Chapter 5 - Consciousness McGonigle Psychology

Reminders - Donate to Thanksgiving Food Drive - Test on Thursday/Friday - Game on the 24 th vs. Connolly - Mass on the 23 rd / Half Day - Winter Sports begin on the 28 th - Progress Reports on December 2 nd !

Consciousness- Sensory Awareness Sights, sounds, smells (rain, teacher’s voice, pizza in the café, etc.) Selective attention- focusing on particular stimulus and blocking out any distractions. Unusual stimuli (’99) – Intense stimuli (ys)

Consciousness- Direct Inner Awareness Poolside, lakeside, oceanside- we are conscious of water before going in.. Aware of emotions such as anger, of memories of friends, of abstract concepts such as fairness, justice, love, etc.

Consciousness as sense of self As we grow older, we are aware that we are unique individuals, separate from other people and surroundings. “Maevie likes playgrounds” – 3 rd person

Levels of Consciousness Preconscious- What did you wear yesterday? Ideas are not in your awareness now, but you could recall them if you had to. You can direct your inner awareness, or attention to them.

Unconscious Level Information stored in unconscious/subconscious is unavailable to awareness under most circumstances.(hidden) Freud Defense mechanisms- we use these mental strategies to push painful memories out of our consciousness. This protects us from feelings of guilt, anxiety & shame.

Nonconscious level Basic Biological Functions: Fingernails growing Eyes adjusting to light Blinking Breathing- exchanging CO2 w/ O2

Altered States of Consciousness Sense of self or sense of the world changes Sleeping Influence of Drugs Meditation Hypnosis

Circadian Rhythms Latin – “ About/around a day” Speaks to bodily changes throughout the day Body temp – lowest at 3 am – 5 am Late afternoon (4-6) – HC practice- low energy in circadian rhythm.

Stages of Sleep EEG – beta waves (short & quick) when awake, alpha waves when drowsy are longer and slower. Stage 1: Light sleep, brain waves slow from alpha waves to theta waves, dreamlike images. (powernap)

Stages of Sleep (Cont’d) Stage 1 : lasts minutes. Stage 2: move into deep sleep. Stages 3-4: Sleep is deep & the brain produces delta waves- the slowest of the 4 patterns. Stage 4: Greatest difficulty waking up in this stage.

Levels of Sleep Half an hour of Stage 4 Sleep We return to stages 3,2, and 1 ( 90:00) Our heartbeat now rises + we go to REM sleep.

REM – “ not the band” Rapid Eye Movement – dream state Go through 5 stages of REM sleep Periods of REM get longer as night progresses NREM – Non – REM sleep

Why do we need Sleep? Physical – Helps to revive the tired body+ build up resistance to infection. Keeps the mind sharp. Psychologically- It helps us to recover from stress, we need more sleep w/ more stressors.

Gardner Experiment – w/out sleep Randy Gardner – stayed awake 11 days- (’64) Became irritable, could not focus eyes,memory lapses, & speech difficulties. Film – discusses image of a frog boiling as compared to chronic insomnia.

Dreams It is during REM sleep that we have the most vivid dreams. Can be black & white or color. REM dreams- clear images & plots that make sense. NREM dreams- plots are vaguer & images more fleeting.

Freudian View on Dreams Freud- Dreams reveal what you really want. Reveal one’s unconscious wishes, fears & urges. Some unconscious wishes are unacceptable, perhaps even painful. Those most likely would appear in dreams- sometimes as symbols.

Biopsychological Approach-Non Freudian During sleep- neurons fire in the brain that controls movement & vision. These neuron bursts are random & the brain tries to make sense of them. It does so by weaving a story – the dream.

Insomnia Inability to sleep – “insomnus” More likely to worry & have racing thoughts at bedtime. Increases during periods of anxiety & tension + decreases during less stressful periods.

Fighting Insomnia 1- Tense muscles one at a time- then let the tension go. 2- Avoid worrying in bed, if worrying persists, get up for a while. 3- Establish a routine, especially for getting up + going to bed. 4- Use pleasant images or daydreams to relax.

Narcolepsy Rare Sleep Disorder- one falls asleep immediately no matter what time it is or where they are. Muscles completely relax and they are in REM sleep. Drug therapy and frequent naps have been used to treat narcolepsy

Nightmares Like most other dreams, are products of REM sleep. Those keeping diaries generally state that they have 2 nightmares a month. Upsetting events can produce nightmares such as an earthquake or 911.

Night Terrors More severe than nightmares Dreamers- feel hearts racing & gasp for air. Unlike nightmares- memories of night terrors are rare. Mostly occur with young children.

Sleep Apnea Breathing interruption that occurs during sleep. Do not start breathing until they sit up and gasp for air. Do not wake up completely, not aware of what happened during the night. They often feel tired during the day.

Study Guide Consciousness Preconscious Unconscious/Sub Nonconscious Altered states of con. Circadian Rhythms EEG Beta/alpha/theta/delta waves Stage 1/2/3/4 sleep REM sleep NREM sleep Gardner experiment Dreams Freudian view on dreams Biopsychological view Sleep disorders