Consciousness Flashcards
(34 cards)
What is consciousness?
awareness of self and surroundings
How do we know there are altered states of consciousness?
Dependent on reports of subjective experience
Mind body dualism; subjective vs. objective
What is the hard problem? (Chalmers)
The problem of explaining how physical processes in the brain give rise to subjective experience
What are the functional views of consciousness? (What are the functions of conscioussness
- Monitoring
- Controlling
- Conscious and Unconscious actions
What do you mean by ‘monitoring’ as a functional view of consciousness?
you experience what you give your attention to and have periods of inattention blindness where you don’t notice something that is staring you in the face (cause your attention was somewhere else).
What do you mean by ‘controlling’ as a functional view of consciousness?
you plan, initiate, and guide your actions whilst conscious
Many things come under ‘conscious and unconscious actions’ - what are actions that are always unconscious called?
visuomotor control
Many things come under ‘conscious and unconscious actions’ - what are actions/techniques that are normally unconscious but can be brought under some conscious control?
biofeedback
Example of unconscious processing?
subliminal perception
thought suppression
What is subliminal perception
stimuli below individuals’ threshold for conscious perception
What is thought suppression?
blocking out a certain thought
What is thought suppressing an example of?
an ironic process
What two things is the ironic process made up of?
The internal operating process (intentional) and the ironic monitoring process (automatic)
What is intentional operating process
searches for mental contents to create desired mental state
What is ironic monitoring process
searches for mental contents that signal failure of mental control (automatic)
What is an example of the ironic process?
The stroop effect
What is the stroop effect?
The Stroop effect is a phenomenon in which the processing of a word’s meaning interferes with the ability to name the ink color in which the word is written.
The Stroop effect is linked to ironic processes because it involves a conflict between intentional and automatic processes, which can produce unintended and often opposite effects.
In the Stroop task, participants are asked to name the ink color of a word while ignoring the word’s meaning. This requires intentional effort to focus on the task-relevant aspect of the stimulus (the ink color) and inhibit automatic processing of the word’s meaning.
Name the psychoactive drugs?
classified by effect on behaviour:
Sedatives & hypnotics
Stimulants
Opiates
Hallucinogens & psychedelics
What do sedatives and hypnotics do?
induce sleep
what do stimulants do?
activate behaviour
what do opiates do?
impact emotional state
what do hallucinogens and psychedelics do?
change the perception of colour and reality
- spiritual/sacred significance in many cultures
What are hallucinations?
Visual images with pattern, colours and constant forms (spiral cobweb etc)
what are delusions
merging with surroundings
