States Of Consciousness Flashcards
How is conscious experience described?
Personal, Selective, Continuous and Changing.
What is a state of consciousness?
It is the level of awareness of our internal state and external surroundings that determines how much information is perceived and responded to.
Define Consciousness.
The awareness of stimuli in the external world and of our own existence and mental experiences at any given moment.
The 7 characteristics of consciousness are:
- Level of Awareness
- Content limitation
- Controlled and Automatic processes
- Perceptual and cognitive distortions
- Time orientation
- Self control
- Emotional awareness
What is normal waking consciousness?
The states of consciousness associated with being awake and aware of our thoughts, memories, feelings and the sensations we are experiencing from the outside world.
Levels of awareness: define attention.
A concentration of mental activity that involves focusing on a specific stimulus while ignoring others.
What is selective attention?
Choosing and attending to a specific stimulus to the exclusion of others.
Define divided attention
Refers to the ability to distribute our attention and undertake two or more activities simultaneously.
Content limitations are:
The exercise of control over what is allowed into our consciousness.
Define controlled process
Involves conscious, alert awareness and mental effort in which the individual actively focuses their attention to achieving a particular goal.
Define automatic process
When a person requires little conscious awareness and mental effort, minimal attention and does not interfere with the performance of other activities.
In levels of awareness, selective attention is closely related to …. from content limitation.
Controlled processes
In content limitation automatic processes are closely linked to …. from levels of awareness.
Divided attention
What is an altered state of consciousness?
A description of any state of consciousness that is distinctly different from NWC, in terms of level of awareness and experience, the quality or intensity of sensations, perceptions, thoughts, feelings and memories that are experienced.
