Consciousness Flashcards
Consciousness
The moment-to-moment subjective experience of the world, bodies, and mental sensations
Interdisciplinary
Physics, philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, computer science, etc.
Cognitive Psychology
- Human’s are “information processors”. The mind is the computer’s software and the brain is the computer’s hardware.
- THE CAVEAT: An oversimplification. Not all cognitive psychologists agree with this interpretation
Controlled (Effortful) Processing
Mental processing that requires some degree of volitional control and attentiveness
Automatic Processing
Mental activities that occur automatically and require no (or) minimal consciousness control or awareness
Divided Attention
- The ability to perform more than one activity at the same time
- It is difficult if tasks require similar cognitive resources – Listening to music and studying for an exam
The Problem of Other Minds
- The fundamental difficulty we have in perceiving the consciousness of others.
- There is no way to distinguish a conscious and unconscious mind
The Mind-Body Problem
The issue of how the mind is related to the brain and body
Intentionality
The quality of being directed towards an object. This means that consciousness is always about something.
Unity
The resistance to division or the ability to integrate information from all your body’s senses into a coherent whole.
Selectivity
The capacity to include some objects but not others. Your mind makes decisions about which pieces of information to include and which it wants to exclude. This is done through dichotic listening
Dichotic Listening
task in which people wearing headphones hear different sounds or messages in each ear. Participants don’t realize that they are listening to two different sounds – filtering out information while tuning into other information. This is done through the cocktail-party phenomenon
Cocktail-Party Phenomenon
A phenomenon in which people tune in one message even while they filter out others nearby
Transcience
The tendency to change.
Minimal Consciousness
A low-level kind of sensory awareness and responsiveness that occurs when the mind inputs sensations and may output behaviour.
Full Consciousness
When you know and are able to report on your mental state. You are aware of having this mental state while you are experiencing the mental state itself.
Self-Consciousness
When the person’s attention is drawn to the self as an object. It focuses on the self excluding almost everything else.
Coma
Appear to be deeply asleep. They cannot open their eyes, communicate, or respond to anything. They are completely unaware
Vegetative State
Alternate between having their eyes open and closed. There are times where they appear to be awake and may move, grunt, smile, cry, moan etc. But there is nothing that suggests they are aware.
Minimally Conscious State
People respond reliably but inconsistently to stimulation.
Mental Control
he attempt to change conscious states of mind. Ex. Someone who worries a lot about the future might choose not to worry about it, because it causes anxiety
Thought Suppression
The conscious avoidance of a thought
Rebound Effect of Thought Processing
The tendency of a thought to return to consciousness with greater frequency following suppression
Dynamic Unconsciousness
Encompasses a lifetime of hidden memories, instincts and desires and the struggle to control these forces
Repression
Keeps conscious thoughts in the unconscious
Cognitive Consciousness
Mental processes that bring forth thoughts, emotions, choices and behaviour
Dual-Process Theories
The theory that we have two separate processing systems. One is fast, automatic and unconscious while the other is slow, effortful and conscious
Electrooculogram (EOG)
An instrument that measures eye movements during sleep
Glymphatic System
Removes neurotoxic waste products and distributes the necessary compounds through the brain such as glucose, lipids and amino acids
Manifest Content
A dream’s apparent topic or superficial meaning. The raw facts/details
Latent Content
A dreams true and underlying meaning
Activation-Synthesis Model
The theory that dreams are produced as the brain makes sense of random neural activity occurring while falling asleep
Psychoactive Drugs
Chemicals that influence consciousness or behaviour by altering the brain’s chemical messaging system
Drug Tolerance
The tendency for larger drug doses to consumed overtime to achieve the same effect
Physical Dependance
refers to the unpleasant symptoms that come with withdrawal of a drug
Psychological Dependance
The desire to return to a drug regardless of the physical withdrawal symptoms
Depressants
Reduce the activity of the NS and have a sedative/relaxing feeling
Expectancy Theory
Idea that the effects of alcohol are produced by expectations of how alcohol will affect them in certain situations
Balanced Placebo Design
Behaviour is observed following the presence/absence of a placebo stimulus
Alcohol Myopia
Results when alcohol hampers attention leading to people responding in a simple way to a complex situation
Barbiturates and Tranquilizers
Addictive drugs such as sleeping pills, sedatives and antianxiety drug
Stimulants
Drugs that increase NS behaviour and heighten arousal/activity levels
Amphetamines
Reduces sleep, fatigue, appetite, depression as a result of increased dopamine and norepinephrine levels
MDMA (Ectasy)
Individuals will feel empathetic and close to those around them
Cocaine
Blocks the reuptake of dopamine and norepinephrine
Narcotics
Highly addictive drugs used to relieve pain causing a well being and relaxed feeling
Hallucinogens
A social interaction in which an individual makes suggestions leading to another persons subjective view on the world
Posthypnotic Amnesia
The failure to retrieve memories following hypnotic suggestions to forget
Hypnotic Analgesia
The reduction of pain through hypnosis in people who are susceptible to hypnosis
