Chapter 5: Consciousness

Question 1

What is consciousness?

Answer 1

moment-to-moment awareness of ourselves and our environment

subjective (everyone’s reality is different)

dynamic, multiple states, self-reflective (aware of itself)

Question 2

Explain Freud’s three-level system of consciousness?

Answer 2

conscious mind: everything we’re currently aware of

preconscious mind: contains things that are brought into consciousness

unconscious mind: cannot be brought in conscious awareness (such as some emotional or motivational processes)

Question 3

How do psychologists measure states of consciousness?

Answer 3

self-report / physiological measures / behavioral measures

focused awareness, drifting consciousness, divided consciousness, sleeping and dreaming, waking states of altered consciousness

Question 4

How do cognitive psychologists view the unconscious?

Answer 4

sleeping and dreaming

Question 5

What is automatic processing and why is it important?

Answer 5

it allows us to do several things at once like watching TV, talking on phone.

Question 6

Based on the modular model of the mind, how does consciousness arise?

Answer 6

modular mind says the brain has many processing subsystems that work together to give us consciousness.

Question 7

How do the brain and environment regulate circadian rhythms?

Answer 7

part in hypothalamus responds to light and pineal gland releases melatonin.

time shifts in environment make your internal clock different and you get jet lag.

seasons.

and night-shift work can also alter these.

Question 8

What are free-running circadian rhythms?

Answer 8

just follow your circadian rythms, ie. sleep when you feel tired and not otherwise and manipulate your circadian clock

Question 9

Explain how SAD, jet lag, and night-shift work involve circadian disruptions.

Answer 9

SAD makes you depressed during certain months of the year.

jet lag fucks your internal clock along with night shift.

Question 10

Besides exposure to light, what other methods are used to treat circadian disruptions?

Answer 10

dark therapy, medication such as melatonin and modafinil

Question 11

What brain wave patterns distinguish the first four stages of sleep?

Answer 11

Stage 1: light sleep, beta waves
Stage 2: sleep spindles
Stage 3: slow, large, delta waves
Stage 4: REM sleep

Question 12

Describe the major characteristics of REM sleep.

Answer 12

physiological arousal increases to daytime levels, and then dreaming occurs.

you are paralyzed.

Question 13

What brain areas help regulate sleep onset and REM sleep?

Answer 13

brain stem and basal forebrain.

Question 14

How do sleep patterns change with age?

Answer 14

We sleep less as we age and spend less time in Stage 3 and Stage 4. less REM sleep during early childhood.

Question 15

What evidence indicates that genetic factors partly account for differences in people’s sleep behaviors?

Answer 15

depending on how fast or slow our internal clock clicks.

if it ticks faster, you are lark.
if it ticks slower, you are an owl.

Question 16

How do different types of sleep deprivation affect mood and performance?

Answer 16

deficits in mood, cognitive, and physical performance

Question 17

Explain the restoration and evolutionary theories of sleep.

Answer 17

Sleep recharges out rundown bodies. It developed through evolutionary processes.

We would survive predators if we sleep at night.

Question 18

What evidence supports and contradicts the hypothesis that REM sleep serves a special function?

Answer 18

people with REM disorder kick and punch in sleep, it acts to paralyze you.

Question 19

What is insomnia and how is it treated?

Answer 19

can’t fall asleep, or stay asleep.

relaxation training, behaviour therapy, stimulus control, and drugs.

Question 20

Describe the major symptoms of narcolepsy and REM-BD.

Answer 20

REM-BD will throw and kick during sleep.

narcoleptics have extreme daytime sleepiness and can have sleep attacks.

Question 21

Describe the major symptoms of sleep apnea and sleepwalking.

Answer 21

sleep apnea start and stop breathing during sleep.

sleep walking they move around during stage 3, 4 and don’t know whats happening.

Question 22

Identify the major differences between nightmares and night terrors.

Answer 22

nightmares are common, night terrors are more intense.

Question 23

When do we dream most? Why?

Answer 23

last few hours, and during REM.

Question 24

According to the Freudian and activation-synthesis theories, why do we dream?

Answer 24

the gratification of unconscious urges.

dreams occur because cortex is trying to make sense of random neural activity.

Question 25

Describe the main assumption of the cognitive-process dream theory. What evidence supports it?

Answer 25

both dreaming and waking thoughts are produced via same neural processes

Question 26

Does daydreaming serve any function? How similar are daydreams and night dreams?

Answer 26

day dreams are more crafted, you have control over them.

Question 27

How do drugs increase and decrease synaptic transmission?

Answer 27

agonists increase neurotransmitter activity.

antagonists decrease them.

depressant, stimulants and hallucinogens.

Question 28

What is the relation between tolerance, compensatory responses, and withdrawal?

Answer 28

compensatory response: the opposite of the drug effects

tolerance: need to do more of the drug
withdrawal: more compensatory response

Question 29

Describe some myths about drug dependence.

Answer 29

natural drugs are safer.
prescription is safe.
high tolerance means no drinking problem.

Question 30

Explain how alcohol affects the brain.

Answer 30

clouding judgment, impairing concentration and attention

Question 31

Describe the two main effects of opiates.

Answer 31

pain relieving, sleep inducing, highly addictive.

Question 32

What is the greatest danger of hallucinogens?

Answer 32

can lead to coma or death.

Question 33

Describe how environmental and psychological factors influence drug reactions.

Answer 33

if you have a history of psychosis. if you’re depressed, you can have a bad trip.

Question 34

In what sense is hypnotic behavior “involuntary?” Does hypnosis have a unique power to coerce people against their will?

Answer 34

no, it’s a heightened sense of suggestion.

Question 35

Can non-hypnotized people produce the physiological reactions and feats displayed by hypnotized people?

Answer 35

yes

Question 36

Does hypnosis produce pain relief? Is this a placebo effect?

Answer 36

no, it increases pain tolerance.

Question 37

Explain the two major scientific concerns about the use of forensic hypnosis.

Answer 37

people might say what the hypnotist wants to hear.

not shown to be good for memory.

Question 38

According to the dissociation theory of hypnosis, why do hypnotic behaviors seem involuntary?

Answer 38

the person dissociates their consciousness, so they experience two different streams of it

Question 39

According to the social-cognitive theory of hypnosis, why do hypnotic behaviors seem involuntary?

Answer 39

they actually act out the role and confirm what the hypnotist is saying, ie. role-playing