Consciousness Chapter 5 Flashcards
- why is regaining consciousness during surgey bad
can spike blood pressure heart rate etc
- Define consciousness
a person’s subjective experience of the world and the mind - EXPERIENCE focus - Posner and Snyder
- circadian rhythm study
Recht/Lewt/Schwartz - teams flying east perform worse
- explain sleep spindles study
Dang-Vu - spindle rate predicts sleep stability - high spindle rate is good
- controlled processes
require alert awareness so limit attention and take away from other processes
- automatic processes
little attention so they don’t interfere
- check brain waves note
do it
- Challenge in psychology
trying to make sense of subjects not just objects
- phenomenology
how things seem to the conscious person
- beta wave frequency and mood
15 to 30 cps - normal alert state
- alpha wave frequency and mood
8-12 cps - relaxation
- theta wave frequency and mood
4-7 cps - light sleep
- delta wave frequency
<4 cps deep sleep
- define Problem of Other Minds
the fundamental difficulty we have in perceiving the consciousness of others
- 2 consequences of problem of other minds
1 zombies - ppl could just be saying things (zombies might exist) 2 can’t tell if others’ experience is like yours
- Ppl judge minds for these 2 factors
1 experience 2 agency
- 4 ratings of agency/experience in dogs to ppl minds
1 none of each 2 experience > agency 3 both 4 agency > experience ie God - so Everyone knows minds have EXPERIENCES that lead to ACTION
- one solution to other minds problem
behaviourism (only studying behaviour) - doesnt account for language etc recall - so modern psyc studies mind
- Descartes and soul
17th century - thought soul was in pinneal gland @ center of brain - really an endocrine gland so obvs not
- mind-body problem
issue of how the mind is related to the brain and body - “mind is what the brain does” today
- what Descartes was right about
reconciling physical body with the mind - today patterns of neuron activity can be shown repeated for the same stimulus
- brain/though/action relationship
brain precedes conscious mind - electrical patterns fire up half second before voluntary thinking/ action
- explain nature of consciousness
4 properties: intentionality/unity/selectivity/transience - different levels - a range of contents
- intentionality
consciousness directed toward an object - its always about something - limited attention
- unity
resistance to division so info from all body senses is integrated - by brain
- selectivity
capacity to include some objects but not others
- dichotic listening + significance
people wearing headphones hear different messages in each ear - filters out some info but tunes in some info ie woman to man change - most inclined to select info of special interest
- cocktail-party phenomenon + example
people tune in one message while they filter out others nearby - ie more likely to notice own name being spoken
- when can selectivity occur
in all the states ie sleeping - waking someone with name works better
- transcience + metaphor for it
tendency to change - mind wanders from present to present to present - “stream of conciousness” metaphor coined by William James - (Ulysess book an example)
- Necker cube
conciousness flows inevitably ie different perspectives of the cube - ppl reverse it regulary ie 3 secs
- minimal consciousness
low level sensory awareness - mind inputs sensations/may output behaviour ie turning towards sun even plants do it
- full consciousness
know and are able to report your mental state - ie when you realize pain in your leg not just rubbing it ie dring without thinking
- self consciousness
person’s attention is drawn tot the self as an object (William James described) - ie when you’re group focus/ camera trained on you/ intropection
- Mirrors and self-consciousness
avoid when ashamed - chronic = depression - OR analyzing self can make more civilized for a moment
- explain animal mirror relationship
most dont recognize - chimps do ie brushing red pigment of self when seeing it in mirror - human infants dont recognize until 18 months
- experience sampling technique + concs
systematic approach to thinking aloud - promted to record at random times of the day - shows consciousness dominated by immediate environment
- current concerns
what the person is thinking about repeatedly - real concerns can differ from reports
- Skin conductance level
measure emotional responses - show subjects can get emotional when they are topics of curren concern
- positive affect study results
lowest affect when commuting/ working - also childcare even though they __want__ to have positiv kid time
- daydreaming
purposeless flow of thoughts comes to mind
- daydreaming fMRI study
daydreaming (or not busy state) uses default network - this brain patterns for social life etc
- mental control
attempt to change conscious states of mind
- thought supression
conscious avoidance of a thought
- thought supression study
white bear Dostoyevsky - Wegner study not supression = less times thinking about bear
- rebound effect of thought supression
thought returns with greater frequency following supression
- ironic monitor
ie people trying to be happy get sad
- ironic processes of mental control
ironic errors bedcause process that monitors errors can itself produce them - not present in consciousness - as works in background: increases sensity to unwanted though = BOOM its there
- frequency of mind wandering
50% of day - at least 30% in each activity
- happiness and mind wandering
LESS HAPPY when wandering
- wandering + creativity
creative problem solving occurs when mind wanders ie Einstein breaks through while walking
- Is process of thinking conscious?
no - just results - your not even allowed to be aware of thinking process
- structural psychologists and thought
ie Wilhelm Wundt - could not report the actual thinking - drew a blank
- dynamic unconscious
described by Freud - active system encompassing lifetime of hidden memories - deepests instincts/desires and struggle to control these forces
- repression
Freuds theory of what holds unconscious desires in check - removes unacceptable thoughts from conscious and puts them in the unconscious
- Freudian slips
Freud’s evidence of unconscious in speech errors ie Fox News sez Obama bin Laden - maybe what was going through their head - also ie shad bock turns to bad shock reading when warned of shock
- why is Freud not as influential today
he relied on interpreting past events - science focus is using hypothesis tests to predict future based on evidence
- modern view cognitive unconscious
factory that builds concious thought and behaviour - all mental processes that given rise to these even though they’re not in conscious experience
- subliminal perception
thought/behaviour influenced by stimuli that person cannot consciously report as perceiving ie James Vicary movie theatre “Eat Popcorn” hoax
- subliminal perception experiment
presented words to do with aging in a series of words - not sublimal just noticeably - subjects exposed walked slower!
- mental butler view of unconscious
takes over tedious tasks - not that smart ie subliminal enemy loses registers negative connotation not positive that enemy has lost - doesnt join the words together
- unconscious decision
better able to sort out complex info ie choosing roomate unconsciously while playing game = good result
- altered state of consciousness
form of experereince departs significantly from normal subjective experience of world/mind - in dreams
- circadian rhythm
naturally occuring 24 hour cycle - circa=about dies=day - 25.1 hrs has beentested as actual
- first EEG recordings
1929
- these waves alternate in waking hours
beta waves (high frequency alertness) // alpha waves (low freq relaxation)
- list 5 sleep stages
1 theta waves (below alpha) 2 sleep spinds & K complexes (activity bursts - hard to awaken) 3/4 delta waves (slow wave sleep) 5 REM
- REM sleep
a stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movements - high level of brain activity - pulse quickens - sexual arousal - very still
- what did the prof also call REM sleep
“paradoxical sleep”
- Electrooculograph
EOG - instrument that measures eye movements - measures REM so we know dreams happen there - 80% report it
- proof dreams in real time
Dement and Kleitman - wok @ 5 mins or 15 mins after REM sleep and they could judge time of dream
- first hour of night
waking to stage 4 (deepest) - delta waves
- after 1st hour of sleep
up to REM - still difficult to awaken - 90 minute cycles - stage 3/4 slow waves end halfway thru night
- sleep needs @ ages
newborns total 16 hours of naps // 9-18 months consolidate to single sleep // 6 yrs 11-12 hrs - down from there to 7 average
- Randy Gardner
stayed up 264 hours - recovered after 14 hrs sleep - a record
- all nighter probs
cant recall info - need sleep to sort it out - sleep loss after several days leads to weight loss/death wonkky
- REM sleep importance
need it or excessive aggression - loss one night leads to REM rebound next night
- animal sleep pro/co
available to prey - but in humans helpful cuz hiding in cave
- list sleep disorders
insomnia - sleep apnea - insomnambulism
- insomnia
difficulty falling/staying asleep - 30% report - 6% actual
- causes of insomnia
night shifts self induced - depression secondary - no factors primary insomnia
- ironic mental control insomnia
heightened sensitivity to signs of sleep
- sleeping pill problems
addictive - reduce REM sleep
- sleep apnea
stops breathing for a moment while sleeping - snoring is symptom - overweight men
- somnambulism
sleepwalking - 15-40% of kids report - glassy stare - can fall - OK to wake up from this :)
- sleep paralysis
waking up unable to move - before regain motor control - hypnopamic = awakening hallucinations - alien invasion alarm root cause // hypnagogic while falling asleep
- narcolepsy
falling asleep in middle of a waking activity - short time - meds treatment
- night terrors
abrupt awakenings from NREM with ANS panic/ emotional arousal - in non-REM sleep
- what is zzzz-mailing
internet use at night - sonambulism
- Dement quote
“dreaming permits… safely insane every night of our lives”
- characteristics of dreams
feel emotion - thought is illogical - sensation fully formed - uncrictical acceptance - difficulty remebering after
- highest reported topics for dreams
falling - school - sex
- EV influence in dream eg.s
water drops = water drop dream // tetris game = tetris falling blocks dream
- nightmares
wake up the dreamer - average 24/year - quake survivors more nightmares about that - police more in general
FACT: Daniel in Bible interpreteted nebechadnexxar dream
also Joseph good good
- Freud dream theory
its purposefully comfusing - manifest content = superficial meaning // latent content = true underlying meaning
- freud dream theory (1900) example
dreaming of tree burning near friends house (manifest) = killing friend (latent & taboo)
- Cartwright’s theory of dream purpose
problem - solving
- hobson’s theory of dreaming
activation synthesis
- revonsuo’s theory of dreaming
“evolutionary”
- dream + supression
feature supressed thoughts ie dream of person youve been told not to think about
- activation-synthesis model (of dreams)
brain attempting to make sense of random reural activity during sleep - no external stimuli but keeps on interpreting info
- brain fMRI concs
brain changes of REM sleep = dreaming pTTERNS - areas for fear/emotion work overtime in dreams - Amygdala activated
- vision during sleep
visual perception NOT visual association ie imagery IS activated - occipatal lobe
- what makes dream rambling
prefontal cortex = rambling
- motor cortex REM sleep
ACTIVATED - spinal neurons prevent action from it though - thrashing around = loss of muscle inhibition
Dream Meanings Around World
US - South Korea - India agree with Freud basic idea that dreams have meanings
- Huxley
became legs of a chair with hallucinogen
- Psychoactive drugs
chemicals that influence consciousness or behaviour by altering the bain’s chemical message system
- agonsists/antagonists
agonists increase activity of neurotransmitter - antagonists decrease
- ways drugs can affect neurotransmitters
prevent bonding to post-synaptic neuron // inhibit reuotake to presynaptic neuron // enhance bonding & transmission
- Valium
induces sleep but prevents dreaming - just slow wave sleep
- Cocaine + animals (rats)
its addictive - rats given free access continue use - lose weight - 90% died by end of study
- when does addiction occur
usually not on first use - icnreases over time with new tolerance/physical dependence/psychological dependence
- Drug tolerance
the tendency for larger drug doses to be required over time for the same effect
- when is drug self-administration prompted
with withdrawal symptoms ie physical dependence (ill if no use) // psychological dependence ie smokers want one years after quit
- what does drug addiction reveal about humans
human fraility - “play first pay later” - consequences seem hazy off in distance - but if both play/pay in far future = we choose better option ie 1 year later
- drug use consequences
addiction not the only end - can overcome it
- Stanley Schachter
found publci addiction is not real story - 64% of smokers quit after trying hard - 75% of substance abusers overcame addiction
- Robbins study
Vietnam vets became addicted to heroin there - but different EV on return lets them quit - only 12% stayed addicted
- is all drug use addiction?
no ie caffeine used by 4 in 5 Americans
- strange miscarriages of addiction definition
tobacco use in Russia/china was severely punishable - also we label sex addicts/gambling addicts - not from real “drugs”
- Depressants
reduce activity of central nervous system ie alcohol/inhalants - physical and psychological dependence
- alcohol usage stats
king of depressants 52% over 12 use - 24% binge - young adult even higher
- acohol effects/how
euphoria then drunkeness - agonist (increases neurotransmitter activity) - increases GABA acivity = more inhibition of impulses than usual
- list 2 theories of why alcohol has variable effects
ie weepy vs agressive - 1 expectancy theory 2 alcohol myopia
- expectancy theory
alcohol effects produced by expectations of how alcohol will influence them in a situation - ie see giggling ppl at wedding? u will do the same
- balanced placebo design
behaviour observed after presence/absence of stimulus && presence/absence of placebo - ie alcohol test - similar behaviour when u have alcohol as when u think u have it
- alcohol myopia
alcohol hampers attention so we respond in simple ways to simple situations - fine judgment impaired - cant balance concers ie stealing best friend’s date
- drinking and agression study
men shown unfriendly woman = no sex thoughts even while drinking // friendly woman - yes and double yes - so drinking just wen to extremes
- drinking and crimes
22% of car crash have high alcohol blood level - incapacited rapes had purposeful alcohol use in 70%s
- barbiturates and benzodiazepenes
seconal/nembutal sleep aids; valium/XAnax = tranquilizers
- problems with toic inhalants
lethal although drunken effect - psychological dependence high
- Simulants
substances that excite the central nervous system - heighten arousal/ activity levels ie caffeine/amphetamines (speed)/nicotine/cocaine/modafinil
- Methadrine and dexedrine
widely abused - cause insomnia - agression - paranoia
- how do stimulants work
increase levels of dopamine/norepinephrine = alertness/euphoria - withdrawal =fatigue/depression
- Ecstasy use
makes users feel empathic so used at group raves - causes jaw clench/heatstroke sucseptibilty
- ecstasy street pill problems
impurities + toxic effect on serotonin neurons - sustained use = damage to serotonergic neurons
- cocaine origin
from coca plant in ANdes - chewed originally - Coke used it to 1903 - still uses coca plant - Pepsi never had it
- Cocaine usage
snorted - crack cocaine smoked - seriously addictive - withdrawal = insomnia / heart attack / hyperthermia = lethal
- nicotine
not pleasant - motivated by nasty withdrawl effects - dont want to quit so keep going
- opium
from poppy seeds - derivitives are heroin/morphine/methadone/codeine = narcotics/opiates umbrella
- narcotics
aka opiates -highly addictive drugs derived from opium that relieve pain - relaxation → lethargy
- narcotic administration risk
shared needles = HIV
- why are narcotics so alluring
mimic brains relaxation system - endorphins (opioids) - related to opiates - reduce pain naturally ie runners high - from pituitary gland
- what causes narcotic withdrawal
endorphin receptors artificially flooded and can’t deal
- hallucinogens
drugs that alter sensation and perception - cause visual // auditory hallucinations - LSD etc (Albert Hofman) - peyote=Native religious
- what does LSD effect
Serotonin (antagonist)
- hallucinogens in culture
Leary prof champions - Beatles “Lucy in Sky with Diamonds” - the psycho roller coaster ride too scary for most people
- Marijuana
plant with leaves and buds containing tetrahydrocannibol - concentrate = hashish - replaces anandamide neurotransmitter
- problems with marijuana
tolerance no - psych dependence yes - sometimes pain med - labelled Gateway Drug
- marijuana US status
Schedule I Controlled Substance - recognizes no medical use - states ie Colorado allow though
- american drug policies
War on drugs vs. Obama Harm reduction approach
- hypnotism history
Franz Anton Mesmer -mesmerizing - french guy ▶️ james braid 1834
- hypnosis
social interaction in which one person makes suggestions that lead to a change in the other person’s subjective experience of the world - sit quietly and focus - suggestions lead to unusual behaviour
- susceptibility
varies - most people only moderately influenced - hypnotist will ease in to influencing - if you think you will be influenced you most likely will
Hypnotic Effects examples
stiff as a board // wont flinch when Pistol near face
- posthypnotic amnesia
failure to retrieve memories following hypnotic suggestion to forget ie Ernest Hilgard study on “forgetting session” - also Paul Ingram - produced confession after being told to do so
- hypnotic analgesia
reduction of pain through hypnosis in people who are susceptible to hypnosis - can be more effective than drugs
- Stroop task
control mental processes beyond conscious control - told to ignore colour of words in hypnosis - the. They ignore the argument of colour/word name - ie decreased activity in conflict monitoring region = actually experiencing it - not just pretending
- explain role-playing / social cognitive view of hypnosis - with the experimenter guys
Barber Spanos Orne – supporting evidence • replicating performance of hypnotized ( when told hand stiffen if hypnotized - it stiffens) • age-regressed memories • Orne’s (1959) demonstration
- explain Hilgard’s dissociation theory of hypnosis
dissociation in consciousness • “hidden observer” • supporting evidence –ice-bath –behaviour in isolation –brain imaging studies - pain only available to the hidden observer
- agonistic drugs act how
increase activity of neurotransmitter
- antagonistic drugs act how
decrease activity of neurotransmitter
- withdrawal definition
the occurrence of compensatory responses after drug use is discontinued causing the person to experience physiological reactions opposite to those that had been produced by the drug
- tolerance definition
condition in which increasingly larger doses of a drug are required to produce the same level of bodily responses
- explain REM sleep percntage as you age
starts at 50% of sleep and goes down from there
- what happens after sleep deprivation
60 hrs = hallucinations / 3 days = microsleep patterns
- what is “Kipasso”
art done in sleep
- what company used to make Heroin
Bayer - for children with bad coughs
- what company used to sell opium
stickney and poors - paregorgic - to make children behave