Exam 2 Flashcards
(135 cards)
Consciousness
our subjective awareness of and responsiveness to mental processes (various internal cognitive processes, such as sleeping, dreaming, concentrating, and making decisions) and the environment
Normal waking consciousness
mental state that encompasses the thoughts, feelings, and perceptions that occur when we are awake and reasonably alert
Altered state of consciousness
mental state that differ noticeably from normal waking consciousness
Ex-sleep/dreams, effects of some drugs, meditation, hypnosis
Changes experienced in altered state of consciousness
perceptual/attentional processes
memory
high-level thought processes
emotions/self-control
Death by alcohol: Sam Spady story
NEVER leave an intoxicated person alone
STAY SOBER to take care of your friends
Legal drinking age is 21
Call 911 if a person has any of the following symptoms
unconscious or semiconscious
breathing less than 8 times per minute or irregular (10 seconds or more between breaths)
cold, clammy, pale, or blush skin
can’t be awakened by pinching, prodding, or shouting
vomiting without waking up
What point was made by the findings using the eye tracker? (invisible gorilla)
people used an eye tracker and they found that people with the eye tracker looked at the gorilla for at least a second and still didn’t notice it; looking is different than seeing
Are there “noticers” and “missers” among us, and to what do these terms refer?
No; it is a matter of a flip of a coin. We know when we notice something but we aren’t aware of the times when we’ve missed something unexpected.
What point was made by the discussion of focusing attention?
We need to be able to filter out the distractions of our world and not let them interfere with the task we are trying to do. The key is when you’re focusing your attention on one aspect of your world, you don’t have an unlimited amount of attention to devote to other things. We only see the things we focus our attention on. We might filter something we might want to notice
selective/directed attention
Dichotic (divided into 2) listening task: procedure, results, and conclusion
“ba” in attended channel
“ta” in unattended channel
Attention can be too narrow/focused or too wide. Needs to be appropriate for the task at hand
Disorders of attention (ex. ADD, ADHD)
ADD- it is like watching a Tv show when someone else has control of the remote and keeps channel surfing while you are trying to follow the plot of the show
Problems with multitasking
can decrease performance, increased errors, sometimes resulting in injuries and even death
Biological rhythms
self-sustained cyclic changes in biological processes
Chronobiology
the branch of biology that scientifically studies biological rhythms and their systems
Circadian rhythm
our adaptation to the 24-hr solar cycle of light and dark; sleep and wakefulness
What controls the circadian rhythm
the human biological clock is the scn
suprachiasmatic nucleus (in the hypothalamus); approx. 15,000 cells
epinephrine
light->alertness
melatonin
darkness->sleepiness
Free running
without day/night cues, body clock typically runs on a slightly different than 24 hr cycle. But the body clock still runs- it is internal
The circadian rhythms role in jet lag and sleep problems
responsible for jet lag and problems associated with working nights and a rotating shift schedule
Chronotherapy
using light and other environment, natural non-drug techniques to reset the circadian clock and treat problems of sleep, jet lag, and depression including seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
Aserinsky
discovered REM sleep
Developmental changes in amount of REM sleep
Infants spend a greater proportion of their sleep in REM sleep
Total sleep time decreases as the person ages
Experience less stage 3 NREM “restorative” sleep as age
Brain wave activity
The first stage of REM sleep closely resembles stage 1 of NREM sleep.
Stages 3 and 4 are now combined into just stage 3