lecture 10: altered state of consciousness and biological rhythms

Question 1

What is consciousness?

Answer 1

an awareness of internal and external stimuli

Question 2

What are daydreams?

Answer 2

shifts in attention towards internal thoughts and imagined scenarios

(uni students may spend as much as 50% of their waking tim ethinking abot something other than what is currently happening)

Question 3

How can psychologists learn about the normal flow of consciousness?

Answer 3

through eperience-sampling techniques

Question 4

what was freud’s focus on the psychodynamic view of consciousness?

Answer 4

the unconscious and levels of consciousness

Question 5

What are the three mental systems that form consciousness?

Answer 5

1) conscious: mental events that you are aware of
2) preconscious: mental events that can be brought into awareness
3) unconscious: mental events that are inaccessbile to awareness; events are actively kept out of awareness

Question 6

How is consciousness distributed throughout the brain?

Answer 6

Hindbrain & midbrain - important for arousal and sleep
damage to reticular formation - can lead to coma
pre frontal cortex - key for conscious control of info processing

Question 7

what kind of patterns of activity can be seen in an EEG?

Answer 7

normal waking/alert shown by beta waves (13-24cycles/sec)
deep relaxation shown by alpha waves (8-12cycles/sec)
Light sleep shown by theta waves (4-7 cycles/sec)
deep sleep shown by delta waves (<4 cycles/sec)

Question 8

what is the relationship between consciousness and attention?

Answer 8

divided attention or dissociation argument

Question 9

what is hypnosis?

Answer 9

a systematic procedure that increases suggestibility

Question 10

what influences hypnotic susceptibiliy?

Answer 10

individual differences

Question 11

what are some effects produced through hypnosis?

Answer 11

anesthesia
sensory distortions and hallucinations
disinhibition
posthypnotic suggestions and amnesia

Question 12

what is hilgard’s theory on hypnosis?

Answer 12

a hidden observer is created in the mind while hypnosis is taking place
i.e. that hypnosis creates a dissociation in consciousness

Question 13

what is dissociation?

Answer 13

the splitting off of mental processes into two separate, simultaneous streams of awareness
e.g. highway hyponosis

Question 14

what are some applications for hypnosis?

Answer 14

anaesthesia: use of hyponosis in minor surgery and by dentists for pain management
particuarly useful with burns patients undergoing debridement
during pregnancy and labour

behavourial changes: use of hypnosis to reduce smoking and improve diet

Question 15

what is meditation

Answer 15

practices that train attention to heighten awareness and bring mental processes under greater voluntary control

Question 16

what are some physical and biological effects of meditation?

Answer 16

alpha waves and beta waves become more prominent in EEG recordings

Decreased arousal. i.e. a decline in heart rate, skin conductance, respiration rate, oxygen consumption, carbondioxide elimination

Question 17

what are the benefits of meditation?

Answer 17

Reduced effects of stress (due to lower levels of stress hormones and an enhanced immune response)

Improved mental health due to reduced anxiet and concomittant reduction in drug abouse

May have positive effects on blood pressure, self esteem, mood, and sense of control

Question 18

what is subliminal perception?

Answer 18

the perception of stimuli below the threshold of consciousness

Question 19

what has research discovered regarding subliminal perception?

Answer 19

presenting people with subliminal stimuli can influence their emotional reactions and behaviours.

this stimuli can be positive or negative

Question 20

what are circadian rhythms?

Answer 20

a cyclical biological process that evolved around the daily cylce of light and dark (e.g. sleep)

Question 21

when do foetuses begin to show rhythms of sleep and activity?

Answer 21

by six months gestational age

Question 22

what accounts for difficulties people exerience when crossing time zones or working night shifts?

Answer 22

circadian rhythms

they also impact physical and mental health and your grades!

Question 23

what is the physiological pathway of sleep/wake cycles?

Answer 23

light levels are detected by the retina, -> suprachiasmitc nucleus of the hypothalamus -> pineal gland -> secretion of melatonin

Question 24

what occurs in the absence of external cues?

Answer 24

people fall into a 25 hour rhythm

external cues draw us into a 24 hour rhythm

Question 25

Why does jet lag occur?

Answer 25

due to changing time zones too quickly for the circadian rhythms to change

Question 26

what are the differences in grades of larks and owls?

Answer 26

morning students do better in morning classes

evening students do better in evening classes

Question 27

what is the relationship between circadian rhythms and mental illness?

Answer 27

circadian rhythm abnormality may result in mood disorders or bipolar disorders