PSYCHOLOGY – UNIT 2

STATES OF CONSCIOUSNE

SS

“I had an extremely strange dream last night,” Linda said as she, Marc, and Todd were standing around at school waiting for the bell to ring.

“What was it about? Was I in it?” Marc wanted to know.

“Sorry, Marc, you weren’t,” Linda replied. “Actually, you know who was in it? Nick. And it was weird because it was Nick the way he used to be before he had the drug problem, before he started spacing out all the time. Back when you could talk with him and know that he was actually listening.”

The group was silent for a few seconds while they recalled the way Nick used to be. They were all glad his parents had convinced him to go to a treatment center for help.

“But Nick wasn’t the only person in my dream,” Linda continued. “The thing is, I can’t remember who else was there. It was someone I know, but I can’t think of who!” She was obviously annoyed.

“Hey, in a movie I saw last weekend, this guy used hypnosis to help a woman remember her dreams,” said Todd.

“Did it work?” asked Linda.

“Well, in the movie it did,” said Todd. “But I read in a magazine article that you can only be hypnotized if you want to be.”

“How did he hypnotize her in the movie?” Linda wanted to know. “What kinds of things did he do?”

“Well, first he got out a chain with something hanging form it. He began to swing it slowly back and forth in front of the woman’s eyes, and he told her to concentrate on it. Then he told her that she was getting sleepy, very sleepy, and that her eyelids were getting heavy. Once he’d put her in a trance, he asked her some questions about her dreams, and she was able to answer them. It was amazing.”

“Huh,” pondered Linda. “Sounds a little creepy to me.” Just then the bell rang, and everyone went off to class. Linda never did figure out who else had been in her dream.

Rathus, 104

INTRODUCTION TO CONSCIOUSNESSWhat is CONSCIOUSNESS?

Consciousness is a state of awareness of ourselves and our world

It is a construct—a concept that cannot be seen or touched

It includes our thoughts, feelings, sensations and perceptions

12

What is meant by AWARENESS?

FOCUSED AWARENESS: concentration only on the immediate task at hand, such as an athlete “being in the zone”; wide awake, fully alert, and fully engaged

DRIFTING AWARENESS: daydreaming; a low level of awareness; fantasizing; idle but directed thinking while awake

4

3

5

MULTI-TASKING: the concurrent or interweaved execution of two or more jobs by a single CPU.

DIVIDED CONSCIOUSNESS: multiple “awareness” of separate thinking processes

6

What are the LEVELS OF CONSCIOUSNESS?

CONSCIOUS LEVEL

perceptions

thoughts

PRECONSCIOUS LEVELmemories stored knowledge

UNCONSCIOUS LEVEL

selfish needsfears

violent motivesUnacceptable desires

shameful experiencesimmoral urges

recalled awareness

present awareness

hidden; “non-

awareness”

NON-CONSCIOUS LEVEL

biologicalfunctions

7

9

8

What about UNCONSCIOUSNESS?

Lack of awareness of one’s surroundings or loss of consciousness

head trauma

coma

anesthesia

10

ALTERED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Sleep

1. The brain and the body recover from stress

2. Develop healthy immune system

3. Growth and regeneration of body cells

4. Primitive form of hibernation—we sleep to conserve energy

Why sleep?

11

Different people need different amounts of sleep; an “age related” pattern

1.Babies 16 hrs/day

2.Teenagers 9 hrs/day

3.Adults 7-8 hrs/day

4.Older adults 5-6 hrs/day

How much sleep?

12

Sleep debt: a lack of sleep creates a need to “make-up” the loss

Increase susceptibility to illness

Unusual levels of anxiety

Apathy

Slowed reflexes

Reduced ability to concentrate

Circadian rhythm: daily cycle of bodily processes

• The human biological clock functions on a 25 hour cycle

• External cues (sunlight, alarm clocks) reset the natural cycle

13

15

14

Alert Wakefulness: state of focused attention on active thought

What are the LEVELS OF WAKEFULNESS?

Relaxed Wakefulness: state of resting quietly with your eyes closed

Stage 1 Sleep – light sleep from which the person can be easily awakened

Stage 2 Sleep – deeper sleep, but still easily awakened

Stage 3 Sleep – deep sleep; difficult to arouse the sleeper

Stage 4 Sleep – deepest stage of sleep

REM – rapid eye movement sleep; stage when dreams occur

What are the STAGES OF SLEEP?

16

17

18

What about DREAMS?

Purpose of dreaming

To process and reorganize information

To work out unresolved problems

To make sense of random stimulation to the brain

“…to sleep, perchance to dream….”Hamlet

Psychology of dreaming

Freud believed dreams represent a form of wish fulfillment – dreams were the “royal road to the unconscious”

Manifest content: the story line, images and other perceptual aspects of dreams

Latent content: the hidden meaning of dreams that comes from the dreamer’s unconscious wishes

19

20

A bio-psychological approach traces dream activity to simple electric impulses

No scientific evidences supports the claim that dreams have mystical or predictive meanings

What about SLEEP DISORDERS?Insomnia

Types of

Trouble getting to sleep

Trouble staying asleep

Trouble return to sleep after awakening

21

22

Characteristics of Insomnia Sufferers Higher levels of autonomic nervous

system activity Higher anxiety levels More tension in the forehead More concerned about physical

complaints

Coping with Insomnia

Sleeping pills Practice relaxation techniques Avoid worrying in bed Establish a regular routine

24

Narcolepsy. A sudden sleep during daytime hours; rapid onset of REM; duration may be as long as 15 minutes

Sleep Apnea. Stopping breathing while sleeping; often caused by an overly thick palate or enlarged tonsils that block a person’s airways; snoring is clue to apnea; risks are hypertension, high blood pressure, and tiredness

23

262

5

Nightmare Disorder. Disturbing nightmares that are very vivid and intense; elaborate, story-like dreams that feel extremely threatening; stress contributes

Night Terrors. More intense than nightmares; they occur in deep sleep, not REM; appears to be an association with delayed stress (soldiers); hearts pounding, rapid breathing, incoherence, wild movements

Sleep Walking. Performing, while asleep, activities normally done while awake; generally harmless and not related to a larger emotional or psychological problem

28 2

92

7

ALTERED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

DrugsPSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS include any

chemical that affects the nervous system and results in altered states of consciousness.

There are differences between USE, MISUSE, and ABUSE.

-SOCIAL--

MEDICAL-

-PATHOLOGICA

L-

-HABITUAL-

The American Psychological Association lists three criteria for drug use, becoming drug abuse

Pathological use (habitual, maladaptive, and

compulsive)

Impairment of occupational or social functioning

Lasts one month or more

Dangers of Drug Abuse Death or injury by overdose or

accident Legal consequence Destructive behavior Loss of control Drug dependence -- addiction

Physical dependence: caused by repeated usage that changes body chemistry

Psychological dependence: a pattern of behavior to satisfy a psychological need

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS

Treatments for Drug Abuse Detoxification Maintenance programs – controlled

use to minimize addiction Counseling – helpful only if the use of

the drug is for psychological reasons Support groups

Regardless of the method for treating drug abuse, the person must realize he has a problem and desire to change

ALTERED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

HypnosisWhat is HYPNOSIS?A state of consciousness resulting from

a narrowed focus of attention and characterized by heightened suggestibility

A trance-like state in which subjects do not exercise critical-thinking skills

It is not……sleep…drug-induced sleep…like any other state of consciousness

What are the uses of HYPNOSIS?Entertainment and amusement

Posthypnotic Suggestion – made during hypnosis that influences the participant’s behavior afterward to remember or to forget after the

trance to help change unwanted behavior

Hypnotic analgesic – reduction of pain through reduced anxiety and increased relaxation

To reveal problems and gain insights – hyperamnesia – retrieval of lost memories

How does Hypnosis work?A trust relationship between the

hypnotist and subject; cooperation, not domination

A hypnotist induces a trance by slowing persuading the subject to lose interest in external distractions

Braid method Eye method Machine method

What are the dangers of HYPNOSIS?Embarrassment due to external control

Dissociation – unusual change in one’s self-identity; mental images are lost to conscious awareness and become unavailable to voluntary recall

Symptom substitution – hypnosis may eliminate disorders, but unless the cause is eliminated it may manifest itslelf another way

35

ALTERED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESSMeditationWhat is MEDITATION?

The focusing of attention to clear one’s mind and produce relaxation (Kasshau, 195)

What are the approaches to Meditation?

1. Transcendental Meditation. The mental repetition of a word or phrase; concentration

37

36

2. Mindfulness Meditation. Focuses on the present moment; observation of physiological rhythms, inner thoughts, sensations or outer objects

3. Meditation as a form of relaxation.

1 http://www.africanamericans.com/images2/TigerWoods.jpg

2 http://www.arcent.army.mil/cflcc_today/2005/january/images/afghan_patrol1.jpg

3 Belch, slide #5

4 http://images.jupiterimages.com/common/detail/50/13/23361350.jpg

5 Belch, slide #6

6 http://tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:2cbZUNf8t0NhKM:http://processcoaching.com/images/Iceberg1.jpg

7 http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_35kDzNt-gTQ/STq4uP3bPJI/AAAAAAAABHk/tLDXV91eXLM/s400/sports-injury-picture-football-player- crashes-NFL-injuries.jpg

8 http://tcrogers.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/080401-tc-in-hospital-001.jpg

9 http://a.abcnews.com/images/Health/nm_patient_anesthesia_080910_mn.jpg

10 Belch, slide #9

11 http://cdn-www.answerbag.com/images/answers/355028/1131406/tmb_HomerSleep1.jpg

12 http://www.hypnochick.co.uk/images/sleepdeprivation.jpg

13 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Biological_clock_human.PNG

14 unknown

15 http://meditationforthemasses.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/time-of-relaxation.jpg

16 http://www.50plushealth.co.uk/media/images/sleep-cy450.gif

Picture Credits

17 http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/sleep-stages.gif

18 http://bigdaddyseashell.files.wordpress.com/2007/06/hamlet-yorik.gif

19 http://www.why-we-dream.com/images/freudsky.jpg

20 http://www.debbietomassi.com/Images/Fish-Dream-Big.jpg

21 http://karistiansen.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/insomnia-eye.jpg

22 http://promotehealth.info/wp-content/uploads/insomnia-cartoon.jpg

23 apnea: http://api.ning.com/files/XbyE*Qy6bC4V6G*bT4Qzw2y8*lGM4ef7dpg8FhPmudjmdr- VE3FjmbjMNCU2qvsDHQBDCqpZB6BNAD3ytngaGiaNA8WQTeug/sleep_apnea.jpg?width=183&height=183&crop=1%3A1

24 http://www.todaystrucking.com/images/usr_240409140134_sleep-anea.jpg

25 http://www.sleepeval.com/SLEEP%20&%20ART/Fuseli_nightmare-1781.jpg

26 http://z.hubpages.com/u/1346286_f260.jpg

27 http://1heckofaguy.com/wp-content/toast2.jpg

28 http://breakingupdate.com/files/Depression-Alcohol-Abuse.jpg

29 http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HIJol_XahNM/SXJH3ogoNBI/AAAAAAAAAVU/ikhjzNjsnoc/s320/drunks3.jpg

30 Drug abuse -- http://blogs.phillyburbs.com/news/bct/wp-content/blogs.dir/3/files/2008/06/wk_of_6.22/0623_Alcohol_Drug_logo.gif

31 Hypnosis -- http://musicforchange.com/cms/images/hypnosis.jpg

32 Braid method - http://www.hermes-press.com/braid2.jpg

33 Hypnotist - http://www.choosehypnosis.com/mike_massachusetts_hypnosis.jpg

Picture Credits

34 Hypnotic wheel - http://www.prevention.com/pvnstatic-assets/images/298x232_article_size/health/298x232-heal_faster_hypnosis-298x232_heal_faster_hypnosis.jpg

35 http://www.meditationguidance.com/wp-content/themes/CustomTheme/images/meditating2.jpg

36 http://www.gothamayurveda.com/_Media/prabhupada_textmedium.jpeg

37 http://higherbalance.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/mandala.jpg

Picture Credits

Selected Bibliography

American Academy of Sleep Education. www.sleepeducation.com.

Belch, Hal. (2004). States of consciousness. Culver City, CA: Social Studies School Service.

Kasshau, Richard. (2003). Understanding psychology. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill.

McMahon, Judith W. and Romano, Tony. (2000). Psychology and you, 3rd ed. Lincolnwood, IL: National Textbook Company.

Rathus, Spencer A. (2003). Psychology: principles in practice. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Travis, Fred. (2006). Are all meditations the same? Comparing the neural patterns of mindfulness meditation, Tibetan Buddhism practice "unconditional loving-kindness and compassion," and the transcendental meditation technique. Science of Consciousness. Retrieved from http://www.fredtravis.com/talk.html