consciousness and cognition

1. 6 consciousness and cognition

2. why study consciousness, the nature of thought, and communication?Consciousness, as humans experience it, is the key difference between humans and the lower animals. Waking thought, sleeping, and other forms of conscious awareness make up the better part of the human experience. Many theorists also see language as the major “dividing line” between humans and animals, but that line seems to be blurring—or is it? In a very real sense, to understand consciousness is to understand what it means to be who we are. We need to understand more about the thought processes that occur when we are asleep or awake. Why do we need to sleep at all? What is the difference between dreaming thought and waking thought? How do we organize our thoughts and use them to solve problems? How do we communicate those thoughts to others? How close do animals really come to true language?

3. Learning Objectives • LO 6.1 Consciousness and levels of consciousness • LO 6.2 Why sleep and how sleep works • LO 6.3 Stages of sleep and dreaming • LO 6.4 Sleep disorders and normal sleep • LO 6.5 Mental images and concepts in thinking • LO 6.6 Solving problems and make decisions • LO 6.7 Failure of problem solving and creative thinking • LO 6.8 Language and different elements and structure of language • LO 6.9 Language and thinking and are animals able to learn language • LO 6.10 Ways to improve thinking

4. Consciousness LO 6.1 Consciousness and levels of consciousness • Consciousness • Awareness of activity around one at any given moment • The awareness is used to organize behavior • Waking consciousness • Thoughts, feelings, and sensations are clear, organized • Feel alert

5. Consciousness LO 6.1 Consciousness and levels of consciousness • Altered state of consciousness • Shift from waking consciousness in the qualityor pattern of mental activity • Can be increased or decreased alertness • Divided attention • Example: cell phone and driving • Can put the driver at risk

6. The driver of this car has several competing demands on his attention: working his cell phone, listening to the passenger read from a letter, and driving his car. If he manages to get himself and his passenger safely to their destination, it's possible that he won't even remember the trip—he may be driving in an altered state of consciousness.

7. Biology of Sleep LO 6.2 Why sleep and how sleep works • Circadian rhythm • Cycle of body rhythms that occur over a 24-hour period • “circa” – about • “diem” – day • Sleep-Wake cycle is controlledby the hypothalamus

8. Biology of Sleep LO 6.2 Why sleep and how sleep works • Circadian rhythm • Suprachiasmatic nucleus • Hypothalamic structure that is light sensitive • Signals to pineal gland to release melatonin

9. Figure 6.1 Sleep Patterns of Infants and AdultsInfants need far more sleep than older children and adults. Both REM sleep and NREM sleep decrease dramatically in the first 10 years of life, with the greatest decrease in REM sleep. Nearly 50 percent of an infant's sleep is REM, compared to only about 20 percent for a normal, healthy adult (Roffwarg et al, 1966).

10. Stages of Sleep LO 6.2 Why sleep and how sleep works • REM sleep • Relatively active type of sleep • Most dreaming takes place in this stage • Voluntary muscle movement is inhibited • Non-REM sleep • Deeper, more restful kind of sleep • Muscle movement not inhibited • Four stages

11. Brain Wave Patterns and Sleep LO 6.2 Why sleep and how sleep works • Electroencephalagram (EEG) • Measures electrical activity in brain • Different patterns during different stages • Beta waves • Awake, mentally active, small and fast EEG pattern • Alpha waves • Become drowsy, waves slightly larger and slower

12. Brain Wave Patterns and Sleep LO 6.2 Why sleep and how sleep works • Electroencephalagram (EEG) • Different patterns during different stages • Theta Waves • Slower and larger • Delta Waves • Deepest sleep, largest and slowest waves

13. Non-REM Stages of Sleep LO 6.3 Stages of sleep and dreaming • Non-REM Stage 1: Light Sleep • Theta wave activity increases, alpha wave activity fades • Hypnogogic images • Hypnic jerk

14. Non-REM Stages of Sleep LO 6.3 Stages of sleep and dreaming • Non-REM Stage 2: Sleep Spindles • Body temperature continues to drop • Heart rate slows, breathing becomes more shallow and irregular • EEG will show the first signs of sleep spindles

15. Non-REM Stages of Sleep LO 6.3 Stages of sleep and dreaming • Non-REM Stage 3 and Stage 4: Delta Waves • Deepest stage of sleep • Body is at its lowest level of functioning

16. Figure 6.3 A Typical Night's SleepThe graph shows the typical progression through the night of the different stages of sleep. The four non-REM stages are indicated on the y-axis; REM stages arerepresented by the green curves on the graph. The REM periods occur about every 90 minutes throughout the night (Dement, 1974).

17. REM Sleep and Dreaming LO 6.3 Stages of sleep and dreaming • During REM sleep: • Body temperature increases, eyes move rapidly under eyelids, heart beats faster • Brain waves similar to waking state • 90% of dreams occur in REM sleep • REM paralysis • Voluntary muscles are paralyzed

18. REM Sleep and Dreaming LO 6.3 Stages of sleep and dreaming • REM behavior disorder • Brain mechanisms that inhibit the voluntary muscles fail • Occurs mainly in men over 60

19. Why Two Types of Sleep? LO 6.3 Stages of sleep and dreaming • NREM sleep increases in response to physical demands on body • REM sleep increases in response to emotional stress

20. Why Two Types of Sleep? LO 6.3 Stages of sleep and dreaming • REM rebound • Increase in REM sleep noted after REM deprivation • Infants spend 50% of sleep in REM • Not dreaming but forming new neural connections

21. Sleep Disorders LO 6.4 Sleep disorders and normal sleep • Sleepwalking (somnambulism) • Affects 20% of population • Occurs during deep sleep • More common in children

22. Sleep Disorders LO 6.4 Sleep disorders and normal sleep • Night terror • State of panic experienced while asleep • Relatively rare disorder • Person experiences extreme fear and screams or runs around without waking • Occurs during stage four • Nightmares • Bad dreams occurring during REM sleep

23. Nightmares are common in children and often involve being chased by a monster or similar frightening creature or being lost in a strange place like this young boy.

24. “Murder While Sleepwalking” LO 6.4 Sleep disorders and normal sleep • Refers to REM behavior disorder rather than ordinary sleepwalking • Use of this defense is sometimes successful • Past history of sleep disturbance should be present

25. This woman has insomnia. In insomnia, a person has trouble getting to sleep, staying asleep, or getting enough sleep. How will this woman feel when she gets up in the morning?

26. Problems During Sleep LO 6.4 Sleep disorders and normal sleep • Insomnia • Inability to fall asleep, stay asleep, or have good quality of sleep • Sleep apnea • Person stops breathing for nearly half a minute or more • Continuous positive airway pressure device assists with breathing

27. Problems During Sleep LO 6.4 Sleep disorders and normal sleep • Narcolepsy • Falling into REM sleep during the day without warning • Experience Cataplexy • Sudden loss of muscle tone

28. Table 6.1 Sleep Disorders

29. Suggestions for Sleep LO 6.4 Sleep disorders and normal sleep • Go to bed only when sleepy • Only use the bed for sleep • Bed should be a cue for sleeping • Don’t try too hard to get to sleep • Increases tension, makes it harder to sleep

30. Suggestions for Sleep LO 6.4 Sleep disorders and normal sleep • Keep to a regular bedtime schedule • Don’t take drugs that slow the nervous system • Can cause REM rebound thus depriving body of deep sleep

31. Thinking and Mental Images LO 6.4 Sleep disorders and normal sleep • Thinking (cognition) • Mental activity that involves • Organizing and attempting to understand information • Communicating information to others

32. Thinking and Mental Images LO 6.4 Sleep disorders and normal sleep • Mental images • Representations that stand for objects or events • Have a picture-like quality • Engage mental images in mind much like would interact with physical object imagined • In the brain, creating a mental image is reverse of seeing an actual image

33. Figure 6.4 Kosslyn's Fictional IslandIn Kosslyn's 1978 study, participants were asked to push a button when they had imagined themselves moving from one place on the island to another. As the graph below the picture shows, participants took longer times to complete the task when the locations on the image were farther apart (Kosslyn et al., 1978).

34. Concepts LO 6.5 Mental images and concepts in thinking • Represent category of objects, events, or activities • Ability to think in terms of concepts allows communication with others • Allow identification of new objects and events that fit concept

35. Concepts LO 6.5 Mental images and concepts in thinking • Can represent different levels of objects or events • Superordinate concept • Most general form of a type of concept, such as “animal” or “fruit” • Basic level type • Concept around which other similar concepts are organized, such as “dog,” “cat,” or “pear”

36. Concepts LO 6.5 Mental images and concepts in thinking • Subordinate concept • The most specific category of a concept • Such as "Granny Smith apple” • Formal concepts • Defined by specific rules or features • Science and mathematics use many formal concepts

37. Concepts LO 6.5 Mental images and concepts in thinking • Natural concepts • Concepts formed as a result of experiences • Not defined by rigid rules

38. Concepts LO 6.5 Mental images and concepts in thinking • Prototype • A concept that closely matches the original concept • Personal knowledge about a type of object affect the nature of a given prototype for the category • Greater differences and variations in prototypes exist between cultures that are dissimilar

39. Concepts LO 6.5 Mental images and concepts in thinking • Concepts are one way people deal with the variety of information bombarding the senses • Organize by schemes and scripts • Schemes • Mental generalizations about objects, places, events, and people • Scripts • Schema with a familiar sequence of activities

40. Table 6.2 From prototypes to Atypical Examples (Most Typical to Least Typical)

41. Problem-Solving LO 6.6 Solving problems and making decisions • Problem-solving • Cognition that occurs when a goal must be reached • Thinking and behaving in certain ways • Trial and error (mechanical solution) • One possible solution after another is tried until a successful one is found

42. Problem-Solving LO 6.6 Solving problems and making decisions • Algorithms • Specific, step-by-step procedures for solving a problem type

43. These children try one possible sequence of moves after another until finding just the right combination. This is an example of trial-and-error learning.

44. Problem-Solving LO 6.6 Solving problems and making decisions • Heuristic • “Rule of thumb” • Simple rule intended to apply to many situations • Representative heuristic • Categorize by shared characteristics • Can lead to stereotypes

45. Problem-Solving LO 6.6 Solving problems and making decisions • Heuristic • Means–end analysis • Difference between starting situation and goal assessed • Steps taken to reduce difference • Insight • Sudden perception of a solution to a problem

46. Problem-Solving Barriers LO 6.7 Failure of problem solving and creative thinking • Functional fixedness • Block to problem solving • Comes from thinking about objects in terms of only their typical functions • Mental set • Persist in using problem-solving patterns that have worked in the past • Hesitate in trying new solution

47. Problem-Solving Barriers LO 6.7 Failure of problem solving and creative thinking • Confirmation bias • Search for evidence that fits one’s beliefs • Ignore evidence that does not fit those beliefs

48. Creativity LO 6.7 Failure of problem solving and creative thinking • Process of solving problems by combining ideas or behavior in new ways • Convergent thinking • Problem is seen as having only one answer • All lines of thinking lead to single answer • Uses previous knowledge and logic

49. Creativity LO 6.7 Failure of problem solving and creative thinking • Divergent thinking • Starts from one point • Develop different ideas or possibilities based on that point

50. Figure 7.2 The String ProblemHow do you tie the two strings together if you cannot reach them both at the same time?