Unit 5: Sleep, Dreams, and Hypnosis

Question 1

Consciousness

Answer 1

o Awareness of ourselves and our environment.
o American psychologist William James (1842–1910) used the analogy of a river to describe how consciousness is constantly changing and yet unbroken—stream of consciousness.
o Consciousness can be altered by sleep, dreams, meditation, hypnosis, drugs.

Question 2

EEG Patterns Associated with States of Consciousness

Answer 2

o The electroencephalograph (EEG) is a device that monitors the electrical activity of the brain by means of electrodes attached to the surface of the scalp.
o Different patterns of EEG activity are associated with different states of consciousness.
o When you are alertly engaged in problem solving, beta waves tend to dominate. When you are relaxed and resting, alpha waves increase. When you slip into deep, dreamless sleep, delta waves become more prevalent.

Question 3

Unconscious mind

Answer 3

o Knowledge we have that we are not aware of
o Freud’s theory:
o Focuses on the power of the unconscious mind on behavior
o Challenged the rationality of the person

Question 4

Priming

Answer 4

o The unconscious activation of information

Question 5

Experiment by Bargh and colleagues:

Answer 5

o Group 1: Primed stereotypes of the elderly
o Group 2: Neutral prime

o Results:
o Participants exposed to the elderly prime subsequently walked slower down the hallway compared to the neutral prime group.
o Certain things may affect our behavior without our conscious awareness
o Our negative stereotypes of other people may backfire

Question 6

Do we have control over our everyday behavior?

Answer 6

o Not always according to Bargh’s review of the literature on unconscious processes.
o However, there are some controversies regarding the replicability of some of the studies.
o Nonetheless, hundreds of lines of new research seem to support Freud’s general theory, which emphasizes the importance of the unconscious mind or unconscious processes in shaping our behavior