Psyc111:I
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Chapter Objectives:
Provide an overview of what we know about consciousness and the inherent
limitations associated with studying higher order processes.
Develop an understanding of major concepts in consciousness research,
including circadian rhythms, sleep, hypnosis and meditation.
Brief Lecture Outline:
I. Understanding Consciousness
A. Basic characteristics
a. Consciousness is the awareness of internal and external stimuli
b. Awareness of external events, internal sensations, awareness of self
and thoughts on experiences.
c. Five common phenomena
i. Envisioning images of things/events not present
ii. Speaking words to oneself
iii. Feeling emotions
iv. Focusing on sensory aspects of one’s environment
v. Thinking specific thoughts without the thoughts being conveyed
in words or images
d. Consciousness is always moving, flowing, fluctuating and wandering
i. “stream of consciousness” William James
B. Freud’s levels of consciousness
a. Freud argued that peoples’ feelings and behaviors are influenced by
unconscious needs, wishes and conflicts. “stream of consciousness”
has depth
b. ‘free conscious’ – certain information is sometimes accessible and
sometimes not
c. Levels of awareness
i. Conscious
1. Thoughts, feelings, actions, perceptions
ii. Preconscious
1. Mental activities that are not presently active but are
stored somewhere in our memory
2. Memory, stored knowledge
iii. Unconscious
1. Mental activity we are unaware of. Thoughts, feelings,
urges and emotions. Repressed experiences
2. Fears, violent motives, sexual desires, irrational wishes,
selfish needs, shameful experiences, immoral urges
C. Cognitive and emotional perspectives
a. Cognitive unconscious
i. Reisberg: the cognitive unconscious works in harmony with our
unconscious thoughts
1. Controlled processing: voluntary use of attention and
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conscious processing
2. Automatic processing: activities carried out with little or
no effort
ii. Emotional unconscious
1. Unconscious processes can affect emotion and
motivation
D. Brain Activity
a. Cerebral cortex, thalamus, reticular formation are brain structures
necessary, but not sufficient, for consciousness
b. EEG- electroencephalograph is a device that monitors the electrical
activity of the brain over time by means of recording electrodes
attached to the surface of the scalp
i. Measure amplitude and frequency of brain waves
ii. Brain-wave activity is measured in bands
1. Beta – normal waking thought, alert problem solving (13-
24cps)
2. Alpha – deep relaxation, blank mind, meditation (8-
12cps)
3. Theta – light sleep (4-7cps)
4. Delta – deep sleep (<4cps)
II. Circadian rhythms
a. Circadian rhythms are the 24-hour biological cycles found in humans and
many other species
i. Cycles produce rhythmic variations in blood pressure, urine
production, hormonal secretions and other physical functions
ii. Cycles affect alertness, short-term memory and other aspects of
cognitive performance
b. Day/night cycle
i. Light exposure causes receptors in the retina to send inputs to the
suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the hypothalamus which sends a
signal to the pineal gland which regulate the secretion of melatonin
– a hormone that controls sleepiness/wakefulness
1. Tiredness/depression during darker winter months
A. Entrainment versus free running rhythms
a.
B. Disruption of circadian rhythms (jet lag, night shift work)
a. Jet lag – biological clock keeps same time though the clock time
changes
i. Easier to fly westward and lengthen your day than fly eastward
and shorten it
b. Night shift rotation
i. More detrimental than jet lag. Workers are constantly at odds
with their rhythms and local time cues
c. Taking supplemental melatonin can help with the effects
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