Consciousness Flashcards
What is consciousness?
Awareness of self and surroundings operates on a continuum: Focussed alertness to daydreaming to coma
What are the altered states of consciousness?
- sleep and dreams
- psychoactive drugs
- meditation
- hypnosis
How do we know the states are altered?- subjective experience
• can describe the subjective experience
- but just how different is it?
- can it be put into words?
- can it be remembered?
How do we know the states are altered?- objective experience
• can measure objectively
- but people respond differently e.g. hypnosis
- states that are subjectively very different may look similar to outside observer
What is the mind-body dualism?
Mind-body dualism = idea that the mind and body are separate
What is the hard problem?
The hard problem - Chalmers
How physical processes of the brain give rise to subjective experience. The hard problem of consciousness is the problem of explaining how and why we have qualia or phenomenal experiences – how sensations acquire characteristics, such as colours and tastes
What are the dominant/ popular views of consciousness?- monitoring
- attention you experience what you attend to
- inattentional blindness
What are the dominant/ popular views of consciousness?- controlling
- plan, initiate and guide actions - future possibilities, choosing between alternatives
- conscious and unconscious processes
Unconscious processing- subliminal processing
Subliminal processing = stimuli below threshold for conscious perception can be unconsciously perceived
Unconscious processing-subliminal advertising
Subliminal advertising = product placement normalises the product, and we tend to buy products normal to us
Unconscious processes- thought suppression
Thought suppression = thoughts must be suppressed into unconsciousness but with recall. Consciously supressing thought causes it to become more conscious
Unconscious processes- automatic reading
Automatic reading = supressing reading words to focus on other visual aspects
What are psychoactive drugs? What do they do?
Psychoactive drugs (acts primarily on CNS where it alters brain function, resulting in temporary changes in perception, mood, consciousness and behaviour) are classified by effect on behaviour e.g. sedatives/hypnotics, stimulants, opiates (derived from opium e.g. morphine, codeine), hallucinogens/psychedelics
What are psychedelics? What do they do?
Psychedelics (hallucinogens which alter cognition and perception): cause hallucinogenic effects such as observing patterns and colours. Have delusional and emotional effects (often cause fear).
What are the two types of meditation?
Meditation may be concentrative (one-point meditation) which diminishes sensory input, or open which causes awareness of everything around you but not met with response.
Hypnosis definition
A social interaction in which one person (the subject) responds to suggestions offered by another
(the hypnotist) involving alterations in perception, memory, and voluntary action. In the classic case, these experiences and their accompanying behaviours are associated with subjective conviction bordering on delusion, and involuntariness bordering on compulsion.
What are the two views on hypnosis?
40% of subjects believe it to be caused by altered consciousness, 60% believe it to be caused by focused attention (so they’re not truly hypnotised)
What is the hypnotised state?
- receptive to suggestions
- narrowing attention to single source
- lack of initiative and wilful action
- trancelike state
BUT
• outwardly, can appear fully alert and interacting normally
What are positive and negative hallucinations?
Positive hallucinations = see or hear things you don’t normally
Negative hallucinations = can’t’ see or hear things you normally can
How are hypnosis and pain relief related?
• moderate evidence of effectiveness -several reviews (e.g. Molton et al, 2007)
• not standard analgesia
-awareness of other sensations
-e.g. cold in room, pain in other limb
-to ignore pain, sensation must first be recognised i.e. noticed to know what to ignore
-top down processing
