Levels of Consciousness Subconscious - Consciousness just below the level of awareness. It contains thoughts and ideas just out of our awareness. Unconscious - A deeper level of awareness is the unconscious. It contains thoughts and desires about which we have no true or direct knowledge. Consciousness - An organism’s or individual’s awareness of, or possibility of knowing what is happening inside or outside itself

Waking Consciousness Levels of information Processing Parallel processing– subconscious information processing occurs simultaneously on many parallel tracks. Serial processing– conscious processing takes place in sequence

Waking Consciousness Fantasy-prone personalities someone who imagines and recalls experiences with lifelike vividness and who spends considerable time fantasizing

Biological Clocks Biological clocks are internal units that control parts of the body and which are regulated by nature. They operate on free- running cycles (under their own control). Through entrainment, some cycles can be modified to fit a different rhythm (sleep-wake cycle).

The human body has a natural rhythm or cycle of sleep and wakefulness of 25 hours. Contrast this to the light-dark cycle of 24 hours. The human circadian rhythm is based on an entrained 24-hour cycle. Most people’s low points (temperature, blood pressure, and weakness ) generally fall between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. Circadian Rhythms

Sleep and Dreams  REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep  recurring sleep stage  vivid dreams  “paradoxical sleep”  muscles are generally relaxed, but other body systems are active

Sleep and Dreams  Sleep  periodic, natural, reversible loss of consciousness

Sleep and Dreams REM SLEEPNREM SLEEP 1. Rapid eye movement1. Non-rapid eye movement 2. Increases in length as night’s sleep progresses. 2.Decreases in length as night’s sleep progresses. 3. Vivid dreams3. Vague, partial images and stories 4. Nightmares4. Incubus attacks (night terrors) 5. Paralyzed body5. Sleepwalking & talking in sleep 6. Essential part of sleep6. Less essential part of sleep

Brain Waves and Sleep Stages  Beta Waves  Wide awake waves  Alpha Waves  slow waves of a relaxed, awake brain  Delta Waves  large, slow waves of deep sleep  Hallucinations  false sensory experiences  Sleep Spindles  Begin during stage 2 sleep and increase through the cycle

The Nature of Sleep and Dreams

Stages in a Typical Night’s Sleep Sleep stages Awake Hours of sleep REM

Stages in a Typical Night’s Sleep Hours of sleep Minutes of Stage 4 and REM Decreasing Stage 4 Increasing REM

Stages of Sleep Upon reaching stage 4 and after about 80 to 100 minutes of total sleep time, sleep lightens, returns through stages 3 and 2 REM sleep emerges, characterized by EEG patterns that resemble beta waves of alert wakefulness muscles most relaxed rapid eye movements occur dreams occur Four or five sleep cycles occur in a typical night’s sleep; less time is spent in slow-wave, more is spent in REM

Functions of Sleep Restoration theory —body wears out during the day and sleep is necessary to put it back in shape Adaptive theory— sleep emerged in evolution to preserve energy and protect during the time of day when there is little value and considerable danger

Sleep Deprivation  Effects of Sleep Loss  fatigue  impaired concentration  depressed immune system  greater vulnerability to accidents

Sleep Disorders Insomnia The inability to either fall asleep and/or stay asleep in the night #1 Cause – Stress #2 Cause – Irregular sleep schedule #3 Cause – Diet/Medications Narcolepsy: Genetic sleep disorder Fall into uncontrollable “sleep attacks” – directly to REM Muscle paralysis common Sleep apnea: Cessation of breathing while sleeping (typically 100 – 300 X per night) Causes:Weight/Obstruction/Smoking/Asthma

Sleep Disorders REM sleep disorder— sleeper acts out his or her dreams Night terrors— sudden arousal from sleep and intense fear accompanied by physiological reactions (e.g., rapid heart rate, perspiration) that occur during slow-wave sleep Nightmares– a vivid dream depicting frightening disturbing, anxiety-provoking events.

Sleep Disorders NightmaresNight Terrors 1. Occurs during REM sleep, usually during the second half of the night. 1. Occurs during NREM sleep, usually during the first hour of the night. 2. Mild physiological changes2. Drastic bodily changes: breathing & heart rate rise dramatically. 3. Associated with vivid images3. Associated with panic 4. Most likely to occur during REM rebound. 4. Most likely to occur in children

Practical Issues in Sleep Many people walk and talk in their sleep. It is normal. It is not dangerous to awaken a sleepwalker, as long as the person feels safe and secure. Walking and Talking Sleepwalking (somnambulism) About 25% of all children have at least one episode of sleepwalking. It typically occurs during the first three hours of sleep.

Dreams: Freud  Sigmund Freud--The Interpretation of Dreams (1900)  wish fulfillment  discharge otherwise unacceptable feelings  Manifest Content  remembered story line  Latent Content  underlying meaning

Dreams  As Information Processing  helps facilitate memories  REM Rebound  REM sleep increases following REM sleep deprivation

Sleep Across the Lifespan

The Purpose of Dreaming One hypothesis about dreaming is that it is a time for the brain to replenish chemicals used up during the day and to process information.

A second hypothesis says that dreams are used to work out problems experienced throughout the day. A third hypothesis about dreaming suggests that it gives the brain an opportunity to sift through and reorganize events of the day. It creates a dream to organize the events. We dream to make sense of the random situations. E=MC 2

No one can be hypnotized to do something they wouldn’t do anyway. Hypnosis Hypnosis is a state of relaxation. Attention is focused on certain objects, acts, or feelings. Anton Mesmer believed power came from magnetism. Hypnotic results really come from the power of suggestion to focus or block. Trances are periods of deep relaxation.

Hypnosis  Hypnosis  a social interaction in which one person (the hypnotist) suggests to another (the subject) that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur  Posthypnotic Amnesia  supposed inability to recall what one experienced during hypnosis  induced by the hypnotist’s suggestion

Hypnosis  Orne & Evans (1965)  control group instructed to “pretend”  unhypnotized subjects performed the same acts as the hypnotized ones  Posthypnotic Suggestion  suggestion to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized  used by some clinicians to control undesired symptoms and behaviors

Hypnosis  Dissociation  a split in consciousness  allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others  Hidden Observer  Hilgard’s term describing a hypnotized subject’s awareness of experiences, such as pain, that go unreported during hypnosis

Facts and Falsehoods 1. Can hypnosis work for anyone? 2. Can hypnosis enhance recall of forgotten events? Age regression – relive an earlier experience 3. Can hypnosis force people to act against their will? 4. Can hypnosis be therapeutic? 5. Can hypnosis alleviate pain?

Explaining Hypnosis

Drugs and Consciousness  Psychoactive Drug  a chemical substance that alters perceptions and mood  Physical Dependence  physiological need for a drug  marked by unpleasant withdrawal symptoms  Psychological Dependence  a psychological need to use a drug  for example, to relieve negative emotions

Dependence and Addiction  Tolerance  diminishing effect with regular use  Withdrawal  discomfort and distress that follow discontinued use Small Large Drug dose Little effect Big effect Drug effect Response to first exposure After repeated exposure, more drug is needed to produce same effect

Psychoactive Drugs  Depressants  drugs that reduce neural activity  slow body functions  alcohol, barbiturates, opiates  Stimulants  drugs that excite neural activity  speed up body functions  caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines, cocaine

Psychoactive Drugs  Hallucinogens  psychedelic (mind-manifesting) drugs that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input  LSD

Psychoactive Drugs Alcohol– in large or small doses it is a depressant. Small doses may indeed, enliven a drinker, but they do so by slowing brain activity that controls judgment and inhibitions. It contributes to the greatest number of deaths.

Psychoactive Drugs  Barbiturates  drugs that depress the activity of the central nervous system, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgement

Psychoactive Drugs  Opiates  opium and its derivatives (morphine and heroin)  opiates depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety

Psychoactive Drugs  Amphetamines  drugs that stimulate neural activity, causing speeded-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes

Cocaine Euphoria and Crash

Psychoactive Drugs  Ecstasy (MDMA)  synthetic stimulant and mild hallucinogen  both short-term and long-term health risks  LSD  lysergic acid diethylamide  a powerful hallucinogenic drug  also known as acid  THC  the major active ingredient in marijuana  triggers a variety of effects, including mild hallucinations

Near-Death Experiences  Near-Death Experience  an altered state of consciousness reported after a close brush with death  often similar to drug- induced hallucinations

Near-Death Experiences  Dualism  the presumption that mind and body are two distinct entities that interact  Monism  the presumption that mind and body are different aspects of the same thing