A. P. Psychology

Overview

A. Consciousness is becoming a more common research area due to more sophisticated brain imaging tools and an increased emphasis on cognitive psychology.

B. Historical Ideas on Consciousness

1. Centers on competing philosophical theories of dualism and monism.

i. Dualism – believed humans (and the universe in general) consist of two materials: thought and matter.

a. Matter – everything that has substance.

b. Thought – a nonmaterial aspect that arises from, but is in some way independent of, a brain.

ii. Monists – believe everything is the same substance, and thought and matter are aspects of the same substance.

2. Psychology does not try to address these metaphysical questions directly.

3. Psychologists define consciousness as our level of awareness about ourselves and our environment. We are conscious to the degree we are aware of what is going on inside and outside ourselves.

i. Implies that consciousness is not like an on/off switch.

ii. Psychologists refer to different levels and different states of consciousness.

Levels of Consciousness

C. Subtle and Complex Effects of Consciousness.

1. Mere-Exposure Effect - occurs when we prefer stimuli we have seen before over novel stimuli, even if we do not consciously remember seeing the old stimuli.

2. Priming – research participants respond more quickly and/or accurately to questions they have seen before, even if they do not remember seeing them (memories are primed to remember).

3. Blind Sight – some people who report being blind can nonetheless accurately describe the path of a moving object accurately grasp objects they say they cannot see.

i. One level of their consciousness is not getting any visual information, while another level is able to "see" as demonstrated by their behavior.

D. Levels (or layers) of Consciousness

1. Conscious Level – The information about yourself and your environment you are currently aware of.

2. Nonconscious Level – Body process controlled by your mind that we are not usually (or ever) aware of (i.e. heartbeat, respirations, digestion, and so on).

3. Preconscious Level – Information about your environment that you are not currently thinking about, but could be.

4. Subconscious Level – Information that we are not consciously aware of but we know must exist due to behavior. (Priming and mere-exposure effect suggest some information is accessible to this level of consciousness, but not to our conscious level.)

5. Unconscious Level – Psychoanalytic psychologists believe some events and feelings are unacceptable to our conscious mind and are repressed into the unconscious mind. Many psychologists object to this concept as difficult or impossible to prov.

Sleep

E. Sleep is one of the states of consciousness.

1. While we are asleep, we are less aware of ourselves and our environment.

F. Sleep Cycle

1. Circadian Rhythm – during a 24-hour day, our metabolic and thought processes follow a certain pattern.

2. Part of the circadian rhythm is our sleep cycle.

3. Our brain waves and level of awareness change as we cycle through the stages.

4. The period when we are falling asleep is called sleep onset.

i. We might actually experience mild hallucinations (falling or rising) before actually falling asleep and entering stage 1.

5. The Stage

i. Stage 1 and 2

a. The brain produces alpha waves, which are relatively high-frequency, low amplitude. (similar to the waves produced while awake.)

b. As we go from wakefulness and through stages 1 and 2, the alpha waves get progressively slower and higher in amplitude.

c. In stage 2, the EEG starts to show sleep spindles, which are bursts of rapid brain waves.

ii. Stage 3 and 4

a. Theses stages are called delta sleep, or slow wave sleep.

b. The slower the wave, the deeper the sleep and less aware we are of our environment.

c. Delta sleep seems to be very important in replenishing the body’s chemical supplies, releasing growth hormones in children, and fortifying our immune system.

d. After a period of delta sleep, our brain waves speed up and we go back through stages 3 and 2.

6. Rapid Eye Movement (REM)

i. As we cycle upward, and reenter stage 1, our brain produces a period of intense activity, our eyes dart back and forth, and many of our muscles may twitch repeatedly.

ii. REM is often called paradoxical sleep since our brain waves appear as active and intense as when awake.

iii. The exact purpose of REM is not clear, but some effects are known.

iv. Dreams usually occur in REM sleep.

v. REM sleep deprivation interferes with memory.

vi. The more stress we experience during the day, the longer our periods of REM sleep will be.

vii. As we get closer to our normal wakeup time, we spend more time in stages 1 and 2 and in REM sleep.

viii. Age affects the pattern of sleep.

a. Babies sleep more and spend more time in REM.

b. As we age, our total need for sleep declines as does the amount of time we spend in REM sleep.

G. Sleep Disorders

1. Insomnia – persistent problems getting to sleep or staying asleep at night.

i. Affects up to 10 percent of the population, although most people will experience occasional bouts.

ii. Treatment

a. Reduction of caffeine or other stimulants

b. Exercise at appropriate times (not before bedtime).

c. Maintain a consistent sleep pattern.

d. Sleeping pills are used only with caution, as they disturb sleep patterns and prevent truly restful sleep.

2. Narcolepsy – when individuals suffer from periods of intense sleepiness and may fall asleep at unpredictable and inappropriate times.

i. Treatment

a. Can successfully be treated with medication

b. Combine medication with change of sleep patterns (usually involving naps).

3. Sleep Apnea – causes a person to stop breathing for short periods of time during the night.

i. The body causes the person to wake up slightly and gasp for air, and then sleep continues.

ii. This process robs the person of deep sleep.

iii. Interferes with attention and memory.

iv. Severe apnea can be fatal.

v. Overweight men are at a higher risk for apnea.

vi. Treatment – patient given a respiration machine that provides air for the person as he or she sleeps.

4. Night Terrors – a condition in which a person will sit up in bed in the middle of the night and scream and move around the room.

i. The exact causes are not known.

ii. Related in some way to somnambulism (sleep walking).

iii. Occurs more commonly in children and occurs during the first few hours of night in stage 4 sleep.

iv. Most people stop having night terrors and episodes of somnambulism as they get older.

Dreams – a difficult research area for psychologists because they rely almost entirely on self-report.

H. Sigmund Freud – considered dreams an important tool in his therapy.

1. Emphasized dream interpretation as a method to uncover the repressed information in the unconscious mind.

2. Saw dreams as wish fulfillment. We act out our unconscious desires.

3. Emphasized two levels of dream content:

i. Manifest Content – the literal content of our dreams.

ii. Latent Content – the unconscious meaning of the manifest content.

a. Our ego protects us from material in the unconscious mind (thus the term protected sleep) by presenting these repressed desires in the form of symbols.

- For example, showing up naked at school may represent vulnerability or anxiety.

4. Researchers point out that this theory is difficult to validate and cannot be tested.

I. Activation-Synthesis Theory – looks at dreams first as biological phenomena.

1. This theory proposes that perhaps dreams are nothing more than the brain’s interpretation of what is happening physiologically during REM sleep.

2. Dreams, while interesting, have no more meaning than any other physiological reflex in your body.

J. Information-Processing Theory – dream content relates somehow to daily concerns.

1. Stress during the day will increase the number and intensity of dreams during the night.

2. Most people report their dream content relates somehow to daily concerns.

3. This theory proposes that the brain is dealing with daily stress and information during REM dreams.

i. This could explain why babies need more REM sleep than adults because they process so much new information every day.

4. This theory falls somewhere in between the two theories above.

Hypnosis

K. Post-Hypnotic Amnesia – when people report forgetting events that occurred while they were hypnotized.

L. Post-Hypnotic Suggestion – a suggestion that a hypnotized behave in a certain way after he or she is brought out of hypnosis.

M. Theories About Hypnosis

1. Role Theory – hypnosis is not an altered state of consciousness at all.

i. Some people are more easily hypnotized than others, a characteristic called hypnotic suggestibility.

ii. These people share common characteristics:

a. Tend to have a richer fantasy life.

b. Follow directions well.

c. Focus intensely on a single task for a long period of time.

iii. These characteristics may indicate that hypnotism is a social phenomenon.

a. People are acting out a role and following the suggestions because that is what is expected of the role.

2. State Theory – hypnosis meets some parts of the definition for an altered state of consciousness.

i. Hypnotists seem to be able to suggest that we become more or less aware of our environments.

ii. Some people report dramatic health benefits from hypnosis (i.e. pain control).

3. Dissociation Theory (Ernest Hilgard) – hypnosis causes us to divide our consciousness voluntarily.

i. One part or level of our consciousness responds to the suggestions of the hypnotist, while another part or level retains awareness of reality.

ii. This is shown in the ice bath experiment.

a. Participants were hypnotized to feel no pain while keeping their arm in an ice water bath, and indeed they reported no pain. However, when Hilgard asked them to lift a finger if any part of them felt the pain, most participants lifted their finger.

Drugs

N. Psychoactive drugs are chemicals that change the chemistry of the brain (and the rest of the body) and induce an altered state of consciousness.

1. Behavior and cognitive changes are caused by these drugs are due to physiological processes.

i. However, some changes are due to expectations about the drug (placebo effect).

O. All psychoactive drugs change our consciousness through similar physiological processes in the brain.

1. The Blood-Brain Barrier – the brain is protected from harmful chemicals in the bloodstream by thicker walls surrounding the brain’s blood vessels.

i. Molecules that make up psychoactive drugs are small enough to pass the barrier.

ii. These molecules either mimic or block naturally occurring neurotransmitters in the brain.

a. Agonists – mimic neurotransmitters by fitting in the receptor sites on a neuron.

b. Antagonists – block neurotransmitters and prevent the natural neurotransmitters from using that receptor site or prevent natural neurotransmitters from being reabsorbed back into a neuron, creating an abundance of that neurotransmitter in the synapse.

iii. No matter what mechanism they use, drugs gradually alter the natural levels of neurotransmitters in the brain.

a. The brain will produce less of a specific transmitter if it is being artificially supplied.

b. This change caused tolerance, which will led to withdrawal symptoms in users.

2. Dependence on psychoactive drugs can be either psychological or physical or can be both.

P. Four Common Categories of Drugs

1. Stimulants – speed up the body process and cause a sense of euphoria.

i. All stimulants produce tolerance, withdrawal effects, and other side effects.

ii. Common stimulants: caffeine, cocaine, amphetamines and nicotine.

2. Depressants – slow down the same body systems that stimulants speed up

i. A euphoria accompanies the depressing effects of depressants, as does tolerance and withdrawal systems.

a. The euphoric or energizing effect is due to expectations about the drug and because it lowers inhibitions.

ii. Common depressants: alcohol, barbiturates, and anxiolytics (a.k.a. tranquilizers or antianxiety drugs).

3. Hallucinogens (psychedelics) – cause changes in perception of reality.

i. Some amount of these drugs remain in the body for weeks (persistence).

ii. Reverse Tolerance – the new dose of chemical is added to the lingering amount, creating more profound and potentially dangerous effects. Called reverse tolerance because second dose may be less than the first, but cause the same or greater effect.

iii. Effects of hallucinogens are less predictable than those of stimulants or depressants.

iv. Common hallucinogens: LSD, peyote, psilocybin mushrooms, and marijuana.

4. Opiates – similar in chemical structure to opium (derived from poppy plant) and act as agonists for endorphins.

i. Powerful painkillers and mood elevators.

ii. Cause drowsiness and a euphoria.

iii. Some of the most physically addictive drugs because they rapidly change brain chemistry and create tolerance and withdrawal symptoms.

iv. Common Opiates: morphine, heroin, methadone, and codeine.