Chapter 6: Conscious Flashcards
activation-synthesis model
theory that dreams result from the brain’s attempts to synthesize or organize random internally generated signals and give them meaning.
adaptive theory of sleep
theory that organisms sleep for the purpose of self-preservation, to keep away from predators that are more active at night.
addiction
psychological or physical compulsion to take a drug, resulting from regular ingestion and leading to maladaptive patterns of behaviour and changes in physical response.
alcoholism
long-term pattern of alcohol addiction.
circadian rhythm
pattern of sleep-wake cycles that in human beings roughly corresponds to periods of daylight and night.
consciousness
our immediate awareness of our internal and external states.
depressants
class of drugs that slow the activity of the central nervous system.
dissociation
a splitting of consciousness into two dimensions.
flashbacks
recurrence of the sensory and emotional changes after the LSD has left the body.
hallucinogens
substances that dramatically change one’s state of awareness, causing powerful changes in sensory perception.
hypnagogic state
a pre-sleep period often characterized by vivid sensory phenomena.
hypnosis
a seemingly altered state of consciousness during which individuals can be directed to act or experience the world in unusual ways.
information-processing theory
hypothesis that dreams are the mind’s attempt to sort out and organize the day’s experiences and to fix them in memory.
insomnia
sleep disorder characterized by a regular inability to fall asleep or stay asleep.
lucid dreams
dreams in which sleepers fully recognize that they are dreaming, and occasionally actively guide the outcome of the dream.
meditation
technique designed to turn one’s consciousness away from the outer world toward one’s inner cues and awareness.
narcolepsy
sleep disorder marked by uncontrollable urge to fall asleep.
non-REM sleep (NREM)
Stages 1 through 4 of normal sleep pattern.
opioids
class of drugs derived from the sap of the opium poppy.
preconsciousness
level of awareness in which information can become readily available to consciousness if necessary.
psychoactive drugs
chemicals that affect awareness, behaviour, sensation, perception, or mood.
rapid eye movement sleep (REM)
stage of sleep associated with rapid and jagged brainwave patterns, increased heart rate, rapid and irregular breathing, rapid eye movements, and dreaming.
restorative theory of sleep
theory that we sleep to allow the brain and body to restore certain depleted chemical resources and eliminate chemical wastes that have accumulated during the waking day.
reward-deficiency syndrome
theory that people might abuse drugs because their reward centre is not readily activated by usual life events.
reward learning pathway
brain circuitry that is important for learning about rewarding stimuli.
sedative-hypnotic drugs
class of drugs that produces feelings of relaxation and drowsiness.
sleep apnea
sleep disorder characterized by repeatedly ceasing to breathe during the night, depriving the brain of oxygen and leading to frequent awakenings.
sleep spindles
bursts of brain activity lasting a second or two; occur during Stage 2 sleep.
stimulants
substances that increase the activity of the central nervous system.
suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)
a small group of neurons in the hypothalamus responsible for coordinating the many rhythms of the body.
tolerance
mark of physical dependence on a drug, in which the person is required to take incrementally larger doses of the drug to achieve the same effect.
unconscious state
state in which information is not easily accessible to conscious awareness.
withdrawal symptoms
unpleasant and sometimes dangerous side effects of reducing intake of a drug after a person has become addicted.
What is consciousness?
-unconscious, non-conscious, insights, controlled, automatic
The three properties of consciousness?
- Subjective & private
- Dynamic
- Self-reflective
Subject & private (three properties of consciousness)
Others cannot directly know our reality (and vice versa)
Dynamic (three properties of consciousness)
Ever changing
Self-reflective (three properties of consciousness)
Mind is aware of its own consciousness
How do we operationally define inner states? (hint 3)
- Self-reports
Direct but not verifiable - Your level of alertness/self awareness, potential of a bias - Physiological
Are objective but cannot indicate a person’s subjective experience
-EEG - Behavioural
Performance on tasks & need to infer state of min
Sleep drive
the longer you go without sleep the higher that drive will go
what causes you to sleep?
Melatonin levels rise and cause the alertness to fall until eventually you sleep
5 stages of sleep
Stage 1
- light sleep
- Theta waves (3.5 -3.7 cps)
Stage 2
- sleep deepens
- sleep spindles
- cycles 90 mins
Stage 3&4
- delta waves
Rem sleep
- rapid eyes movements
- paradoxical sleep
- heart-rate increases
- breathing more rapid and irregular
Sleep and age
as you get older you need less sleep and you disproportionally lose REM
What do we dream about?
Fears, wishes, plans hopes and worries
No agreed-upon theory
- wish fulfillment
- gratification of unconscious desire/needs (sexual & aggressive urges)
- conflict resolution
Two important concepts of dreams
- “surface” story of the dream
- “purpose” of the dream
conflict resolution
unconscious state working through your dreams and aspirations, dreams and nightmares and ways in which you can avoid them
Information-processing theory
your brain is sorting the info of the day or past several days and trying to figure out how to allocate it (brain house-keeping)
The work of Ronald Rensink (2000; Khun, Caffaratti, Teszka, & Rensink, 2014; O’Regan &
Clark, 1997) at the University of British Columbia shows
that unless you pay attention to the appropriate aspects of a scene, you can miss even the most conspicuous events around you (like a gorilla walking through a video you are watching).
What is the purpose of the Rouge test?
to try to determine when babies first experience a conscious sense of self
What happened in the Rouge test?
- researchers secretly dabbed red makeup on babies’ noses while pretending to wipe them.
- placed the babies in front of a mirror
- reasoned that babies who had developed a sense or conscious awareness of self would see the makeup and touch their own noses, while those who did not understand they were looking themselves in the mirror would try to touch the makeup on the baby in the mirror
Other theorists suggest that consciousness itself is rooted in language, representation, and social responsiveness. Because babies do not have language—the ability to let words represent events and experiences—they cannot reflect on their thoughts and behaviours and do not have full consciousness yet. When does the theory suggest this shift to occur?
These theorists suggest that a shift happens at around 22 months of age (about the time they start to recognize themselves in the mirror on the Rouge test), when babies show the ability to reason inductively and to name and categorize concepts, which in turn enables them to represent concepts in a richer and deeper way.
two kinds of memory?
Implicit and explicit
implicit memory
a type of memory that is not consciously recalled. It allows people to perform habits, skills, and automatic behaviors such as driving a car. It can also prime people to react to certain stimuli without consciously remembering the reason for their behaviour.
- involve factual information
explicit memory
Explicit memory is the conscious, intentional recovery of a memory. Knowing the date of your birth is an explicit memory. Implicit memories refer to knowledge that we are not typically aware of—information that we cannot recall at will, but that we use in the performance of various tasks in life.
-Explicit memories involve pieces of knowledge that we are fully aware of
what did Freud believe to be the key function of unconsciousness?
- According to him, one of the key functions of unconsciousness is to house thoughts and memories too painful or disturbing for consciousness
- Indeed, Freud maintained that at some level, we may repress such thoughts and memories (of bullies we have known, for example), pushing them into our unconscious and preventing them from entering our conscious experience.
what is the Freudian slip also referred to as the slip of tongue?
a moment when the mind inadvertently allows a repressed idea into consciousness.
What did Freud believe the unconscious mind could do?
he believed that our unconscious can work against us and that people who store too many emotionally-charged memories and needs in their unconscious may eventually develop psychological disorders.
