lesson 6 Flashcards
Consciousness
Person’s subjective experience of the world and the mind
Phenomenology
How things seem to the conscious person
Problem of other minds
Fundamental difficulty we have in
perceiving the consciousness of others
Seat of the soul
Descartes imagined that the seat of the soul—and consciousness—is the pineal gland located in the ventricles of the brain.
Intentionality
Being directed toward an object
Unity
Resistance to division
Selectivity
Capacity to include some objects but not others
Transience
Tendency to change
Minimal consciousness
Low‐level kind of sensory awareness and responsiveness that occurs when the mind inputs sensations and may output behaviour
Full consciousness
Consciousness in which you know and are able to report your mental state
Self‐consciousness
Distinct level of consciousness in which the person’s attention is drawn to the self as an object
Ironic processes of mental control
Mental processes that can produce ironic
errors because monitoring for errors can itself produce them
Thought suppression
Conscious avoidance of a thought
Rebound effect of thought suppression
Tendency of a thought to return to consciousness with greater frequency following suppression
Dynamic unconscious
Active system encompassing a lifetime of hidden memories, the person’s deepest instincts and desires, and the person’s inner struggle to control these forces; described by Freud
Repression
Mental process that removes unacceptable thoughts and memories from consciousness
Cognitive unconscious
Mental processes that give rise to a person’s thoughts, choices, emotions, and behaviour even though they are not experienced by the person
Subliminal perception
A thought or behaviour that is influenced by stimuli that a person cannot consciously report perceiving; controversial
Altered state of consciousness
Forms of experience that depart from the normal subjective experience of the world and the mind
Circadian rhythm
Naturally occurring 24‐hour cycle
REM sleep
A stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movements and a high level of brain activity
insomnia
Difficulty in falling asleep or staying asleep
Sleep apnea
Person stops breathing for brief periods while asleep
Somnambulism (sleepwalking)
Occurs when the person arises and walks around during sleep
Narcolepsy
Sudden sleep attacks occur in the middle of waking activities
Sleep paralysis
Experience of waking up unable to move
Night terrors (sleep terrors)
Abrupt awakenings with panic and intense emotional arousal
There are five major characteristics that distinguish dreaming from waking consciousness
– Intense emotion – Illogical thought – Meaningful sensation – Uncritical acceptance – Difficulty remembering
Manifest content
Dream’s apparent topic or superficial meaning
Latent content
Dream’s true underlying meaning
Psychoactive drug
Chemical that influences consciousness or behaviour by
altering the brain’s chemical message system
5 categories of drugs
– Depressants – Stimulants – Narcotics – Hallucinogens – Marijuana
Depressants
Substances that reduce the activity of the CNS
Expectancy theory
Idea that alcohol effects can be pronounced by people’s expectations of how alcohol will influence them in particular situations
Alcohol myopia
Condition that results when alcohol hampers attention, leading people to respond in simple ways to complex situations
Stimulants
Substances that excite the CNS, heightening arousal and activity levels. Caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, and ecstasy (MDMA)
Narcotics (opiates)
Highly addictive drugs derived from opium that relieve pain, heroin, morphine
Hallucinogens
Drugs that alter sensation and perception and often cause visual and auditory hallucinations
Hypnosis
Altered state of consciousness characterized by suggestibility and the feeling that one’s actions are occurring involuntarily
Posthypnotic amnesia
the failure to retrieve memories following hypnotic suggestions
Hypnotic analgesia
Reduction of pain through hypnosis in people who are susceptible to hypnosis
