Lecture Topic 6 - Consciousness, Sleep and Dreams Flashcards
(30 cards)
History of Consciousness in Psychology
Early Philosophers – philosophers such as Rene Descrates suggest that the mind and body are separate entities and as such the mind should be studied.
Introspection – psychologists such as Wilhelm Wundyt and William James suggest that the way to study the mind is through introspection (i.e. analysing and reporting on ones thought process).
Freud – identifies the psychological distinction between conscious and unconscious and highlights the role of the unconscious.
Skinner – suggests that the concept of consciousness is unimportant except for the fact that an organism must be conscious
Current Era – resurgence in the study of consciousness, especially re altered states (drug induced, hypnosis) and application (eg advertising).
Defining Consciousness
refers to our awareness of interna and external stimuli, encompassing thoughts, feelings, perceptions and the environment. It’s a fundamental aspect of human experience, with various levels and states.
- Location of consciousness
Consciousness is distributed throughout the brain and has been linked to the following:
* Neural pathways in the cortex and thalamus are important
* Prefrontal cortex is particularly important for conscious control of important processing
* Feedback loop between the midbrain, thalamus and cortex that focuses attention on targets in the environment, with the most important targets receiving attention in the cortex.
- Functions of consciousness
Monitoring Mental Events – observing the self and the environment ( i.e. your inner and outer worlds) for potentially significant perceptions and thoughts and emotions.
Regulating Thought and Behaviour – allowing us to initiate and terminate thoughts and behaviours to achieve goals
- Principles of consciousness
1 Divided Attention
2 Sumblimal effect
Divided Attention
PRINCIPLLE OF CONSCIOUSNESS
it is difficult to engage in two or more complex tasks at the same time if they are both conscious.
- Example: Dichotic Listening Example
- Example: Parallel Attention – revolves around the ability to consciously process parallel information. May be linked to concepts such as short-term memory. Airforce Pilot Testing Example.
Subliminal effect
Principle of consciousness
– the degree to which information may be transmitted to an individual even though it is not consciously perceived. The Just Noticeable Difference (JND) theory suggests that for us to consciously perceive something, it must be above our threshold for awareness. The extension of this is the degree to which a stimulus does not meet our JND yet might still be perceived unconsciously.
History of subliminal effect
Early Greek & Roman Era – thinkers (philosophers) added subtle wording to their orations to influence people.
1930s – subtle messages added to radio programs (no evidence of impact)
1940s – subliminal messaged added to TV shows (no evidence of impact)
1950s – James Vicary published research findings indicating that subliminal messages during a movie (“eat popcorn” “drink Coca-Cola”) increased sales. Fraudulent Findings.
1960s-1980s – research cannot find an effect for subliminal messages, but corporate interest remains high
1990s – some empirical evidence for the impact of subliminal messaging as it relate to psychology – eg JND
2000S – continued corporate interest and refinement of empirical application (especially corporate logos)
Levels of consciousness
There are 5 levels
Non consciousness
consciousnes s
preconsciousness
subconsciousness
unconsciousness
- Non-consciousness
primarily related to bodily functions that occur without awareness (eg breathing)
- Consciousnes
– refers to information and actions (behaviours) that you are actively aware of.
- Preconsciousness
refers to information that is not currently in awareness but can be recalled when required (eg remembering a phone number)
- Subconsciousness
refers to information that is out of consciousness and not immediately available to consciousness but may be identified with sufficient insight/reflection
- Unconscious
refers to information that is outside of awareness and inaccessible except though intensive insight/reflection according to some theories (eg Fraud – fixations)
states of consciousness
vegetative state
minimally conscious state
flow state
vegetative state
a state of wakefulness without awareness, where a person may seem awake but does not respond to their surroundings
minimally conscious state
: a state of diminished consciousness where a person shows some awareness but is not fully alert.
flow state
: a state of intense focus and engagement in an activity, often leading to a sense of effortless action and enjoyment.
altered states of consciousness
sleep and dreaming
hypnosis
drug related altered states
sleep and dreaming
Sleep is an altered state of consciousness which assist the mind and body to recuperate. Sleep disturbance and/or deprivation can lead to physical, psychological, emotional and intellectual issues.
what does sleep depreivation lead to
- Poorer learning
- Poorer memory
- Lower IQ test scores
- Compromised immune system
- Poorer emotional processing
- Mistakes at work
- Car accidents
stages of sleep
The various stage can be differentiated through EEG readings:
Stage N1: like wakefulness, but slower
Stage N2: sleep spindles and K complexes
Stage N3: delta waves
REM: Fast, random
Psychological theories of dreaming
Dreaming occurs during the Rapid Eye Movement REM stage of sleep and has been linked to a variety of psychological theories
- Psychanalytic theory – Freud: suggests that repeated and vivid dreams are the semi-disguised representations of the unconscious desires of the id.
- Activation-Synthesis Theory: biological theory suggesting that dreams are an attempt by the cortex to interpret random neural firings of the brain during sleep.
- Information-Processing Theory: cognitive theory that suggests that dreams are constructed from the daily issues of the dreamer.
Hypnosis
Hypnosis is a state of focused attention and increased relaxation that can be used to facilitate changes in behaviour, perceptions, or emotional responses, often guided by a trained professional
