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Intro to Psych > Week 6- Consciousness > Flashcards

Week 6- Consciousness Flashcards

1
Q

Outline consciousness

A
  • An ambiguous term
  • Is not a thing, but rather a state
  • A personal experience
  • We can turn our consciousness to focus on internal mental events (e.g. daydreaming) or to external environment
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2
Q

Define consciousness and how it was viewed in structuralism and functionalism

A

The subjective awareness of mental events

Structuralism:
* Wundt, Titchener studied the contents of the conscious mind

Functionalism:
* William James (1890) viewed consciousness as a constantly moving stream of thoughts, feelings and emotions

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3
Q

Outline the content of consciousness

A
  • Ordinary waking consciousness includes all of the experiences you are aware of at a given time, including for example:
    -Thoughts
    -Perceptions
    -Feelings
    -Images
  • It includes your awareness of what you are doing coupled with the fact that you are doing it = subjective sense of self
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4
Q

What is the location of consciousness?

A
  • Distributed throughout the brain
    -Hindbrain and midbrain are important for arousal and for sleep
    -Damage to the reticular formation can lead to coma
    -Prefrontal cortex is key for conscious control of information processing
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5
Q

How is consciousness measured?

A
  • Self report scales
  • Experience-sampling techniques
    -Think aloud protocols: participants speak aloud as they solve a task, their reports are used to identify their mental strategy, how they represent knowledge and any discrepancies between task performance and awareness of processes used
  • Beeper studies- device prompts the wearer to report thoughts, feelings etc
  • Brain imaging techniques
  • Direct observation and recording of behaviour
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6
Q

Outline the normal flow of consciousness

A

Our conscious awareness is not always directed at external stimuli, in fact, at times we may turn our attention away from external stimuli to instead focus on internal thoughts and imagined scenarios (daydreaming)

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7
Q

What are the three types of daydreaming according to Singer (1975)?

A
  • Positive-constructive daydreaming
  • Guilty-dysphoric daydreaming
  • Poor attention control
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8
Q

What are the consequences of daydreaming?

A
  • Miss external information we should be processing
  • However, daydreams may also be useful for memory consolidation, social skills, problem solving and enhancing our creativity
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9
Q

Outline the psychodynamic view of consciousness (Freud)

A

3 mental systems

  • Conscious- mental events of which you are aware
  • Preconscious- mental events that can be brought into awareness
  • Unconscious- mental events that are inaccessible to awareness. Events that are actively kept out of awareness
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10
Q

Outline the cognitive view of consciousness

A

Information processing mechanisms that operate:

  • Outside of awareness
    -Priming
    -Implicit memory
    -Procedural memory
  • Requires attention
    -Working memory
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11
Q

Describe unconscious and conscious processes

A

Unconscious:
* Fast and efficient
* Supports adaptive responses to external stimuli
* Can operate simultaneously
* Can influence behaviour

Conscious:
* Slower
* More deliberate
*More effortful

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12
Q

What does consciousness do?

A
  • Monitors mental events (self, environment)
  • Regulates thought and behaviour
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13
Q

What is consciousness for?

A
  • May have evolved to direct or control behaviour in an adaptive way
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14
Q

Where is consciousness?

A
  • Prefrontal brain regions
  • Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate
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15
Q

Define altered states of consciousness

A

These are states in which the usual conscious ways of perceiving, thinking and feeling are modified or disrupted

  • Sleep
  • Meditation
  • Hypnosis
  • Religious experience
  • Drug ingestion
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16
Q

What are circadian rhythms?

A
  • A cyclical biological process that evolved around the daily cycle of light and dark
  • Foetuses begin to show rhythms of sleep and activity by six months gestational age
  • Circadian rhythms account for difficulties people experience when crossing time zones or working night shifts
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17
Q

What are symptoms of jet lag and what is it influenced by?

A

Symptoms:
* Fatigue
* Irresistible sleepiness
* Unusual sleep-wake cycles

Influenced by:
* Direction of travel
* Number of time zones passed through

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18
Q

Outline differences in circadian rhythms

A
  • Daily rhythms occur in all individuals, but the exact timing differs from person to person- this is what we call chronotypes
  • Different chronotypes will have different preferred patterns of sleep and wakefulness
    -Morning types: early to bed, early to rise
    -Evening type: late to bed, late to rise
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19
Q

Outline the nature and evolution of sleep

A
  • Behavioural characteristics of sleep:
    -Minimal movement
    -Stereotyped posture
    -Requires a high degree of stimulation to arouse organism
  • Duration of sleep needed varies amongst species
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20
Q

Outline functions of sleep and the impact of sleep deprivation

A
  • Memory consolidation
  • Energy conservation
  • Restoring bodily functions
  • Sleep deprivation can alter immune function and lead to early death
  • Sleep can also lead to hallucinations and perceptual disorders
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21
Q

What instruments are used in sleep research?

A
  • Electroencephalograph (EEG)- brain electrical activity
  • Electromyograph (EMG)- muscle activity
  • Electrooculograph (EOG)- eye movements
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22
Q

Summarise Non-REM (NREM) sleep

A
  • Occurs in stages 1, 2, 3 and 4
  • Phase of sleep with no rapid eye movements
  • Seems to be the phase of sleep that helps us recover from daily fatigue
  • Accounts for 75%-80% of total sleep time
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23
Q

Outline Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep

A
  • Associated with dreaming
  • Sleep is very light
  • Body is very still- motor paralysis (except for diaphragm)
  • Accounts for 20%-25% of total sleeping time
  • Darting rapid eye movements occur at periodic intervals
  • EEG patterns are similar to awake
  • Autonomic activity increases e.g. BP, respiration etc
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24
Q

Outline the awake phase of circadian rhythms

A
  • EEG patterns (brainwaves) vary depending on whether the person is awake or asleep and at the different stages of sleep
  • When we are awake or preparing for sleep our brain waves are fast- 14 cycles per second (CPS) but have low amplitude
  • When we are drowsy, alpha waves dominate, these are slower, 8-12 CPS
25
Q

Outline stage 1 of non-REM sleep

A
  • Theta waves 3-7 CPS
  • Slow eye movements
  • Muscles relax
  • BP drops
26
Q

Outline stage 2 of non-REM sleep

A
  • Characterised by sleep spindles, which are low amplitude bursts of activity
  • 12-14 CPS
  • K-complex- high amplitude waves
27
Q

Outline stages 3 and 4 of non-REM sleep

A
  • Deep state of relaxed sleep
  • Large slow delta waves appear (stage 3) then predominate (stage 4)
  • Low frequency of brainwaves 1/2 to 2 CPS
  • High amplitude
  • Decreased breathing
  • Slowed heart rate
  • Lower body temperature
  • Relaxed muscles
  • If woken from this stage, we feel disoriented and groggy
28
Q

Outline sleep cycles

A
  • Each cycle of NREM and REM sleep takes approximately 90-100 mins
  • NREM- approximately 80-90 mins
  • REM sleep- 10 mins
  • 4-6 cycles per night
  • With each subsequent cycle time spent in NREM decreases
  • Time spent in REM increases
  • Final cycle of the night- 60 mins of REM sleep
29
Q

Outline dreaming from the psychodynamic, cognitive and biological view

A
  • Psychodynamic- dreams represent a window into the unconscious where latent content (meaning) can be inferred from manifest content (actual dream)
  • Cognitive- dreams are constructed from the daily issues of the dreamer
  • Biological- dreams represent the attempt of the cortex to interpret the random neural firing of the brain during sleep or the consolidation of newly learnt information
30
Q

How do sleep patterns change throughout life?

A
  • New born infants sleep 16 hours per day- 50% in NREM and REM
  • Young adults sleep 7-8 hours per day- 75% NREM, 25% REM
  • By age 50, sleep 6 hours per day- 75% NREM, 25% REM
31
Q

Outline why we sleep

A
  • Conservation hypothesis
    -NREM sleep evolved to conserve organisms’ energy when not searching for food etc
  • Restorative hypothesis
    -Brains work hard during waking states and subsequently sustain cell damage
    -NREM repairs that damage
  • REM necessary for
    -Normal development of visual, other sensory and motor systems in infancy
    -Learning memory in adults
32
Q

Outline insomnia

A
  • Chronic inability to sleep
  • Characterised by:
    -Trouble falling asleep
    -Trouble remaining asleep
    -Persistent early morning awakening
33
Q

Outline subjective insomnia

A
  • 38% of individuals complained of insomnia but had normal sleep
  • 43% of individuals did not complain of insomnia but had sleep disturbances
34
Q

Outline narcolepsy

A
  • Irresistible compulsion to sleep during daytime
  • Often accompanied by cataplexy (muscle weakness, loss of muscle control)
  • Affects 1 in 2000 people
  • Runs in families- genetic basis?
  • Sufferers enter REM sleep immediately
  • Negative impact on social and psychosocial wellbeing
35
Q

Outline sleep apnoea

A
  • Upper respiratory disorder
  • Caused individuals to stop breathing while asleep
  • Can occur hundreds of times per night
  • Leaves individuals tired
  • 2% of adults are affected
  • Frequent amongst premature babies
36
Q

Outline somnambulism (sleepwalking)

A
  • People leave their bed and wander while asleep
  • Affects 7% of children and 2% of adults
  • Associated with stages of 3 and 4 of NREM sleep during the first third of the night
  • Safe to wake sleepwalkers
37
Q

Outline nightmares

A
  • Frightening dreams that can make a person feel helpless and out of control
  • Occur in REM sleep towards morning
  • Relatively infrequent
    -Zadre and Donderi (2000) collected data on the occurrence and found that they occur 0.48 times per month in undergraduates
    -More frequent in children than adults (Mindell, 1997)
    -And in individuals who have experienced trauma
38
Q

Outline night terrors

A
  • Associated with NREM sleep 2-3 hours into sleep during stage 4 sleep
  • Characterised by intense autonomic arousal and feelings of panic
  • More common in children
  • Not indicative of emotional disturbance
39
Q

Outline meditation

A
  • An individual develops a deep state of tranquillity by altering the normal flow of conscious thoughts
  • By focusing on a simple stimulus (e.g. breathing), meditation shuts down the normal flow of self conscious inner dialogue
  • Research suggests meditation offers both physiological and psychological benefits
40
Q

Outline hypnosis

A
  • Hypnosis is a state of consciousness characterised by deep relaxation and suggestibility
  • Effects observed during hypnotic state:
    -Age regression
    -Change in pain perception
    -Ability to recall memories into consciousness
    -Localised changes in brain activity
41
Q

Outline religious experiences

A
  • Religious experiences are subjective experiences of being in contact with the divine or spiritual
  • Are simultaneously cultural and psychological phenomena
  • Individuals gain sense of security, enlightenment, oneness with something greater than themselves
  • Group gain sense of solidarity, cohesiveness and certainty in shared values and beliefs
42
Q

What do drug effects on consciousness depend on?

A
  • Biological actions of the drug
  • Expectations of drug effect
43
Q

What are psychoactive drugs?

A
  • Chemicals that affect mental processes and behaviour by changing conscious awareness of reality
  • Affect neural communication by blocking or stimulating activity at the synapse
  • Continued use leads to greater tolerance which leads to greater dosage to achieve the same effect
44
Q

What are the four classes of drugs (give examples of each)?

A
  • Depressants- Barbiturates, Benzodiazepines, GHB, alcohol
  • Stimulants- amphetamines, methamphetamines, cocaine, nicotine, caffeine
  • Hallucinogens- LSD, PCP, ecstasy
  • Opiates- morphine, heroin
45
Q

Outline the effects of depressants

A
  • Slow down mental and physical activity by inhibiting neural transmission in CNS
  • Facilitate the transmission of GABA (inhibitory

*Rohypnol, GHB- sedative effects, also causes amnesia

46
Q

Outline the effects of alcohol

A
  • Stimulates release of dopamine = feelings of pleasure
  • Enhances GABA- small doses can actually improve adults’ reaction times
  • Alcohol is broken down very slowly in the body
  • Larger doses overtax the CNS
47
Q

Outline the effects of alcohol and expectations

A
  • Alcohol’s expected effect can have as much impact on our behaviour as the actual substance
  • Studies of alcohol effects on motor and cognitive functioning have shown that individual differences in response to alcohol are related to the specific types of effects that drinkers expect
  • Generally, those who expect the least impairment are the least impaired, and those that expect the most impairment are the most impaired
48
Q

Outline the effects of too much alcohol

A
  • At blood level 0.10, driving accidents are 6 times more frequent than 0.05- night vision problems
  • At blood level 0.15- negative effects on thinking, memory, judgement, emotional instability and loss of motor control
49
Q

Outline the effects of prolonged heavy alcohol use

A
  • Physical dependence, tolerance, addiction
  • Brain damage
  • Cognitive impairment
  • Health problems
  • Alcoholism diagnosis is appropriate when amount and frequency of intak has reached a certain threshold, there is an inability to abstain and life factors are negatively impacted- psychosocial implications include detrimental effects on job, family and health
50
Q

Outline the effects of stimulants

A
  • Maintain arousal level (hyper alertness, energy etc)
  • Mood alteration- enhanced
  • Increased self confidence
  • Paranoid delusions
  • Can cause long term changes in neurotransmitter systems (norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine)
51
Q

Outline the effects of cocaine

A
  • Increases NE and dopamine
  • Hyper arousal
  • Dramatic contrast between euphoric highs and depressive lows- increased dosage and frequency of use
  • Chronic use can lead to depletion in NE and dopamine
    -diminished judgement
    -inflated sense of one’s own abilities
    -paranoia, anxiety and panic
52
Q

Outline the effects of amphetamines

A
  • Molecular structure similar to dopamine, norepinephrine
  • Produces hyperarousal, feelings of speeding, euphoria, increased motor activity
  • Can induce:
    -Psychosis in vulnerable individuals
    -Death by overdose, ill health
53
Q

Outline the effects of coffee

A
  • High doses can induce anxiety like symptoms
  • 2 cups of strong coffee can affect heart, blood and circulatory systems
54
Q

Outline the effects of nicotine

A
  • Is addictive
  • Mimics the action of natural chemicals in the brain
  • Increased heart rate and BP
  • Decreases emotional arousal
55
Q

Outline the impacts of hallucinogens

A
  • LSD, PCP etc
  • Produce the most dramatic changes in consciousness
  • Alter our perception of the external environment and inner awareness
  • Can create hallucinogens
  • LSD binds to serotonin receptors
56
Q

Outline the effects of ecstasy

A
  • Sometimes referred to as a hallucinogenic stimulant
  • Produces hallucinogenic distortions of time and perception
  • Disrupts concentration and action of serotonin in the brain
  • Can cause:
    -Changes in mood
    -Repression of libido and appetite
    -Mental stimulation
    -Increased body temperature
    -Psychological problems
57
Q

Outline the effects of cannabis

A
  • Plant with psychoactive effects
  • Effective ingredient (THC is found in:
    -Hashish (solidified resin of the plant)
    -Marijuana (dried leaves, flowers of the plant
  • Inhaling THC
  • Small doses = mild, pleasurable highs
  • Large doses = long, hallucinogenic reactions
    -Fear, anxiety and confusion
58
Q

Outline the effects of opiates

A
  • Suppress physical sensation and response to stimulation
  • Morphine and heroin bind to same receptor sites in brain as endorphins
  • Intravenous injection of heroin = initial rush of pleasure, but addiction and withdrawal are serious consequences for this drug
  • Long term effects include:
    -Dependence
    -Depression
    -Cognitive impairment
59
Q

Outline psychological dependence and how it occurs

A
  • Occurs when the body becomes adjusted to and dependent on a drig
  • When an individual has high tolerance and had become dependent then- addiction
  • Addicts require the drug in their bodies and suffer withdrawal symptoms if deprived of the drug
  • The emotional and motivational factors around drug use
  • Factors associated with a person’s craving for the drug
  • Can occur in the absence if addiction
  • Person’s lifestyle centres around drug use
  • Impairment in normal functioning (work, family etc)

Intro to Psych (10 decks)

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