Consciousness

Question 1

What is consciousness?

Answer 1

Awareness of self and surroundings

Question 2

What is the continuum that consciousness operates on?

Answer 2

focused alertness - daydreaming - coma

Question 3

Give some examples of altered states of consciousness

Answer 3

Sleep and dreams
psychoactive drugs
mediation
hypnosis

Question 4

Give some examples of key questions for neuroscience?

Answer 4

What are the critical brain regions for consciousness?
What are the mechanisms for general anaesthesia?
What is the function of consciousness?
How rich is consciousness?
Are vegetative patients conscious?

Question 5

Why is it different to measure how conscious states are altered?

Answer 5

Difficult to put into words
People respond differently
States that are subjectively very different may look the same to an observer

Question 6

What is the concept of mind body dualism and what is the difficulty with this?

Answer 6

Consciousness is subjective - difficult to measure. It can’t be objectively described.

e.g. a pencil has a physical presence and can be objectively measured (that its there) BUT you have a subjective experience with that pencil (smell, touch, colour)

Question 7

Who came up with ‘the hard problem’? What is the concept?

Answer 7

Chalmers (1994)

To explain how PHYISCAL PROCESSES in the brain give rise to SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE

Question 8

What is the most popular functional view of consciousness?

Answer 8

Consciousness relates to attention - we are only conscious of what we acutely focus on (but do we choose what we attend to or do things grab our attention?)
Inattentional blindness

Question 9

How do people believe people control consciousness?

Answer 9

We deliberately use consciousness to plan ahead and guide actions, choosing between alternatives

This negates the idea that there are unconscious processes that decide this

Question 10

Give some examples of sills that are learned with conscious effort but can become unconscious?

Answer 10

Playing an instrument
Driving
Recalling a phone number

Question 11

Give an example of actions that are always unconscious?

Answer 11

visuomotor control - eyes constantly flicker

Question 12

What is subliminal perception?

Answer 12

Stimuli that are below an individual’s threshold for conscious perception - unconscious registration of information
e.g. flashing image, things below audible volume, product placement

Question 13

What is ironic processing?

Answer 13

“don’t think about a white bear”
We have two levels of consciousness going on:
An INTENTIONAL operating process searches for mental contents to create the desired mental states (something other than a white bear e.g a nice beach)
An IRONIC MONITORING PROCESS which searches for mental contents that signal the failure of mental control (tries to make sure that you aren’t thinking about a white bear)

Question 14

What are the three features of ironic monitoring process?

Answer 14

Automatic
Unconscious
Uninterruptible

Question 15

What are the three features of intentional operating processes?

Answer 15

Effortful
Conscious
Interruptible

Question 16

Who came up with the theory ‘ironic processes of mental control’?

Answer 16

Wegner 1994

Question 17

What are the 4 different classes of psychoactive drugs?

Answer 17

Sedatives and hypnotics
Stimulants
Opiates
Hallucinogens and psychedelics

Question 18

How are psychoactive drugs classified?

Answer 18

On effects on behaviour

Question 19

Why are hallucinations caused by psychedelics preditclbe?

Answer 19

Hallucinations form visual patterns and colours that are a product of how our visual field is organised.
Visual effects form constants: spirals, tunnel, lattice, cobweb
Predictable colour changes

Question 20

What are two effects of psychedelics other than halluicinations?

Answer 20

Delusions (e.g. merging with surroundings)
Emotional changes (from euphoria to terror)

Question 21

What is concentrative/ one-point meditation?

Answer 21

FOCUS - focusing onto an object or sound, listening, using movement such as Tai Chi, repeating a mantra

Diminishing sensory input using attentional effort

Question 22

What is open mediation?

Answer 22

Being aware of everything around
Experience is not met with a response
e.g. mindfulness

Question 23

Do meditation techniques require practice?

Answer 23

YES - they are ritualistic

Question 24

Define hypnosis

Answer 24

A SOCIAL INTERACTION in which the subject responds to the hypnotist’s suggestions involving alterations in PERCEPTION, MEMORY and VOLUNTARY ACTION.
These experiences are usually associated with subjective conviction bordering on delusions and involuntariness that borders on compulsion (it looks like they are being forced, but it is an agreed (not controlling) relationship)

Question 25

What are the two different views on hypnosis?

Answer 25

Altered consciousness (40%):
It's a true experience of altered consciousness,  different to normal daily consciousness. Hilgard describes it as a 'hidden observer' - two different levels of consciousness.

Period of focussed attention (60%):
State of social compliance and suggestibility

Question 26

Four features of the hypnotised state

Answer 26

Receptive to suggestions
Attention narrowed to a single source
Lack of initiative and will-full action
Trancelike state (but outwardly appears fully alert)

Question 27

What are positive hallucinations under hypnosis?

Answer 27

Person sees or hears something not present e.g. thinks an onion is an apple

Question 28

What are negative hallucinations under hypnosis?

Answer 28

Failure to perceive something e.g. pain (useful clinically)

Question 29

Is hypnosis useful as pain relief?

Answer 29

Moderate evidence
Not standard analgesia;
awareness of other sensations e.g. cold in room, pain somewhere else
- they are just ignoring pain so sensation must first be recognised to know what to ignore (top down processing)

Question 30

What form of processing is needed for hypnosis and pain relief?

Answer 30

Top-down - recognising something in order to be able to dismiss it