Psychology Study Guide Chapter 3

Transcription

1 Psychology Study Guide Chapter 3 Consciousness Alertness, being awake self-awareness; ability to think about yourself free will to make conscious decision persons mental content thoughts and imaginings definition: awareness of ourselves and environment Are animals aware of environment? Is that awareness different? Possibly we don t really know Psychology was once defined as the description and explanation of states of consciousness Consciousness is just one topic among many for psychologists Cognitive neuroscience allows us to see how the brain is involved in consciousness Finding: some rare conscious patients have brain responses to the conversation Implication is don t judge a book by its cover to consciousness Debate: what is going on in the brain but generates of experience of consciousness One view: synchronizes coordinated brain activity generates consciousness Dual track mind Conscious high track Minds take deliberate actions we know we are doing Problem solving Unconscious low track minds preform automatic action often without being aware of them walking cocktail party effect: focus on convenient back round Why two tracks Benefit: not having to think about everything you do all of the time Consequences of a dual track mind Blind sight If there is brain damage but no eye damage Conscious doesn t help Unconscious does Selective attention Millions of bits of information coming at once to many senses So we have the skill to be able to choose and focus and select what to notice What we focus on what we notice Selective inattention: what we don t focus on we do not notice, part of our failure to notice part of our environment when attention is directed elsewhere Inattentional blindness 1 Made By Abby Carroll

2 Change blindness Choice blindness Sleep are we fully unconscious/dead to the world or is the window to consciousness open selective attention what we focus on and notice selective inattention what we are not focuses on and what we do not notice failure to notice change when we are focused on something else Inattentional blindness Magic tricks take advantage of this When our attention is focused we miss seeing what others thin is obvious Change blindness 2/3 don t notice the change For example, similar people Choice blindness For example, if you tell someone to choose their favorite jelly, and then switch them and give them an identical jar they believe to be their favorite jelly that they picked, when they taste it they will describe the flavor to be the one that they had picked but not the one that they are actually tasting Sleep How do we learn about dreams EEG waves (muscle movement) Expose sleeping person to noise/words and examine the effect Wake people and see which mental stage goes with brain/body state Biological rhythms 90 minute sleep cycles Circadian rhythm: body s natural hour cycle roughly affected by light and dark What changes through 24 hours Body temperature Arousal and energy Mental sharpness Rhythms vary from person to person and age Peaks in alertness Evening peak are the 20 year old-ish owls Morning peak are the 50 year old-ish larks What is measured Let or right eye movements EMG (muscle tension) EEG (brain waves) 2 Made By Abby Carroll

3 Alpha waves are relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state Falling asleep Yawning creates a brief boost in alertness as you brain metabolism is slowing down Breathing slows down Brain waves are slower and irregular Hypomanic hallucinations Alpha to REM/waves 3 delta 2 theta (sleeping spindles) Dreaming In REM sleep (Rapid Eye Movement) Paradoxical sleep - mind is active, but the body is not Heart rate goes up Irregular breathing Sleep paralysis Brainstem blocks motor cortex messages and muscles don t move Genitals aroused (not because of dream content) Stages of sleep 90 minute sleep cycles through 8 hours of sleep Length of REM sleep increases the longer that you are asleep As your age goes up, there is more awake-ness and less deep sleep Why do we sleep? Newborns need 6 hours Adults need around eight hours (more or less) Light has to do with sleep So artificial light affects us (melatonin) North Americans sleep less, and also less than they used to Circadian rhythm is hard to shift, why we have jet lag What does sleep do Protect ancestors from predators Restores and repairs the brain and the body Build and strengthen memories Facilitates creative problem solving Growth of hormones are more active Sleep loss Loose brain power Gain weight Get sick Be irritable Feel old 3 Made By Abby Carroll

4 How to Sleep well Turn lights off Eat earlier and have less alcohol Get up at the same time every day Exercise (best in the late afternoon) Don t check the clock, just fall asleep Get counseling for anxiety and depression Sleep Distinct patterns of brain waves and muscle activity that are associated with different types of consciousness and sleep 4 types of sleep Sleep cycles: patterns of shifting through all the sleep stages over the course of the night We cycle through sleep stages (90 minutes) Sleep disorders Insomnia: persistent inability to fall asleep or stay asleep Narcolepsy/numb seizure: sleep attacks even a collapse in REM sleep/paralyzed sleep at inappropriate times Always sleepy, there is no cure Sleep apnea: (with no breath) repeated awakening after breathing stops time in bed and is not restorative sleep Night terrors: sudden scared looking behavior with rapid heartbeat and breathing Sleep walking: runs in families to there is a possible genetic bias Note: night terrors and sleep talking likely in children and occurs between non REM 3 sleep, not considered dreams, rapidly passing between awake and asleep Dreams Streams of action and images and feelings while in REM sleep What we dream about Failure dreams: negative, being chased etc. Images from recent/traumatic experiences Dreams not often include sexuality May not incorporate sounds and stimuli Sigmund Freud Latent content: worries and conflicts Manifest content: actual content of dreams Psychoanalytic theory Psychoanalytic theories: different people interpret different dreams different ways Information processing help sort the says events and memories Psychological functional: brain stimulation from REM sleep help develop and preserve neural pathways Activation synthesis: REM sleep triggers impulses that evoke random trial memories 4 Made By Abby Carroll

5 Cognitive development: dream content reflects dreamers cognitive development (knowledge and understanding) Hypnosis Definition: a social interaction in which one person suggests to another that certain perceptions feelings thoughts and behaviors will spontaneously occur Alternate definition: a cooperative social interaction in which one person in a state of being likely to respond to suggestions of another person State has been called heightened suggestibility/trace Controversy: what does this social interaction really require an altered state of consciousness Subject may be led into changes in Perceptions Behavior Emotions Attitudes Memory Hypnosis induction: including of a hypnotic state is the process by which a hypnotist leads someone into the state of heightened suggestively People who are highly hypnotic is about 20% More absorbed in imaginative activities Explaining hypnosis theory Divides consciousness: hypnosis is a social state of divided consciousness of out dual track mind Social influence theory Hypnotic subjects may simply be imaginative people who go along with the subject role they have agreed to play Benefits Block awareness of pain even enough for surgery without anesthesia Reduce obesity anxiety and hypertension Improve concentration and performance Cannot do Work when people won t cooperate Bestow super human ability and strength Accurately boost recall of forgotten events More likely to implant false information Drugs Psychoactive drugs are chemicals introduced in the body which alter perceptions mood and other elements of conscious experience Addiction Many drugs can be harmful to the body 5 Made By Abby Carroll

6 Psychoactive drugs are particularly dangerous when a person develops an addiction to the substance Relate with addiction Dependence Withdrawal Impact on daily life of substance use Physical and psychological dependence Tolerance Tolerance of a drug refers to the diminished psychoactive effects after repeated use Tolerance feeds addiction because users take increasing amounts of drug to get the desired effect Withdrawal After benefits of substance wear off especially after tolerance has developed drug users may experience withdrawal which is painful symptoms of the body relating to the absence of the drug Withdrawal worsens addiction because users want to resume taking the drug but without the symptoms Dependence Physical dependence: body has been affected in ways that create cravings for the drug Ex. end withdrawal symptoms Psychological dependence: a person s resources for coping with daily life either as a drug becomes needed to relax, socialize, and sleep Tolerance: need to use more to attain desired effect Withdrawal: distress experience when high subsides Using more than intended Failed attempts to regulate (persistent) Much time spent preoccupied with substance obtaining and receiving Important activities reduced because of use Continued use despite adverse consequences Depressants Chemical that reduces neural activity and other bodily functions Alcohol Opiates Barbiturates Effects on alcohol use Impact on functioning Slow neural processing Reduces synaptic activity and thought and physical reactions Reduces memory formulation caused by disrupter REM sleep and reduced synaptic function 6 Made By Abby Carroll

7 Impaired self-control Impaired judgment self-monitoring and inhibition increased accidents and aggression Barbiturates Tranquilizers: things that depress central nervous system activity For example amytol Effects Reducing activity and inducing sleep Problems: reducing memory judgment and concentration can lead to death if taken with alcohol Opiates Most addictive depressant Ex. morphine Chemicals It won t ever feel as good as it did the first time that you took I t Opiate depress nervous system activity reducing anxiety and pain Opiates work at receptor sites for the body s natural pain reducers (euphoria) After people take opium it makes it harder to deal with pain, because the body stops making endorphins so you will feel pain more and you will never be the same Stimulants Drugs which intensify neural activity and bodily functions Physical effect means dilated pupils an increase of breathing and heat rate as well as an increase in blood sugar and a decreased appetite Examples Caffeine Nicotine Ecstasy Amphetamines Caffeine Adds energy Disrupts sleep for 3-4 hours Can lead to withdrawal if used daily Headache fatigue difficulty concentrating depression and irritability Nicotine Really addictive Arouses brain Up in blood pressure and heart rate Relax muscles Suppress carbohydrate appetite 7 Made By Abby Carroll

8 Reduce circulation to extremities Why people smoke Starting: invited by peers or influenced by culture and media Continue: physically stimulating effects Not stopping: after regulate use smokers have difficulty stopping because of withdrawal symptoms (insomnia anxiety irritability) Cocaine Blocks reuptake increasing levels of synapse in Dopamine (reward) serotonin (mood) norepinephrine (energy) effects: euphoria until it is gone (45 mine) euphoria crashes into a state worse than when you started with agitation depression and pain user develops tolerance over time withdrawal symptoms of cocaine means you have to use more and more of it just to feel normal cycles of overdose and withdrawal can sometimes bring convulsions violence heart attack and death methamphetamine triggers the sustained release of dopamine sometimes leading to eight hours of euphoria and energy what happens: irritability insomnia seizures hypertension violence and depression meth addiction can become all consuming ecstasy/mdma (methylenedioxymethamphetamine) synthetic stimulant that increases dopamine and greatly increases serotonin effects on consciousness: euphoria CNS stimulation hallucinations and artificial feeling of social connectedness and intimacy off = in short run regretted behavior dehydration overheating and an increase in blood pressure then damaged serotonin producing neurons causing permanent depression hallucinogens LSD (lysergic and diethylamide) and similar drugs interfere with serotonin transmission Causes hallucinations images and other sensations that didn t some through the senses Marijuana/THC Binds with the brain cannabinoid receptors Effect on consciousness Amplify sensation Disinhibits impulses Euphoric mood Lack of ability to sense satiety 8 Made By Abby Carroll

9 Next: impaired motor coordination perceptual ability and reaction time THC accumulates in body increasing effects each time Over time brain shrinks in areas processing memory and emotion Smoke inhalation damage Leading to drug use Biological Genetic predispositions Variation in neurotransmitter systems Psychological Lacking sense of purpose Significant stress Psychological disorder Social cultural Opinion in area the person is in Stress/perception in society Is there anything to do Relatively urban/rural places Dependence Biological factors: dependence in relatives thrill seeking in childhood genes related to alcohol sensitivity and dependence and easily disrupted reward systems Psychological: seeking gratification, depression problems assessing risks and costs identity problems Social: media glorification and observing peers Controversies related to addiction Are substances inherently addictive, and should they be avoided at all costs? Only 10-16% of people who try it get addicted Does recovery require a 12 step group Recovery rates font differ much from quitting on their own Is addiction concept applicable to repeated behaviors that do not involve integrating chemicals Yes the internet gambling; they may be a dopamine based chemical process of getting immediate rewards Bear death experiences Hallucinations, often oxygen deprivation Random table/note Heroin is a depressant giving a rush of euphoria and relief from pain but then causes physiology and agonizing withdrawal 9 Made By Abby Carroll

10 Theory Explanation Critical considerations Freud s wish fulfillment Dreams provide a psychic safety valve expressing otherwise unacceptable feelings contain manifest content (remembered) and deeper layer of latent content (hidden meaning) Lacks any scientific support, dreams may be interpreted in many different ways Information processing Physiological function Activation0synthesis Cognitive development Dreams help us sort out the day s events and consolidate our memories Regular brain stimulation from REM sleep may help develop and preserve neural pathways REM sleep triggers neural activity and evokes random visual memories which our sleeping brain weaves into stories Dream content reflects dreamers cognitive development (knowledge and understanding) But why do we sometimes dream about things we have not yet experienced This may be true but it does not explain why we experience meaningful dreams The individuals brain is weaving the stories which still tells us something about the dreamer Does not address the neuroscience of our dreams 10 Made By Abby Carroll