Chapter 7 States of Consciousness States of Consciousness

Chapter 7 States of Consciousness

States of Consciousness -our awareness of ourselves and our environments Fantasy Prone Personality -imagines and recalls experiences with lifelike vividness -spends considerable time fantasizing

Sleep and Dreams Biological Rhythms -periodic physiological fluctuations Types of biological rhythms 1. annual cycles- migration 2. Twenty-eight day cycles- menstrual cycles 3. Twenty-four hour cycles- varying alertness 4. Ninety-minute cycles- moving through stages of sleep

Premenstrual Syndromedoes it actually effect mood? 3 Recalled mood is worse than earlier reported Negative mood score 2 1 Premenstrual Actual Menstrual Intermenstrual Menstrual phase Recalled mood

Circadian Rhythm -the biological clock -regular bodily rhythms that occur on a 24 hour cycle wakefulness body temperature

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 -periodic, natural, reversible loss of consciousness

Sleep and Dreams z Measuring sleep activity

Brain Waves and Sleep Stages Alpha Waves -slow waves of a relaxed, awake brain Delta Waves -large, slow waves of deep sleep Hallucinations -false sensory experiences

Typical Nightly Sleep Stages Sleep stages Awake 1 2 3 REM 4 0 1 2 3 4 Hours of sleep 5 6 7 Sleep cycle repeats itself about once every 90 minutes.

Stage 1 -Very light sleep -Only lasts about 5 -10 minutes -Transition period between wakefulness and sleep -Common to experience hallucinations during this time =>Some claim to be abducted by aliens right after they go to bed

Stage 2 -Brain produces rapid and rhythmic activity known as sleep spindles -Body temperature starts to decrease and heart rate begins to drop

Stage 3 -Transition period between light sleep and deep sleep -combination of spindle waves and delta waves

Stage 4 -Slow delta waves, sometimes known as delta sleep -Bed wetting and sleep walking are most likely to occur during this stage

REM Sleep -Rapid Eye Movement (REM) -Also known as “paradoxical sleep” because brain and body organs become more active, but muscles become less active and are “paralyzed” -Dreams most often occur during this state due to the high amounts of brain activity -Occurs less often when individual is under the influence of alcohol or sleeping pills.

Typical Nightly Sleep Stages Minutes of Stage 4 and REM Decreasing Stage 4 25 20 15 Increasing REM 10 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 Hours of sleep 6 7 8

Sleep Deprivation Effects of Sleep Loss -REM rebound- Getting more REM sleep when you have been deprived of it -fatigue -impaired concentration -immune suppression -irritability -slowed performance Accidents Planes autos and trucks

Sleep Deprivation Accident frequency Less sleep, more accidents More sleep, fewer accidents 2, 800 2, 700 4, 200 2, 600 4000 2, 500 3, 800 2, 400 3, 600 Spring time change (hour sleep loss) Monday before time change Fall time change (hour sleep gained) Monday after time change

Sleep Disorders Insomnia -persistent problems in falling or staying asleep -In many cases, sufferers of insomnia believe their problem is worse than it actually is - Lab studies show that people overestimated by about double how long it took them to fall asleep, and over exaggerated how often they woke up during the night.

Narcolepsy -uncontrollable sleep attacks

Sleep Apnea -cessation of breathing -often associated with snoring -repeatedly awakes sufferer - Can be dangerous if severe enough

Night Terrors and Nightmares Night Terrors Sleep stages Awake 1 2 3 REM 4 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hours of sleep 7 -occur within 2 or 3 hours of falling asleep, usually during Stage 4 -high arousalappearance of being terrified Nightmares -occur towards morning -during REM sleep

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

Manifest content -People commonly report nightmares after suffering drama -In a study, participants who had played Tetris for several hours before sleep reporting having dreams about falling blocks -People in hunter gatherer societies dream about animals more than those in urban societies

Manifest content What happens in our environment can affect our dreams -Test subjects sprayed in the face with water were more likely to report having dreams about water, such as water falls or leaky roofs

Manifest content So can we learn a foreign language while sleeping? -No. We don’t remember what happens while we are asleep that well. In fact we typically forget anything that happens within the first five minutes after we fall asleep.

Latent Content Freud believed the manifest content of our dreams were the censored versions of unconscious drives and desires. -Hidden fears, anxieties or wants were masked by recognizable actions in dreams >Teeth falling out = anxiety -Freud believed most latent content was sexual (but he believed most things were sexual)

Why do we dream? Theories Freud: to satisfy our own wishes- look for hidden meaning in dreams to discover our desires Information processing- dreams help us sort out the days events and consolidate our memories -States we retain information better after we’ve had a chance to consolidate what we’ve learned over a good nights sleep.

Why do we dream? Theories continued Physiological function- dreams help develop and preserve neural pathways Activation-synthesis- REM sleep triggers neural activity that evokes random visual memories that our brain tries to makes sense of by turning them into stories Cognitive theory- dreams reflect cognitive development

Surprising Dream Facts -We spend six years of our life dreaming -For both men and women, 8 in 10 of dreams are negative -1 in 10 young men and 1 in 30 young women report dreams with sexual overtones -Women dream of males and females equally often, while males dream of of other males 65% of the time (not necessarily related to above statistic).

Sleep Patterns and Age Who gets The most REM Sleep? Most time awake?

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 -a relaxed, highly suggestible state

Hypnosis Posthypnotic Amnesia -supposed inability to recall what one experienced during hypnosis -induced by the hypnotist’s suggestion Hypnotic Suggestibility -Hypnotized individuals respond highly to suggestions -ability to focus attention inwardly -ability to become imaginatively absorbed

Hypnosis- Facts and Fiction Can hypnosis help us recall “lost” memories from our childhood? Nope. Many times people will confuse fact and fiction and recall fake memories. Can hypnosis force people to act against their will? Nope. A person can still control their own actions when hypnotized, they will simply become more open to suggestion Can hypnosis be therapeutic? Yep. Posthypnotic suggestion. Can Hypnosis be used to alleviate pain? Yep. Dissociation.

Hypnosis z Unhypnotized persons can also do this

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 and Pain 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

Hypnosis Divided Consciousness or Social Phenomenon? Ernest Hilgard hypnotized a woman into not smelling bad odors. How? Attention is diverted from an aversive odor. How? Divided-consciousness theory: hypnosis has caused a split in awareness Social Influence theory: the subject is so caught up in the hypnotized role that she ignores the odor

Biopsychosocial Approach

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

Drugs and Consciousness

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

Dependence Big effect Drug effect Tolerance -need for progressively larger doses to achieve same effect Response to first exposure After repeated exposure, more drug is needed to produce same effect Little effect Small Withdrawal Large Drug dose -discomfort and distress with discontinued use

Psychoactive Drugs Depressants -drugs that reduce neural activity -slow body function Sedatives, alcohol, barbiturates, opiates Stimulants -drugs that excite neural activity -speed up body function caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines

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

Psychoactive Drugs Barbiturates -drugs that depress the activity of the central nervous system, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgement y. Sodium Pentothal- barbiturate known as “truth syrum” that lowers inhibitions and makes a person more talkative. y. Barbiturates have been used to treat epilepsy, act as a mild form or anesthesia, and have been used in assisted suicide.

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 accelerated body functions and associated energy and mood changes EX: Adderall

Cocaine Euphoria and Crash

Psychedelic Drugs 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

Psychoactive Drugs Drug Type Pleasurable Effects Adverse Effects Alcohol Depressant Initial high followed by relaxation and disinhibition Depression, memory loss, organ damage, impaired reactions Heroin Depressant Rush of euphoria, relief from pain Depressed physiology, agonizing withdrawal Caffeine Stimulant Increased alertness and wakefulness Anxiety, restlessness, and insomnia in high doses; uncomfortable withdrawal Metham- Stimulant phetamine Euphoria, alertness, energy Irritability, insomnia, hypertension, seizures Cocaine Stimulant Rush of euphoria, confidence, energy Cardiovascular stress, suspiciousness, depressive crash Nicotine Stimulant Arousal and relaxation, sense of well-being Heart disease, cancer (from tars) Marijuana Mild Enhanced sensation, pain relief Lowered sex hormones, disrupted hallucinogen distortion of time, relaxation memory, lung damage from smoke

Trends in Drug Use 80% High school seniors reporting drug use 70 60 50 Alcohol 40 Marijuana/ hashish 30 20 Cocaine 10 0 1975 ‘ 77 ‘ 79 ‘ 81 ‘ 83 ‘ 85 ‘ 87 ‘ 89 Year ‘ 91 ‘ 93 ‘ 95 ‘ 97 ‘ 99

Perceived Marijuana Risk 100% Percent of twelfth graders Perceived “great risk of harm” in marijuana use 90 80 70 60 50 40 Used marijuana 30 20 10 0 ‘ 75 ‘ 77 ‘ 79 ‘ 81 ‘ 83 ‘ 85 ‘ 87 ‘ 89 ‘ 91 ‘ 93 Year ‘ 95 ‘ 97 ‘ 99