Chapter 5 Notes Consciousness
Chapter 5 Notes Consciousness: a person’s subjective experience of the world and the mind- defining feature of consciousness is experience for humans Phenomenology: how things seem to the conscious person Problem of other minds: the fundamental difficulty we have in perceiving the consciousness of others Mind/body problem: the issue of how the mind is related to the brain and the body - Rene Descartes: the human body is a machine made up of physical matter but the human mind or soul is a separate entity made up of a ‘thinking substance’ - Mind has an effect on the brain and body through the pineal gland (an endocrine gland) 3 properties of consciousness: unity, selectivity and transience 4 Properties of Consciousness 1. Intentionality: the quality of being directed toward an object 2. Unity (or resistance to division): when you try to do more than one thing at a time 3. Selectivity: the capacity to include some objects but not others - Shown through dichotic listening: in which people wearing headphones are presented with different messages in each ear – consciousness filters out some information - Cocktail party phenomenon: people tune in one message even while they filter out others nearby 4. Transience: the tendency to change Minimal consciousness: a low level kind of sensory awareness and responsiveness that occurs when the mind inputs sensations and may output behavior Full consciousness: consciousness in which you know and are able to report your mental state Self-consciousness: a distinct level of consciousness in which the person’s attention is drawn to the self as an object Mental control: the attempt to chance conscious state of mind Thought suppression: the conscious avoidance of a thought Rebound effect of thought suppression: the tendency of a thought to return to consciousness with greater frequency following suppression Ironic processes of mental control: mental processes that can produce ironic errors because monitoring for errors can itself produce them Dynamic unconscious: an active system encompassing a lifetime of hidden memories, the person’s deepest instincts and desires, and the person’s inner struggle to control these forces Repression: a mental process that removes unacceptable thoughts and memories from consciousness
Cognitive unconscious: the mental processes that give rise to a person’s thoughts, choices, emotions, and behavior even though they are not experienced by the person Subliminal perception: a thought or behavior that is influenced by stimuli that a person cannot consciously report perceiving Altered states of consciousness: forms of experience that depart from the normal subjective experience of the world and the mind Circulation rhythm: a naturally occurring 24hr cycle REM sleep: a stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movements and a high level of brain activity Electrooculography (EDG): an instrument that measures eye movement Insomnia: difficulty in falling asleep or staying asleep Sleep apnea: a disorder in which the person stops breathing for brief periods while asleep Somnambulism: occurs when the person arises and walks around while asleep (sleep walking) Narcolepsy: a disorder in which sudden sleep attacks occur in the middle of waking activities Sleep paralysis: the experience of waking up unable to move Night terrors: abrupt awakenings with panic and intense emotional arousal Manifest content: a dream’s apparent topic or superficial meaning Latent content: a dream’s true underlying meaning Activation-synthesis model: the theory that dreams is produced when the brain attempts to make sense of activations that occur randomly during sleep Psychoactive drug: a chemical that influences consciousness or behavior by altering the brains chemical message system Drug tolerance: the tendency for larger doses of a drug to be required over time to achieve the same effect Depressants: substances that reduce the activity of the central nervous system Expectancy theory: the idea that alcohol effects can be produced by people’s expectations of how alcohol will influence them in particular situations Balanced placebo design: a study design in which behavior is observed following the presence or absence of an actual stimulus and also following the presence or absence of a placebo stimulus Alcohol myopia: a condition that results when alcohol hampers attention, leading people to respond in simple ways to complex situations
Stimulants: substances that excite the central nervous system, heightening arousal and activity levels Narcotics or Opiates: highly addictive drugs derived from opium that relieves pain Hallucinogens: drugs that alter sensation and perception and often cause visual and auditory hallucinations Marijuana: the leaves and buds of the hemp plant Harm reduction approach: a response to high-risk behaviors that focuses on reducing the harm such behaviors have on people’s lives Hypnosis: an altered state of consciousness characterized by suggestibility and the feeling that one’s actions are occurring involuntarily Posthypnotic amnesia: the failure to retrieve memories following hypnotic suggestions to forget Hypnotic analgesia: the reduction of pain through hypnosis in people who are susceptible to hypnosis Meditation: the practice of intentional contemplation
Cognitive unconscious: the mental processes that give rise to a person’s thoughts, choices, emotions, and behavior even though they are not experienced by the person Subliminal perception: a thought or behavior that is influenced by stimuli that a person cannot consciously report perceiving Altered states of consciousness: forms of experience that depart from the normal subjective experience of the world and the mind Circulation rhythm: a naturally occurring 24hr cycle REM sleep: a stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movements and a high level of brain activity Electrooculography (EDG): an instrument that measures eye movement Insomnia: difficulty in falling asleep or staying asleep Sleep apnea: a disorder in which the person stops breathing for brief periods while asleep Somnambulism: occurs when the person arises and walks around while asleep (sleep walking) Narcolepsy: a disorder in which sudden sleep attacks occur in the middle of waking activities Sleep paralysis: the experience of waking up unable to move Night terrors: abrupt awakenings with panic and intense emotional arousal Manifest content: a dream’s apparent topic or superficial meaning Latent content: a dream’s true underlying meaning Activation-synthesis model: the theory that dreams is produced when the brain attempts to make sense of activations that occur randomly during sleep Psychoactive drug: a chemical that influences consciousness or behavior by altering the brains chemical message system Drug tolerance: the tendency for larger doses of a drug to be required over time to achieve the same effect Depressants: substances that reduce the activity of the central nervous system Expectancy theory: the idea that alcohol effects can be produced by people’s expectations of how alcohol will influence them in particular situations Balanced placebo design: a study design in which behavior is observed following the presence or absence of an actual stimulus and also following the presence or absence of a placebo stimulus Alcohol myopia: a condition that results when alcohol hampers attention, leading people to respond in simple ways to complex situations
Stimulants: substances that excite the central nervous system, heightening arousal and activity levels Narcotics or Opiates: highly addictive drugs derived from opium that relieves pain Hallucinogens: drugs that alter sensation and perception and often cause visual and auditory hallucinations Marijuana: the leaves and buds of the hemp plant Harm reduction approach: a response to high-risk behaviors that focuses on reducing the harm such behaviors have on people’s lives Hypnosis: an altered state of consciousness characterized by suggestibility and the feeling that one’s actions are occurring involuntarily Posthypnotic amnesia: the failure to retrieve memories following hypnotic suggestions to forget Hypnotic analgesia: the reduction of pain through hypnosis in people who are susceptible to hypnosis Meditation: the practice of intentional contemplation
