Nature of Consciousness Flashcards
What is consciousness in psych terms?
a psychological construct or continuum
our awareness of things around us, objects, events, sensations, mental states at any moment
natural and induced states of consciousness
Conscious states can be measured by looking at…
information provided by individual (telling you how they feel)
behaviour (responses to things)
psychological changes (brain activity)
What is the ‘Awareness Continuum’?
two distinctive ends of the spectrum - total awareness and complete lack of awareness
states in-between have more or less awareness
What is ‘Total Awareness’ and ‘Lack of Awareness’?
TA- Giving something complete attention or focus
LA- having no consciousness or giving nothing attention (unconscious, coma, veggie state)
What are the stages on the continuum of awareness
< TA, focuses attention, normal wakefulness, daydreaming, meditative, hypnotised, asleep, aesthesia, coma, LA >
What are Normal waking and Altered states of consciousness
Normal Waking Consciousness (NWC)- states associated with being awake and aware of events/objects/sensations/mental feelings around you
Altered state of consciousness (ASC)- describes any conscious state distinctly different than NWC. measures of awareness around time/sensation/surroundings/self awareness/self control may change and are noticeably different
What causes altered states?
natural altered states involve dreaming/sleeping/daydreaming
induced states involve drug use/hypnosis/alcohol/medications
some induced states can occur through accidents like head trauma or disease
What conscious state is most normal?
majority of life is in normal waking consciousness, NWC is the default
Levels of awareness
majority of life is in normal waking consciousness, NWC is the default that we base judgement of other states from
What factors measure awareness?
Contents of consciousness perceptual/cognitive distortions emotional awareness changes of self control changes of real time
What are ‘Content Limitations’
In NWC the ‘content’ of a person’s thoughts is organised into logical and restricted categories
People can usually limit conscious is NWC and choose what to focus on
Content limitations are a restraint placed on the thoughts that are occurring in a person’s mind
In an ASC, people may be unable to suppress or control some thoughts that they normally could (think of those under the influence of drugs or alcohol)
Daydreaming is another ASC in which a person’s content is also less limited than in NWC.
What factors indicate a change in conscious states?
Controlled and automatic movements/processes content limitations cognitive and perceptual distortions emotional awareness self-control time orientation
Controlled and Automatic processes are…
refers to amount of focus needed for an activity
Controlled - high levels of focus and attention to task
Automatic - Low attention or awareness on task
What are content limitations?
peoples ability to limit or filter thoughts in their head, choosing what to focus on and what to ignore
In altered states one may not be able to limit content as well (drugs/alcohol/daydreaming)
What are Perceptual and Cognitive Distortions?
Cognitive - either dull down sensory stimuli so you can’t feel them, or exaggerate them and make them twice as noticeable
Perceptual - visual hallucinations or effects
Cognitive functioning can also be less organised when in ASC
