Chapter 5 Flashcards
what is consciousness
the subjective experience of internal and external events
how does attention relate to consciousness
by studying attention we can learn the limits on the capacity of our conscious awareness
what is dichotic listening
the process of receiving different auditory messages presented simultaneously to each ear
explain how experiments on dichotic listening can be used to a study attention
our brains are constantly performing tasks without brining them to our attention.
describe the key findings from dichotic listening
our attention is drawn to sounds or stimuli that suddenly change.
your brain is paying some attention at a fairly high level to whats going on in the background (unshawdowed message)
many complex tasks can involve little conscious awareness
ex: if the right side says your name even when you’re focusing on the left side you notice it
what is automaticity
a task can be performed relatively automatically when it allows you enough cognitive resources to engage in other tasks simultaneously
ex: producing sentences in you native language
first driving a car and not being able to talk so you can focus –> to being able to do lots of things while you drive
what is Stroop effect
a good example of how when something is automatic it can be hard to stop yourself from doing it
You were supposed to be just naming the colour that you saw on the screen, not reading the words
But reading-for you- is automatic and you can’t help doing it. Even when it means reading the words that interfere with your ability to name the colours
what is visual neglect
where a malfunction in the brain mechanisms that help us pay attention to things causes changes in a person’s conscious awareness
what does visual neglect tell us about the possibility of processing information without conscious awareness
that information you are not paying attention to can influence your decision anyways
what is meant by the term subliminal perception
the perception of a series of stimulus which the person is not consciously aware of a
evaluate what kinds of influence- if any- subliminal info is likely to have on us
research shows that subliminal messages have no effect or influence
describe how sleep is a biological rhythm and how it is controlled
ASKING PROF
describe the various sleep cycles and characteristics
drowsy: alpha waves prominent
stage 1: theta waves prominent
stage 2: sleep spindles and mixed EEG
stage 3&4 progressively more delta waves ( large amplitude and decreased in frequency)
REM sleep: low-voltage, high-frquency
explain ideas about the function of sleep
repairing and restoring our cellular process
without sleep our ability to do complex tasks will decline
explain ideas about the adaptive significance of sleep
….
