Week 9

Question 1

What is conscious experience?

Answer 1

The first-person perspective of a mental event, such as feeling some sensory input, a memory, an idea, an emotion, etc

Question 2

what is 1st person perspective

Answer 2

Observations made by individuals about their own conscious experiences

Question 3

what is 3rd personal perspective

Answer 3

Observations made by individuals in a way that can be independently confirmed by other individuals so as to lead to general, objective understanding.

Question 4

What is cortical blindness

Answer 4

when you can’t see even tho the structures of the eyes are undamaged and work perfectly

Question 5

What is blindsight?

Answer 5

a condition where a person can analyze and respond to visual events even though they have no conscious awareness of having seen the stimuli.

Question 6

What does the hippocampus do?

Answer 6

intimately involved in our ability to store memories of the events we experience every day

Question 7

How do we make decisions?

Answer 7

through both conscious and unconscious information processing

Question 8

what is awareness?

Answer 8

an essential ingredient to conscious experience

Question 9

What is contemplative science?

Answer 9

a research area that covers the understanding how contemplative practices such as meditation can affect individuals, including changes in their behavior, their emotional reactivity, their cognitive abilities, and their brains.

Question 10

What is consciousness?

Answer 10

Awareness of ourselves and our environment.

Question 11

What is low awareness?

Answer 11

not being aware of various stimuli in your environment, tho ur brain is paying attention and knows to a certain level. Influenced by subtle factors, saves mental effort

Question 12

in low awareness, what is ‘priming’?

Answer 12

the activation of certain thoughts or feelings that make them easier to think of and act upon

Question 13

in low awareness, what is “implicit associations test’?

Answer 13

A computer reaction time test that measures a person’s automatic associations with concepts

Question 14

What is high awareness?

Answer 14

using mental effort to really pay attention, it can overcome some biases, ex. engaging in a meaningful conversation

Question 15

What is mindfulness?

Answer 15

a state of higher consciousness that includes an awareness of the thoughts passing through one’s head.

Question 16

is knowing when to not get mad, or when you’re using a stereotype, characteristic of low or high awareness?

Answer 16

high awareness

Question 17

What are the types of consciousness?

Answer 17

high and low awareness, hypnosis, dissociation, hypnotherapy, trance states, sleep,

Question 18

What is hypnosis?

Answer 18

the state of consciousness whereby a person is highly responsive to the suggestions of another; this state usually involves a dissociation with one’s environment and an intense focus on a single stimulus, which is usually accompanied by a sense of relaxation

Question 19

What is dissociation?

Answer 19

the separation of one’s awareness from everything besides what one is centrally focused on, like when you’re playing a game inclass and don’t hear anything the teacher says

Question 20

what is hypnotherapy?

Answer 20

The use of hypnotic techniques such as relaxation and suggestion to help engineer desirable change such as lower pain or quitting smoking.

Question 21

What are trance states?

Answer 21

an acute dissociation between one’s self and the current, physical environment surrounding them.

Question 22

What are the 4 stages of sleep?

Answer 22

Stage 1: N1: the “falling asleep stage” - theta waves
Stage 2: N2: “light sleep” - processing of memories - about 55% of sleep
Stage 3: N3: greater muscle relaxation and delta waves - 20-25% of sleep
REM: similar to wakefullness, stage of dreaming - tracked by eye movement - 20% of all sleep

Question 23

What do dualists believe about consciousness?

Answer 23

Mental and physical are different substances

Question 24

What do reductionists believe about consciousness?

Answer 24

That mental phenomena can be explained via descriptions of physical phenomena

Question 25

What are Circandian Rhythms?

Answer 25

The physiological sleep-wake cycle, influenced by exposure to sunlight as well as daily schedule and activity.

Question 26

What is motion-induced blindness?

Answer 26

A small object surrounded by moving patterns will disappear from your vision

Question 27

What are the 3 classes of psychoactive drugs?

Answer 27

Hallucinogens, depressants, stimulants

Question 28

What are hallucinogens?

Answer 28

substances that, when ingested, alter a person’s perceptions, often by creating hallucinations that are not real or distorting their perceptions of time.

Question 29

What does transcranial magnetic stimulation do?

Answer 29

It directly activates visual motion areas with an externally applied magnetic field, making you see dots

Question 30

What can euphoria be defined as?

Answer 30

an intense feeling of pleasure, excitement or happiness

Question 31

What are depressants?

Answer 31

a class of drugs that slow down the body’s physiological and mental processes

Question 32

What is Blood Alcohol Content?

Answer 32

a measure of the percentage of alcohol found in a person’s blood

Question 33

What guarantees visual awareness?

Answer 33

A certain type of reciprocal exchange of info across areas of the brain, especially the cerebral cortex ensures visual awareness

Question 34

What are stimulants?

Answer 34

a class of drugs that speed up the body’s physiological and mental processes.