Consciousness Flashcards
What is consciousness?
Awareness of self and surroundings
What is the continuum that consciousness operates on?
focused alertness - daydreaming - coma
Give some examples of altered states of consciousness
Sleep and dreams
psychoactive drugs
mediation
hypnosis
Give some examples of key questions for neuroscience?
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?
Why is it different to measure how conscious states are altered?
Difficult to put into words
People respond differently
States that are subjectively very different may look the same to an observer
What is the concept of mind body dualism and what is the difficulty with this?
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)
Who came up with ‘the hard problem’? What is the concept?
Chalmers (1994)
To explain how PHYISCAL PROCESSES in the brain give rise to SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE
What is the most popular functional view of consciousness?
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
How do people believe people control consciousness?
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
Give some examples of sills that are learned with conscious effort but can become unconscious?
Playing an instrument
Driving
Recalling a phone number
Give an example of actions that are always unconscious?
visuomotor control - eyes constantly flicker
What is subliminal perception?
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
What is ironic processing?
“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)
What are the three features of ironic monitoring process?
Automatic
Unconscious
Uninterruptible
What are the three features of intentional operating processes?
Effortful
Conscious
Interruptible
Who came up with the theory ‘ironic processes of mental control’?
Wegner 1994
What are the 4 different classes of psychoactive drugs?
Sedatives and hypnotics
Stimulants
Opiates
Hallucinogens and psychedelics
How are psychoactive drugs classified?
On effects on behaviour
Why are hallucinations caused by psychedelics preditclbe?
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
What are two effects of psychedelics other than halluicinations?
Delusions (e.g. merging with surroundings) Emotional changes (from euphoria to terror)
What is concentrative/ one-point meditation?
FOCUS - focusing onto an object or sound, listening, using movement such as Tai Chi, repeating a mantra
Diminishing sensory input using attentional effort
What is open mediation?
Being aware of everything around
Experience is not met with a response
e.g. mindfulness
Do meditation techniques require practice?
YES - they are ritualistic
Define hypnosis
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)
What are the two different views on hypnosis?
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
Four features of the hypnotised state
Receptive to suggestions
Attention narrowed to a single source
Lack of initiative and will-full action
Trancelike state (but outwardly appears fully alert)
What are positive hallucinations under hypnosis?
Person sees or hears something not present e.g. thinks an onion is an apple
What are negative hallucinations under hypnosis?
Failure to perceive something e.g. pain (useful clinically)
Is hypnosis useful as pain relief?
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)
What form of processing is needed for hypnosis and pain relief?
Top-down - recognising something in order to be able to dismiss it
