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STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS REVISION

STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS REVISION. CHAPTER 2. Cribb , Gridley, McKersie , Rice & Anin (2004). ‘…the awareness of objects and events in the external world and of our own existence and mental experiences at any given moment.’.

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STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS REVISION

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  1. STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESSREVISION CHAPTER 2

  2. Cribb, Gridley, McKersie, Rice & Anin (2004)

  3. ‘…the awareness of objects and events in the external world and of our own existence and mental experiences at any given moment.’ Your consciousness is changing and shifting depending on your attention. • consciousness {p96}as a psychological construct informed by the work of • René Descartes {p97}and William James {p100} • Dualism • The mind & the body are 2 different things. • Mind: non-physical spiritual entity (soul) • Body: physical, fleshy structure (matter) • Mind and body come interact through the • pineal gland. ‘…consciousness is constantly changing.’ It is like a stream, a continual flow of ‘thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images, sensations and so on.’

  4. States (levels) of consciousness Total Awareness State of focused attention Divided attention Daydreaming state Meditative state Hypnotic state Sleep state Anaesthetised State of unconsciousness (coma) Complete lack of awareness. Normal Waking Consciousness 2/3 of day in this state Altered state of Consciousness

  5. ‘…refers to the states of consciousness associated with being awake and aware of our thoughts, memories, feelings and the sensations we are experiencing from the outside world.’ Automatic Processes Often used as a measure of awareness to distinguish between different states ‘Attention in a concentration of mental activity that involved focusing on specific stimuli while ignoring other stimuli.’ Stroop effect Controlled Processes concepts of normal waking consciousness {p105} and altered states of consciousness {p115}, including daydreaming, meditative and alcohol-induced, in terms of levels of awareness, content limitations, controlled and automatic processes, perceptual and cognitive distortions, emotional awareness, self-control and time orientation Distortions of perception & cognition ‘…used to describe any state of consciousness that is distinctly different from normal waking consciousness…’

  6. The Stroop Effect

  7. The Stroop Effect

  8. The Stroop Effect • Tendency is to automatically read the word • Reading is an automatic process • Takes much longer to state the colour of the ink as we have to prevent automatic processing and impose controlled processing • Conclusion – automatic processing takes precedence over controlled processing

  9. Distortions of Perception & Cognition (thought) • Sensations can become vivid, dulled or not experienced at all • Can sometimes hallucinate – perceive what does not exist • Sometimes perception so distorted people cal have out of body experiences, or lose sense of their identity • People often experience disorganised thought – illogical, lacking in sequence • Also difficulty problem solving and remembering • Disturbed sense of time • In an ASC time is experienced at a different speed than in NWC. Eg sleeping, daydreaming • Changes in emotional awareness • Emotions are experienced differently during an ASC. • Emotions may be heightened or dulled, - happier or sadder. • Being in an ASC may cause emotions to be expressed inappropriately. • Changes in self control • Our ability to maintain self control may be raised or lowered during an ASC • Lowered inhibitions displayed by people affected by alcohol. • May gain greater self control under hypnosis e.g. conquering addictions.

  10. Cribb, Gridley, McKersie, Rice & Anin (2004)

  11. Electroencephalograpg (EEG) ‘detects, amplifies and records general patterns of electrical activity of the brain.’ Amplitude High amplitude; bigger waves with bigger peaks and troughs Low amplitude; smaller peaks and troughs. Frequency High = faster & more brain waves Low = slower & less brain waves • methods used to study the level of alertness in normal waking consciousness and the stages of sleep: • – measurement of physiological responses including electroencephalograph (EEG) {p133}, electrooculargraph (EOG) {p135}, heart rate, body temperature and galvanic skin response (GSR) {p124} • – the use of sleep laboratories, video monitoring and self reports Measures eye movements or eye positions through activity in eye muscles Galvanic skin response ‘…a physiological response that indicates the change in the resistance of the skin to an electrical current.’ high emotional arousal, increase in sweating = increase in electrical conductivity (decrease in electrical resistance)

  12. Brain wave patterns Beta: when the brain’s activity is at it’s highest. High frequency and low amplitude. Alpha: high frequency, low amplitude (slightly larger than beta). Relaxed or meditative state. Theta: medium frequency some high amplitude mixed with small amplitude. Early stages of sleep. Delta: slowest brain waves, low frequency, high amplitude. Deepest state of sleep.

  13. PRACTICE EXAM QUESTIONS

  14. QUESTION 1 Renaé Descartes’ theory of consciousness as a psychological construct relies on the concept that • The mind and body are separate entities • Interactions between brain neurons influence our consciousness • Consciousness is an everchanging stream of ideas and occurs only in the brain • Consciousness is produced by the soul and is located in organs such as the liver and heart VCAA Psychology Exam 1, (q1), 2011

  15. QUESTION 2 Hilary has been knitting for twenty years. She is able to knit quickly and accurately while she watches television. Her granddaughter, who is just learning how to knit, makes many mistakes if she tries to knit and watch television at the same time. This is because • Hilary is in an altered state of consciousness when she is knitting • Knitting is a controlled process for Hilary and an automatic process for her granddaughter • Hilary is able to divide her attention while her granddaughter is unable to divide her attention • Hilary is able to use selective attention to know while her granddaughter needs to use divided attention VCAA Psychology Exam 1, (q2), 2011

  16. QUESTION 3 Paulette meditates to reduce her stress levels. Evidence that Paulette is in a meditative state could include • Reduced heart rate, alpha waves, lowered temperature • Increased heart rate, increased breathing rate, beta waves • Reduced heart rate, beta waves, low galvanic skin response • Alpha and beta waves, reduced breathing rate, increased muscle activity VCAA Psychology Exam 1, (q3), 2011

  17. QUESTION 4 Psychological measures such as those in Question 3 are useful for measuring an individual’s state of consciousness. However, it should not be assumed that a person is an altered state of consciousness on the bias of these measures alone because • These measures re not as accurate as self-report • An increase or decrease in heart rate is possible as a result of meditation • Psychological measures are subjective measures of a person’s state of consciousness • Changes in psychological responses may be due to a range of reasons other than a person’s state of consciousness VCAA Psychology Exam 1, (q4), 2011

  18. QUESTION 5 Petra was completing her psychology examination. At the beginning of the examination, various thoughts were active in her mind such as how to fill in the multiple-choice answers, whether she should attempt the short answer questions first, and that the room was a little cold. Petra’s state of consciousness is best described as • Dualism • Selective attention • Normal waking consciousness • An altered state of consciousness VCAA Psychology Exam 1, (q5), 2011

  19. QUESTION 6 Petra was completing her psychology examination. Petra’s thoughts then began to drift onto other things while completing the examination, such as what she will wear at her school formal, what everyone else will be wearing, whether the boy she likes will notice her. The term that most accurately explains Petra’s experience at this time is • Daydreaming • Meditative state • Content limitations • Automatic processing VCAA Psychology Exam 1, (q6), 2011

  20. ANSWERS

  21. QUESTION 1 Renaé Descartes’ theory of consciousness as a psychological construct relies on the concept that • The mind and body are separate entities 89% • Interactions between brain neurons influence our consciousness 3% • Consciousness is an everchanging stream of ideas and occurs only in the brain 6% • Consciousness is produced by the soul and is located in organs such as the liver and heart 2% VCAA Psychology Exam 1, (q1), 2011

  22. QUESTION 2 Hilary has been knitting for twenty years. She is able to knit quickly and accurately while she watches television. Her granddaughter, who is just learning how to knit, makes many mistakes if she tries to knit and watch television at the same time. This is because • Hilary is in an altered state of consciousness when she is knitting 1% • Knitting is a controlled process for Hilary and an automatic process for her granddaughter 5% • Hilary is able to divide her attention while her granddaughter is unable to divide her attention 88% • Hilary is able to use selective attention to know while her granddaughter needs to use divided attention 7% VCAA Psychology Exam 1, (q2), 2011

  23. QUESTION 3 Paulette meditates to reduce her stress levels. Evidence that Paulette is in a meditative state could include • Reduced heart rate, alpha waves, lowered temperature 70% • Increased heart rate, increased breathing rate, beta waves 1% • Reduced heart rate, beta waves, low galvanic skin response 25% • Alpha and beta waves, reduced breathing rate, increased muscle activity 4% Paulette would be most unlikely to show beta-waves in a meditative state. The meditative state is sometimes referred to as the ‘alpha state’. VCAA Psychology Exam 1, (q3), 2011

  24. QUESTION 4 Psychological measures such as those in Question 3 are useful for measuring an individual’s state of consciousness. However, it should not be assumed that a person is an altered state of consciousness on the bias of these measures alone because • These measures re not as accurate as self-report 1% • An increase or decrease in heart rate is possible as a result of meditation 4% • Psychological measures are subjective measures of a person’s state of consciousness 9% • Changes in psychological responses may be due to a range of reasons other than a person’s state of consciousness 86% VCAA Psychology Exam 1, (q4), 2011

  25. QUESTION 5 Petra was completing her psychology examination. At the beginning of the examination, various thoughts were active in her mind such as how to fill in the multiple-choice answers, whether she should attempt the short answer questions first, and that the room was a little cold. Petra’s state of consciousness is best described as • Dualism 5% • Selective attention 11% • Normal waking consciousness 80% • An altered state of consciousness 4% VCAA Psychology Exam 1, (q5), 2011

  26. QUESTION 6 Petra was completing her psychology examination. Petra’s thoughts then began to drift onto other things while completing the examination, such as what she will wear at her school formal, what everyone else will be wearing, whether the boy she likes will notice her. The term that most accurately explains Petra’s experience at this time is • Daydreaming 95% • Meditative state 1% • Content limitations 2% • Automatic processing 2% VCAA Psychology Exam 1, (q6), 2011

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