the heart rate change during sleep?

Answer 42

Heart rate is lower (and regular) when in a deep state of sleep but may rise and become irregular during a sleep period called REM

Question 43

How does body temperature change during sleep?

Answer 43

The most predictable change in core body temperature is the drop that is evident during the ASC of sleep. The drop can be more than 1-degree Celcius during the deeper sleep stages of sleep (NREM sleep)

Question 44

What is the Galvanic skin response ?

Answer 44

The Galvanic skin response (GSR) is a physiological response that indicates the change in the resistance of the skin’s surface to the passage of an electrical current. This means that it measures the electrical conductivity of the skin not the electrical activity of the skin.

Question 45

How does GSR identify states of consciousness (including altered states of consciousness)?

Answer 45

The experience of high emotional arousal often gives rise to increased sweating, which is shown in a GSR as an increase in electrical conductivity (i.e. a decrease in electrical resistance). ASC’s are closely associated with both heightened and reduced emotional reactions, the GSR can be used as one indicator of an alteration in an individual’s state of consciousness.