Consciousness Flashcards
What is consciousness?
The state of being aware and responsive to one’s surroundings
How does awareness of self and surroundings operate?
On a continuum
e.g. from focused alertness, daydreaming and coma
What are examples of altered states of consciousness?
The mind is aware but not in its usual wakeful condition
e.g. sleep/dreams
psychoactive drugs
meditation
hypnosis
How do we know that altered states of consciousness exist?
We are able to describe the subjective experience of an altered state
How can altered states of consciousness be measured objectively?
What is the problem with this?
Eye movements can be observed
People respond different to subjective experiences such as hypnosis
People may look similar to an outsider even if the states are subjectively very different
Why is there no agreed definition of consciousness?
Due to mind-body dualism
there are subjective and objective views of consciousness
What is mind-body dualism?
The theory that the mind and body are distinct kinds of substances, each with a different essential nature
They casually interact which being ontologically distinct substances
What would be the objective and subjective view of a pencil?
Objective - pencil is an object
Subjective - the colour, how sharp it is, how it smells
What is a subjective view?
A view that is unique to a particular individual
How can colours be used to show differences in subjective experiences?
Women are more sensitive to subtle changes in colour shades due to the arrangement of rods and cones in the retina
There is a difference in perception of different colours between women and men
How do subjective experiences between individuals tend to vary?
They tend to be similar to that of others, but are not exactly the same
Who devised the Hard Problem?
Chalmers
What does the Hard Problem explain?
How physical processes in the brain give rise to subjective experiences
What does the Hard Problem state?
We cannot explain the action of 90 billion neurones in the brain and their connections
We cannot explain the subjective experiences that we have of the world, which is based on this physical principle
What is an ‘easy problem’?
Easy problem all represent some ability, or the performance of a function or behaviour
e.g. difference between wakefulness and sleep
What are the 3 dominant functional views?
- monitoring
- controlling
- conscious and unconscious processes
What is involved in monitoring?
Attention - people only experience what they attend to
Inattentional blindness means consciousness is like a spotlight where it focuses only on one area
What is inattentional blindness?
When an individual lacks awareness of things that are occurring in the periphery
What is involved in controlling?
It is the ability to anticipate things that are going to happen in the future
It allows you to plan, initiate and guide future actions
This involves looking at different possibilities and choosing between alternatives
How are unconscious and conscious processes related?
Unconscious processes underpin consciousness
What is an example of an action that is alway unconscious?
Visuomotor control
Movement of the eyes is not consciously controlled
What is an example of an action that is normally unconscious but can be brought under conscious control?
Biofeedback
A technique you can use to learn to control your body’s functions, such as heart rate
What is involved in biofeedback?
Patient is connected to electrical sensors which allow them to receive information about their body
How can actions become automatic?
These actions are learnt with conscious effort but become automatic
e.g. playing piano
What type of action is driving?
Skilled actions that require learning can be conscious or unconscious
What is an example of an action that is always performed consciously?
recalling a phone number
When does subliminal perception occur?
When the stimuli is below the individual’s threshold for conscious perception
e.g. flashed images or sound below audible volume
How does subliminal perception affect an individual?
Information that is presented below the level for conscious registration is still picked up by the brain
It may affect behaviour later on
How does subliminal advertising work?
It uses flashed images that are too quick to be consciously registered
The subliminal perception may impact someone’s behaviour later on
What are 2 examples of subliminal advertising?
How do they work?
Product placement and attentional focus
People do not consciously register that the object is there, but it may become a desired product later on
What is thought suppression?
The idea that if you are told not to think of a particular object, it is impossible to erase the object from your mind
What are the two stages of the ironic thought process?
Intentional operating process
Ironic monitoring process
What is the intentional operating process?
It takes effort, is conscious and interruptible
This is a mental state in which the object does not exist
What is the ironic monitoring process?
It is automatic, unconscious and uninterruptible
It searches for mental contents that signal the failure of mental control
What is the Stroop effect?
People are asked to distinguish between the colour of a word and the word of the colour
This leads to a slower reaction time and more mistakes
What does using the Stroop effect demonstrate?
Unconscious processing is happening at the same time you are consciously focussing on the colour
You cannot stop the brain from encoding the word whilst you are focusing on the colour
Brain tries to relate 2 conflicting pieces of information
What are the 4 categories of psychoactive drugs?
- sedatives & hypnotics
- stimulants
- opiates
- hallucinogens and psychedelics
What do stimulants and sedatives do?
Stimulants increase activity
Sedatives induce sleep
What do opiates do?
They relieve pain and cause euphoria
What do psychedelics do?
They cause hallucinations - an altered state of consciousness
What are the characteristics of hallucinations?
They are visual and consist of patterns and colours
What are the constants formed by hallucinations?
spiral, cobweb, tunnel or lattice
Predictable colours and patterns which happen every time
What are the 2 types of pattern?
What is significant about the patterns?
The 2 basic forms are either a grid or a spiral
The patterns are also typical of non-drug hallucinations
How are colour changes predicted?
The range of the colour change palette changes depending on the drug
What are the 2 side effects of using psychedelics?
- delusions
such as merging with the surroundings
- emotional changes
vary from euphoria to terror
Which mental health condition uses psychedelics as treatment?
They are used as an insight into schizophrenia
LSD and mescaline are used in mental health patients
What are the 2 types of meditation
- concentrative (one-point)
2. open awareness
What is involved in concentrative meditation?
Diminishing sensory input and focusing on one aspect
Single-minded attention is directed towards an object
When is concentrative meditation used?
What kind of action is involved?
Used in active stress management
Uses a repeating mantra or relaxation movement
What is involved in open awareness meditation?
This involves being aware of everything around you
The experience is slowed down so you are aware of everything that is happening around you
what metaphor is used to describe open awareness meditation?
The mind is an open sky
The practitioner observes the clouds (thoughts) that pass along their field of awareness
What is mindfulness and why is it used in open awareness meditation?
It is a way of bringing one’s attention to the present experience on a moment-to-moment basis
It is a way of paying attention
When is open awareness meditation used?
In mental health, anxiety and eating disorders
What is the definition of hypnosis?
A social interaction in which the subject responds to suggestions offered by the hypnotist involving alterations in perception, memory and voluntary action
What happens to the subject during hypnosis?
It is a state of altered consciousness
The subject loses the power of voluntary action and is highly responsive to suggestion or direction
When is hypnosis used in therapy?
To relieve suppressed memories or to allow modification of behaviour
What are the 2 views of hypnosis?
- altered state of consciousness
2. period of focused attention
What is Hilgard’s principle of the ‘hidden observer’?
During hypnosis, the hidden observer protects us from doing anything that we would not do under any circumstance consciously
Why does the ‘hidden observer’ require an altered state of consciousness?
It involves having numerous levels of awareness, which operate separately
What is involved in the ‘period of focussed attention’ theory?
It is a state of social compliance and suggestibility
In a more relaxed state, the mind is more responsive to suggestion
How does an individual focus during hypnosis according to ‘period of focussed attention’?
They focus their attention on what the hypnotist suggests
They do not pay attention to what is going on around them, unless they are directed to do so
What 4 characteristics define someone in a hypnotised state?
- receptive to suggestions
- narrow attention to a single source
- lack of initiative and wilful action
- trancelike state
How would someone in a hypnotised state appear to an observer?
They appear fully alert and to be interacting normally
What type of hallucinations occur under hypnosis?
Positive
Negative
They can occur via post-hypnotic suggestion, after the subject is relieved from the hypnotic trance
What is a positive hallucination?
This occurs when the subject sees or hears something that is not present
What is a negative hallucination?
This involves failure by the subject to perceive something, such as pain
Is hypnosis an effective treatment for pain relief?
There is moderate evidence to suggest it is effective
How does hypnosis differ to standard analgesia?
There is an awareness to other sensations, just not pain
How can hypnosis be used to ignore pain?
What type of processing is this?
To ignore pain, the sensation must first be recognised so that the brain knows what to ignore
This is top-down processing
