Part 4 (Consciousness)

PART 4
© T.G. Lane 2018
1 THE BRAIN AND CONSCIOUSNESS
SECTIONS
CONSCIOUSNESS AND THE TWO-
TRACK MIND
Ѱ
4
Psychology, Twelfth Edition (Myers, D. G.)
2 SLEEP AND DREAMS
3 HYPNOSIS
4 DRUGS AND CONSCIOUSNESS

CONSCIOUSNESS AND THE TWO-TRACK MIND
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• Discuss the biology of consciousness including the functions
of dual processing
• Discuss the differences in selective attention
• Discuss the four stages of the sleep cycle and what affects
humans’ sleep patterns
• Discuss the major sleep disorders
• Discuss what functions sleep deprivation and dreams have
on the body
PART4
© T.G. Lane 2018

CONSCIOUSNESS AND THE TWO-TRACK MIND
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• Discuss the differences between tolerance, dependence,
and addiction of drug use
• Discuss the differences between depressants, stimulants,
and hallucinogens
• Discuss the differences between biological, psychological,
and social-cultural influences on drug use
• Discuss how the idea of selective attention and dissociation
help to explain hypnotic behavior
PART4
© T.G. Lane 2018

INTRODUCTION
What is the Mind?1:
• Complex of elements in an individual that allows one to
feel, perceive, think, have will, and reason
• Allows one to develop conscious mental events
The mind is what the brain does
(Minsky, 1986).
INTRODUCTION
PART4:CONSCIOUSNESSANDTHETWO-
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

CONSCIOUSNESS AND THE TWO-TRACK MINDPART4
SECTION
CONSCIOUSNESS
THE BRAIN AND
© T.G. Lane 2018

1
CONSCIOUSNESS
Test Your Brain:
Pay Attention!
Video
THE BRAIN AND CONSCIOUSNESS
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

CONSCIOUSNESS
How do brain cells jabbering to one another create our awareness of
the taste of a food, the idea of infinity, and the feeling of fright?
2:
Consciousness allows humans to assemble information from
many sources as one reflects on one’s past and plan for one’s
future.
consciousness: human aware-
ness of one’s self and one’s
environment
• focuses our attention
when learning a com-
plex concept or behavior
1PART4:CONSCIOUSNESSANDTHETWO-
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS
• normal, waking awareness consciousness comes in altered
states
SPONTANEOUS
PHYSIOLOGICAL
INDUCED
PSYCHOLOGICALLY
INDUCED
Daydreaming
Drowsiness
Dreaming
Hallucinations
Orgasm
Food or Oxygen
Starvation
Sensory
Deprivation
Hypnosis
Meditation
ALTERED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS
THE BRAIN AND CONSCIOUSNESS1PART4:CONSCIOUSNESSANDTHETWO-
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

BIOLOGY OF CONSCIOUSNESS
What have neuroscientists discovered about consciousness? How
are they using this information to read people’s minds?
3:
Cognitive Neuroscientists have taken the first step by relating speci-
fic brain states to conscious experiences
+
Cognitive neuroscience: the
interdisciplinary study of the
brain activity linked with cog-
nition (including perception,
thinking, memory, and language)
© T.G. Lane 2018
1PART4:CONSCIOUSNESSANDTHETWO-
TRACKMIND

BIOLOGY OF CONSCIOUSNESS
• Cognitive neuroscientists are
exploring and mapping the
conscious functions of
the cortex.
• Based on one’s cortical
activation patterns, scientists
can now, in limited ways,
read individuals’ minds.
How the synchronized activity produces aware-
ness– how matter makes mind– remains a mys-
tery (Myers, 2013)
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

DUAL PROCESSING
What is the “dual processing” being revealed by today’s cognitive
neuroscience.
4:
There is growing evidence that humans have, so to speak, two minds,
each supported by its own neural equipment.
• dual processing: the principle that information is
often simultaneously processed on separate consc-
ious and unconscious tracks
• Dual processing involves the idea that perception, memory,
thinking, language, and attitudes all operate on two levels.
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

DUAL PROCESSING
THE BRAIN AND CONSCIOUSNESS1
Video Clip
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

DUAL PROCESSING
Researchers have discovered that blindsight (responding to visual
stimuli without consciously experiencing it) exists in some
visual impaired.
• Cannot consciously perceive but can
accurately grasp objects (blindsight)
• Cannot consciously perceive but can
sense emotions expressed in faces
(blindsight)
• cortex and limbic system are pro-
cesssing information at the same
time
• two different areas of the cerebral
cortex
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

DUAL PROCESSING
In everyday life, we mostly function like an automatic point-and-
shoot camera, but with a manual (conscious) override (Myers, 2016).
• Humans’ unconscious parallel processing is faster than
sequential conscious processing, but both are essential
• Sequential processing is skilled at solving new
problems, which requires focus and attention
A fMRI can be used to predict, with 60% accuracy and up to 7
seconds ahead, participants decision to press a button with their left
or right hand.
Experiments show that conscious decisions are
faster than actual movement.
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

DUAL PROCESSING
Selective Attention
How much information do we consciously attend to at once?5:
“… consciousness is nature’s way of keeping us from thinking and
doing everything at once”(Myers, 2013).
• Humans are only able to focus on a limited
amount of tasks at one time because of
one’s selective attention.
• selective attention: the focusing of
conscious awareness on a particular
stimulus
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

DUAL PROCESSING
The human senses take in about
11,000,000 bits of information per
second, of which one consciously
processes about 40; the unconscious
mind intuitively makes great use of
the other 10,999,960 bits.
Video Clip
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

1
DUAL PROCESSING
SELECTIVE ATTENTION SELECTIVE INATTENTION
- focusing of conscious
awareness
- cocktail party effect
• failing to see visual objects
when attention is focused
elsewhere
- change blindness
- being blind to all but a tiny sliver
of visual stimuli
- inattentional blindness
• failing to notice change in
the environment
• ability to attend to
only one voice among
many
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

INTRODUCTION
DUAL PROCESSING
Inattention Blindness
1
Video Clip
Video Clip
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

SECTION
SLEEP AND DREAMS
© T.G. Lane 2018

SLEEP AND DREAMS2
SLEEP
• When you are asleep, as when you are awake, you process most
information outside your conscious awareness
• EEG recordings of our brain waves can determine the moment we
fall into sleep
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

SLEEP AND DREAMS2
BIOLOGICAL RHYTHMS AND SLEEP
How do our biological rhythms influence our daily functioning?6:
• circadian rhythm: the biological clock; regular bodily
rhythms (for example, of temperature and wake-
fullness) that occur on a 24-hour cycle.
Circadian Rhythm
• Light in the morning effects
retinal proteins that trigger
signals to the brain’s
suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)–
the SCN causes the pineal gland
to decrease melatonin (i.e. a
sleep inducing hormone).
Sunlight can reset one’s
circadian clock when jet lagged.
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

SLEEP AND DREAMS2
Sleep Stages
What is the biological rhythm of our sleep and dreaming stages?7:
• The sleeping brain has its own
biological rhythm
• About every 90 minutes, humans
cycle through four distinct sleep
stages
Four Stages: NREM 1, NREM 2,
NREM 3, REM
(NREM = non-REM)
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

SLEEP AND DREAMS2
Brain Waves
• Alpha waves are generally produced
directly prior to entering sleep
• alpha waves: the relatively slow
brain waves of a relaxed, awake
state
• Delta waves occur at the deepest
level of sleep
• delta waves: the large, slow brain
waves associated with deep sleep
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

SLEEP AND DREAMS2
Sleep Stages 1-3
During NREM-1 sleep one may
experience fantastic images,
resembling hallucinations.
After NREM-1 one beings about 20
minutes of NREM-2 sleep; one can
be easily awaken but one is clearly
sleep.
In NREM-3, one’s body enters
into deep sleep (lasts about 30
minutes), one is hard to awaken.
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

SLEEP AND DREAMS2
REM SLEEP
About an hour after one falls asleep,
one ascend from their initial sleep dive;
one moves from NREM-3 to NREM-2 to
REM sleep (rapid eye movement sleep)
• REM sleep: a recurring sleep
stage during which vivid
dreams commonly occur;
during this stage muscles are
relaxed (except for minor
twitches) but other body
systems are active
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

SLEEP AND DREAMS2
Sleep Stages
• Most people pass
through the four sleep
cycles four to five
times in one night.
• The sleep cycle
repeats itself about
ever 90 minutes.
• Differences in the
amount of sleep one
needs can depend on
age and culture.
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

SLEEP AND DREAMS2
WHY DO WE SLEEP?
How does sleep loss affect us?8:
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

SLEEP AND DREAMS2
WHY DO WE SLEEP?
What are the major sleep disorders?9:
Sleep Disorders
• Four types of sleep disorders include insomnia, narcolepsy,
sleep apnea, and night terrors.
• insomnia: recurring problems in falling or
staying asleep
• narcolepsy: disorder of uncontrollable sleep
attacks (a lapse directly into REM sleep)
• sleep apnea: disorder of temporary cess-
ations of breathing during sleep and repeated
momentary awakenings
• night terrors: sleep disorder characterized
by high arousal and an appearance of being
terrified (occurs in Stage 3)
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

SLEEP AND DREAMS2
DREAMS
What do we dream?10:
What We Dream
• dreams: a sequence of images, emotions,
and thoughts passing through a sleeping
person’s mind (often difficult to remember)
• manifest content: according to Freud,
the remembered storyline or
elements of a dream– censored and
nonsexual
• latent content: according to Freud, the
underlying meaning of dream (as
distinct from its manifest content)
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

SLEEP AND DREAMS2
DREAMS
What is the function of dreams?11:
Why We Dream
1. To satisfy our own wishes.
2. To file away memories.
3. To develop and preserve neural pathways.
4. To make sense of neural static.
5. To reflect cognitive development.
• REM rebound: the tendency for REM sleep to
increase more quickly following REM sleep
deprivation (created by repeated awakenings
during REM sleep) – the human body needs
REM sleep
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

HYPNOSIS3
What is hypnosis, and what powers does a hypnotist have over a
hypnotized subject?
12:
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
Video Clip
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

HYPNOSIS3
FACTS AND FALSEHOODS
Can anyone experience hypnosis?
• To some extent, all humans are open to
suggestion.
• Many researchers refer to hypnotic
“susceptibility” as hypnotic ability–
the ability to focus attention totally
on a task, to become imaginatively
absorbed in it, to entertain fanciful
possibilities.
• An authoritative person in a legitimate context can
induce people– hypnotized or not– to perform some
unlikely acts (i.e. participants will perform as long as
they feel that the action is safe).
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

HYPNOSIS3
• Hypnotherapists try to help patients harness their own
healing powers through the use of posthypnotic suggestions.
FACTS AND FALSEHOODS
Can Hypnosis Be Therapeutic?
• Hypnosis appears to be helpful in the treatment of
certain ailments but not all.
• posthypnotic suggestions: a sugg-
estion, made during a hypnosis
session, to be carried out after the
subject is no longer hypnotized; used
by some clinicians to help control
undesired symptoms and behaviors
+
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

HYPNOSIS3
EXPLAINING THE HYPNOTIZED STATE
• Some believe that hypnosis involves not only social
influence but also a special state of dissociation.
Is hypnosis an extension of normal consciousness or an altered
state?
13:
Hypnosis as a Divided Consciousness
• dissociation: a split in consciousness
which allows some thoughts and
behaviors to occur simultaneously
with others
• Hypnosis does not block sensory
input, but it may block one’s
attention to those stimuli (e.g.
hand in ice water)
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

DRUGS AND CONSCIOUSNESS4
DEPENDENCE AND ADDICTION
What are psychoactive drugs and how do these drugs effect
one’s physical and psychological state?
14:
• The use of psychoactive drugs can lead to a person developing
a tolerance for a particular substance as well as develop
withdrawal symptoms when the drug wears off.
• psychoactive drugs: a chemical substance that
alters perceptions and moods through their
actions at the neural synapses
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

DEPENDENCE AND ADDICTION
withdrawal: the discomfort
and distress that follows
discontinuing the use of an
addictive drug
tolerance: the diminishing effect
with regular use of the same dose
of a drug, requiring the user to
take larger and larger doses before
experiencing the drug’s effect
addiction: compulsive drug
craving and use, despite adverse
consequences
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS: DEPRESSANTS
What are depressants, and what are their effects?15:
• depressants: drugs that reduce neural activity and
slow body functions
Examples of depressant drugs include alcohol, barbiturates,
and opiates.
• slows neural processing
• memory disruption
• reduces self-awareness and
self-control
Drug effects:
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS: STIMULANTS
What are stimulants, and what are their effects?16:
• stimulants: drugs that excite neural activity and speed
up body functions
Examples of stimulants drugs include caffeine, nicotine, and
the more powerful amphetamines, methamphetamines
(speed), cocaine, and Ecstasy
• increases heart rate and
breathing
• increases energy and self-
confidence
Drug effects:
• increases alertness and mood
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS: HALLUCINOGENS
What are hallucinogens, and what are their effects?17:
• hallucinogens: psychedelic (“mind manifesting”)
drugs that distort perceptions and evoke sensory
images in the absence of sensory input
Examples of hallucinogen drugs include LSD and marijuana.
• perception of distorted images
Drug effects:
• feelings of euphoria, detachment
and/or panic
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

INFLUENCES OF DRUG USE4
Why do some people become regular users of consciousness
altering drugs?
18:
TRACKMIND
© T.G. Lane 2018

Part 4 (Consciousness)

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