Grade 11, Unit 1 (Topic 4)

Question 1

Define sleep deprivation

Answer 1

Sleep deprivation describes a state caused by inadequate quantity or quality sleep, either voluntarily or involuntarily.

Question 2

Define partial sleep deprivation

Answer 2

Partial sleep deprivation involves having less sleep (quality or quantity) than what is normally required within a 24hr period.

Question 3

Define total sleep deprivation

Answer 3

Total sleep deprivation involves having a complete lack of sleep for 24 hours.

Question 4

Define chronic sleep deprivation

Answer 4

Chronic sleep deprivation involves a lack of good quality sleep for an extended period of time.

Question 5

What is consciousness? Can it be measured?

Answer 5

Consciousness refers to one’s awareness of their (subjective)thoughts, feelings and perceptions (internal events) and our surroundings (external stimuli) at any given moment.

Consciousness is a psychological construct because it is beloved to exist - but can not be directly observed or measured, so descriptions are constructed to describe it.

Question 6

Explain states of consciousness

Answer 6

One’s states of consciousness, or level of awareness of internal events and external stimuli, varies throughout the day and is influenced by various factors.

The state of consciousness are placed on a the consciousness continuum ranging from arousal (heightened level of awareness) to coma (complete lack of awareness)

Question 7

What are the states of consciousness?

Answer 7

Arousal (far right) - arousal refers to the state of awake, alert and attentive. Often referred to as hyper arousal or hyper awareness. Eg: focused attention

Normal waking (middle)- refers to the state of when one is awake and aware of their thoughts, feelings and perceptions of internal events and surroundings. (During this people experience a real sense of time and place)

Altered state of consciousness (between far left and middle & far right and middle) - any state of consciousness that deviates from normal waking consciousness in terms of marked differences in: level of awakeness , perceptions, memories, thinking, emotions, behaviours and sense of time, place and self control.

• an altered state of consciousness can be indicted neutrally or medically.

Complete lack of awareness (far left) - experiences a complete lack of awakeness, perceptions, memories, thinking, emotions, behaviours and sense of time, place and self control. Eg: coma.

Question 8

Define attention

Answer 8

Attention refers to the information one is actively processing.
- attention can be focused on specific internal or external events to the exclusion of all others.

• attention can shift consciously or unconsciously (Eg: day dreaming)

Two types of attention: selective and divided

Question 9

Define selective attention

Is it a controlled or automatic process?

Answer 9

Selective attention is the process of directing awareness to certain stimuli while ignoring others (Eg. Cocktail party effect)

• selective attention allows to tune out irrelevant information & for us on they important information.

Selective attention is a controlled process because it requires mental effort to focus attention on the task and to ignore irrelevant information.

Question 10

What are controlled processes?

Answer 10

Controlled (conscious) processes require mental effort to focus attention on the required task.

This process is slower than automatic processing as it requires greater attention to what we are doing in order to learn the task.

During altered states of consciousness, people find it difficult to carry out conscious processes. (-controlled process are closer to heightened consciousness).

Question 11

What is divided attention?

It is an automatic or controlled process?

Answer 11

Divided attention refers to the capacity to attend and perform two or more activities at the same time. (Eg: Multi-tasking).

Whether divided attention is a controlled or automatic process depends on how much conscious effort is required for the various tasks in which one is engaged - it is easier to perform simple familiar task rather than complex unfamiliar tasks.

Eg: Washing the car while listening to music = less conscious effort
Learning to drive while listening to music = more conscious effort

Question 12

What is an automatic process?

Answer 12

An automatic process requires very little attention and thought to perform a task.

• practising a task can increase ps the speed and accuracy at which it can be performed, therefore becoming more automatic. (Eg: Touch typing)

Automatic processes facilitates divided attention (i.e allowing people to do multiple things at once).

Automatic processes are closer to lack of awareness on continuum triangle.

Question 13

Explain the Measures of consciousness

Answer 13

Common techniques to measure consciousness include measurement of physiological responses or cognitive tasks.
- These techniques are objective and free from bias which tend to be more accurate.

Subjective methods are those based on personal accounts of experiences. Eg: Video monitoring or self reports.

Question 14

What is a physiological measure of consciousness?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of these?

Answer 14

Physiological techniques measure changes in boldly functions such as electrical activity in the brain, muscles movement, heart rate, body temperature, electrical activity of the skin, respiration or blood pressure.

Advantages:

• objective means of indicating different states of consciousness.
• data can be recorded and interpreted on different occasions.
• methods of obtaining data is consistent and stable which can be reliably interpreted by researchers.

Disadvantages:
- Limited ability to identify participants’ subjective conscious experience.

Question 15

What is an electroencephalograph?

What are the advantages and disadvantages

Answer 15

Abbreviated version: EEG
- developed by Hans Burger(1992),an EEG is a device that detects, amplifies and records electrical activity generated by the form of brainwaves.

• Electrodes are placed around the skull and records voltages created by large numbers of Neuron’s on the cerebral cortex.

Advantages:

• are non-invasive, objective and a reliable measuring tool.
• widely used to assist with diagnosis and study of brain medical conditions Eg: epilepsy.
• measurements are in real time (I.e Th have high temporal resolution).

Limitations:
The main limitations of an EEG is the low spatial resolution, meaning that it can’t localise function.

Question 16

Describe the types of brainwaves recorded by an EEG in regards to Level of consciousness

Answer 16

Brainwaves vary in frequency (Hertz - Hz) and amplitude (micro volts - uV).

Gamma waves - hyper alert
Beta waves (high frequency & low amplitude) - alert or aware
Alpha waves - awake but relaxed
Stage of NREM - theta waves (Medium frequency)
In deep NREM sleep - delta waves (low frequency but high amplitude).

Question 17

What are the patterns of consciousness measured by an EEG, other than the types of brainwaves?

Answer 17

K-complex - Sharp rise and fall in a amplitude).

Sleep spindles - periodic bursts of rapid frequency and are indicative of stage 2 sleep.

Question 18

What is a electrocculograph (EOG)?

What are the advantages and disadvantages?

Answer 18

A EOG is a device that detects, amplifies and records electrical activity generated by the muscles that moves eyes.

• electrodes are attached to the face around the eyes.

Advantages:

• particular useful for determining whether a person is in NREM or REM.
• non-invasive, real-time, objective ams reliable.

Limitations:
- superstition of signals from mimic or chewing muscles.

Question 19

What is a Electromyograph (EMG)?

what are the advantages and disadvantages?

Answer 19

An EMG is a device that detects, amplifies and records electrical activity in the muscles.

• electrodes are attached to the skin above relevant muscles (usually under chin).
• identities changes in activity (movement) and tone (tension) during sleep stages (more activity =more alertness).

Advantages:
- particularly useful for determining whether a person is in REM and NREM (REM - virtually non-existent and NREM - mild spasms may occur).

Limitations:
Technical limitations arise in the setting of obesity and advanced age which can limit the diagnostic certainty.

Question 20

What is a polysomnogram?

What are the advantages and disadvantages?

Answer 20

a test where data can be simultaneously be collected from EEG, EOG and EMG and other devices.
- researchers use this information to make informed decisions about a persons state of consciousness and identify or diagnose potential underlying problems.

Polysomnography records your brain waves, the oxygen level in your blood, heart rate and breathing, as well as eye and leg movements during the study.

Question 21

What are objective measures of consciousness?

Answer 21

Physiological measures are object:
EEG
EOG
EMG

Question 22

What are the subjective measures of consciousness?

Answer 22

Video monitoring

Self reports

Question 23

Explain subject measure of consciousness

Answer 23

Subjective measures of consciousness are based on personal experiences.
Allow they to investigate participants’ subjective consciousness experiences.

Subjected to social desirability bias.
Requires person to be aware of their experiences, be able to communicate their experience and be truthful.
Large variability, difficult to replicate - low reliability

Question 24

Explain video monitoring technique as a measure of consciousness

Answer 24

Video monitoring a most commonly used in the study of sleep and sleep disturbances or disorders.

• researchers observe participants and their behaviours while they are awake and sleep.
• usually performed in addition to physiological measures.

Advantages:

• recorded in real time, can get a lot of data.
• particularly important with participants who have serious sleep disorders.
• can record sound and use infrared technology.

Limitations:

• Can be expensive
• like other observations, researchers cannot infer physiological experiences (they can only interpret participants behaviour which makes it subjective)

Question 25

Explain Self reports as measures of consciousness

Answer 25

A self report involves a participants subjective (personal) response.

• responses can be combination of written, spoken responses to questions, statements or instructions.
• most commonly used in study of sleep and alternde states consciousness.

Advantages:
- fast, cheap, easy to administer.

Limitations:
- Self reports are based on personal judgements that may be difficult to communicate to compare with others.

• relies on participants to: accurately describing or recalling info and being honest (sharing personal info, thoughts, or dreams can be challenging).
• responses can vary from day to day. (E.g dependent on mood or events)
• also relies on the researcher to correctly interpret the patients descriptions accurately and reliably.

Question 26

Explain sleep as an altered state

Answer 26

Sleep is a regular and naturally occurring altered state of consciousness.

Effects of being in an altered State of consciousness:

• level of awareness decreases
• ability to maintain self control is lowered
• perceptual and cognitive disorders - thoughts tend to be unrealistic and diagnosed
• time Orientation - our ability to perceive that show cyclical.

Question 27

Define exposure therapy

Answer 27

Exposure therapy is a type of psychotherapy that works by desensitising a patient from a catastrophic belief. Systematic desensitisation, in vivo and flooding and eye movement desensitisation

Question 28

Describe systematic desensitisation and who was it proposed by

Answer 28

Joseph Wolpe proposed Systematic desensitisation. Based on classical conditioning, clients imagine successfully more imagined anxiety arousing situations while concurrently engaging in behaviour that competes with anxiety (relaxation).

Systematic desensitisation occurs by following a hierarchy of exposure. Firstly by exposing the patient to low stress inducing situations. As treatment progresses, patients are exposed to higher stress inducing situations while practising relaxation techniques.

Question 29

Describe flooding/ imaginable psychotherapy.

Answer 29

Flooding/Imaginal all psychotherapy involves exposure, real or imagined, for a prolonged period without engaging in any anxiety reducing behaviour.

Imaginal therapy can be used when vivo flooding is not practical, safe or ethical.

Question 30

Describe in vivo psychotherapy.

Answer 30

In vivo psychotherapy involves real life actual exposure rather than imagined.

Question 31

What is Eye movement desensitisation (EMD) and reprocessing

Answer 31

A form of exposure therapy developed to treat trauma/PTSD

Question 32

Explain what electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is.

Answer 32

Electroconvulsive therapy works by medically inducing seizures. These seizures are intended to provide relief in patients suffering from metal health issues, in particular bi-polar disorder, and major depressive disorders.

Patients undergoing ECT are anaethestised and electrodes are placed on their heads, through which electric shock is administered.

Question 33

Explain psychosurgery as a psychotherapy

Answer 33

Psychosurgery involves brain surgery including lobotomies and deep brain stimulation (DBS).

During psychotherapy - a small area of the brain is removed or destroyed. Ideally, the treatment targets an area of the brain that is the cause of symptoms.

Alternatively, treatment may be deep brain stimulation (DBS) where affected areas are stimulated with electrodes.

Limitation: Scientists don’t have a thorough understanding of the interconnection between brain regions which could be affected during psychosurgery.

Question 34

Explain Pharmacotherapy as a psychotherapy

Answer 34

Pharmacotherapy s the use of drugs and medication to assist mental health. This treatment is typically used when doctors believe the cause of a psychological disorder is caused by biological factors.

Eg: Lithium - mood stabiliser for bi-polar

Question 35

Explain a Placebo and the Placebo effect as a psychotherapy.

Answer 35

A placebo is an inert or inactive substance administered to patients (usually sugar).

Placebo effect refers to the phenomenon that occurs when a placebo causes a reduction in symptoms because people believe that what they are taking will be effective.