ENGAGE: Level of awareness activity

ENGAGE: Level of awareness activity

ENGAGE: Meditation instructions Step 1: Explain how people meditate for religious and/or relaxation reasons. Step 2: Describe three major characteristics of an altered state of consciousness which meditation stimulates (i.e. lower levels of awareness, changes in emotional awareness and perceptual and cognitive distortions). Step 3: Guided meditation instructions could be the following i. Measure your anxiety level (very low = 1 very high = 5 ) and heart rate measurements (finger on pulse count the number of beats / minute and record down) ii. iii. iv. sit in a comfortable, balanced position (close eyes) concentrate on your breathing particular parts of body take your anxiety level and heart rate measurements again (plus record down how long they think the meditation exercise took) v. Compare your experiences with other members of the class (e.g. how feel and were you distracted by outside noise or other events in the surrounds?) vi. consider your measurements - Were you able to relax during this activity? Did your anxiety level reduce? - Did the meditation exercise reduce your heart rate? - Did you accurately guess the amount of time that passed during the meditation? vii. Consider any characteristics of meditation as an altered state of consciousness (e.g. lower level of awareness, change in emotional awareness and diminished time orientation). Were they what you expected? Conclusion: Recap on class objectives and point to upcoming classes (i.e. investigation of other examples of being in an altered state of consciousness e.g. alcohol-induced and daydreaming)

ENGAGE: A snapshot of your state of consciousness For the next five minutes, write down all the sensations, perceptions, memories, thoughts, images, feelings and so on that flow into your consciousness. Write continuously for the whole time. If you can t think of anything to write, write I can t think of anything to write (because that s what is in your consciousness) until the flow of other things continues. You may find that your hand can t keep up with the ever-changing flow of thoughts and feelings passing through your consciousness. At the end of the time, count the number of difference ideas that entered your consciousness. Compare your result with that of other class members. What is a possible explanation for any differences?

ENGAGE: Stroop Effect cards

EXPLORE: Homer s altered state of consciousness Probably the easiest way to understand characteristics of normal waking consciousness is to consider the characteristics of altered states of consciousness. Watch the first five minutes of The Simpsons Season 14 Episode 2: How I spent my summer vacation. 1. Make a list of the various ways Homer tried to alter his state of consciousness. Categorise these altered states of consciousness as drug-induced or non druginduced. 2. List the various effects that Homer experienced while in an altered state of consciousness. Categorise these changes in terms of: 3. Perception sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch Thinking including problem solving, reasoning and understanding Memory Emotions Behaviours including self-control, coordination balance and speech Perception of time e.g. understanding the amount of time that has passed Awareness of the environment

EXPLORE: ERA Instructions Unit 3 Psychology Empirical Research Activity: Controlled versus automatic processing testing for the Stroop effect The psychological occurrence we now call "the Stroop effect" was first described in 1935 by John Ridley Stroop. Why has the Stroop effect continued to fascinate psychologists? Part of the answer is that the Stroop effect appears to tap into essential operations of cognition, thereby offering clues to fundamental cognitive processes. In two classic experiments, Stroop first compared reading a list of words printed in black with reading the same list of words printed in incongruent colours. Stroop found that there was little difference in reading time for the two lists. Stroop then compared the naming of colours for a list of solid colour squares with the naming of colours for a list of words printed in incongruent colours. Subjects averaged 74% longer to name ink colours of incongruent words. The results of these two studies led Stroop to conclude that since people are more practiced at word reading than naming colours, there is less interference with word reading than with colour naming. Procedure This experiment enables you to test the Stroop effect by comparing the time taken to identify different types of visual stimuli under different perceptual condition. You should formulate a hypothesis related to automatic and controlled processes before conducting the experiment. In preparation for the experiment you will need to develop the stimulus materials shown in table 1.1. In addition a data sheet will be required to record each participant s responses, such as shown in table 1.2. A stopwatch should be used to precisely record the responses time for each participant. The stimulus material for the first condition containing lists of words (see table 1.1) should be placed face down on a table in front of the participant in order of the presentation required. At the conclusion of each condition, the stimulus material for the next condition should be placed face down on the table in front of the participant. Participants should be provided with separate instructions for each condition as follows: Condition 1 (black print) When I say start, you are required to turn the page. It will contain a list of words. Read aloud the words on the page. It will contain a list of words. Read aloud the words on the page as quickly as possible, beginning at the top of the word list. When you have read the last word, say stop to indicate that you have completed the task. Condition 2 (incongruent words) When I say start, you are required to turn the page. It will contain a list of words written in different coloured ink. State the ink colour of each printed word as quickly as possible, beginning at the top of the list. When you have stated the ink colour of the last word, say stop to indicate you have completed the task.

Table 1.1 Condition 3 (colour blocks) When I say start, you are required to turn the page. It will contain a series of coloured blocks. State the colour of each coloured block as quickly as possible, beginning at the top of the series. When you have identified the last coloured block, say stop to indicate that you have completed the task. Condition 4 (familiar words) When I say start, you are required to turn the page. It will contain a list of words written in different coloured ink. State the ink colour of each printed word as quickly as possible, beginning at the top of the list. When you have stated the ink colour of the last word, say stop to indicate you have completed the task. Various condition of the Stroop task Condition 1: Colour words in black print Task: Read the word Condition 2: Incongruent colour words Task: State the colour of the ink red red green purple blue green purple brown brown blue green green brown red red brown purple blue blue purple Condition 3: Blocks of colour Task: State the colour of the block Condition 4: Familiar words in colour print Task: State the colour of the ink truck store couch table shirt store couch truck shirt table

Table 1.2 Data sheet of participant s responses Participant Condition 1 Condition 2 Condition 3 Condition 4 Time Errors Time Errors Time Errors Time Errors 1 2 3 4 For each condition, record both the time taken (in seconds) and the number of errors made by each participant. Finally, participants should be thanked for their involvement in the experiment. Results Calculate the mean time and the mean number of errors for each condition Combine your data with data obtained by others in the class Calculate means for the class results Graph the class data to show the mean time taken for each condition and the mean number of errors for each condition Write a statement that indicates whether or not the results support the hypothesis Analysis and interpretation Briefly discuss whether the results obtained are consistent with research findings on the Stroop effect described Write a conclusion based on the results obtained. State the IV and DV in each of the four conditions of the experiment Describe two possible extraneous variables. Explain how each of these variables may have affected the results Explain why the repeated measures experimental design minimises the impact of extraneous variables in this experiment What do the results of this experiment indicate about automatic and controlled processes?

EXPLAIN: Teacher resource Stroop effect information When you first learned to tie shoelaces you needed to carefully think through each step of the process. Now, you probably do not even seem to think about the steps, but simply initiate a series of movements that seem to proceed without any further influence. When a behaviour or skill seems to no longer require direct interaction, cognitive psychologists say it is automatised. Many behaviours can become automatised: typing, reading, writing, bicycling, piano playing, driving, etc. Automatisation is interesting because it is an important part of daily life. We perform a variety of automatised behaviours quickly and effortlessly. In some cases people report that they do not consciously know how the behaviour is performed, they just will it to happen, and it does happen. To explore properties of automatised behaviours cognitive psychologists often put observers in a situation where an automatised response is in conflict with the desired behaviour. This allows researchers to test the behind-the-scenes properties of automatised behaviours by noting their influence on more easily measured behaviours. This demonstration explores a well-known example of this type of influence, the Stroop effect. Stroop (1935) noted that observers were slower to properly identify the colour of ink when the ink was used to produce colour names different from the ink. That is, observers were slower to identify red ink when it spelled the word blue. This is an interesting finding because observers are told to not pay any attention to the word names and simply report the colour of the ink. However, this seems to be a nearly impossible task, as the name of the word seems to interfere with the observer's ability to report the colour of the ink. A common explanation for the Stroop effect is that observers have automatised the process of reading. Thus, the colour names of the words are always processed very quickly, regardless of the colour of the ink. On the other hand, identifying colours is not a task that observers have to report on very often, and because it is not automatised it is slower. The fast and automatic processing of the colour name of the word interferes with the reporting of the ink colour. The actual words have a strong influence over your ability to say the colour of the words. The interference between the different information (what the words say and the colour of the words) your brain receives causes a problem. There are two theories that may explain the Stroop effect: 1. Speed of Processing Theory: the interference occurs because words are read faster than colours are named. 2. Selective Attention Theory: the interference occurs because naming colours requires more attention than reading words.

ELABORATE: Questions to prompt discussion Altered states of consciousness If we deviate from normal waking consciousness, we experience an altered state. Recall the continuum of awareness. In an altered state of consciousness, your level of awareness either decreases or increases compared to NWC. You become more or less aware of what is happening in your environment. If you are experiencing heightened awareness, you can become more aware of certain events that are happening around you. What is daydreaming? How often do you daydream? When are you more likely to daydream? Does daydreaming affect awareness? What is meditation? Why is meditation becoming more popular in society? How does meditation affect awareness of other stimuli (other internal events or external surrounding)? Does meditation affect perception? How might alcohol affect awareness? What impact does alcohol on a person s self control and perception?

EVALUATE: Quiz sheet Chapter 3: Consciousness Quiz Team Name: Round 1 Round 2 1) 1) 2) 2) 3) 3) 4) 4) Round 3 Round 4 1) 1) 2) 2) 3) 3) 4) 4)

EVALUATE: ERA Assessment criteria Empirical Research Activity: Controlled versus automatic processing testing for the Stroop effect 1. Title explains your study 2. Abstract brief summary (approx ½ page) 3. Introduction: (approx 1 ½ pages) Introduces and explains the topic controlled and automatic processes Explains key concepts Explains past research who did what, and what they found (you need to mention a minimum of 2 experiments try for one supporting your hypothesis and 1 against) Aim the purpose of the experiment Hypothesis (operationalised) IPOD 4. Method (approx 1 page) Participants: how many, who (where from, sex, age etc), how selected (convenience) Materials: what you used e.g. participation instruction sheet, conditions etc. These need to be put in appendices Procedure: step by step of exactly what you did finding participants to data analysis 5. Results Only put in information that you are going to talk about in your discussion No raw data Tables/graphs accurate, detailed titles, described in words Data described not analysed 6. Discussion (approx 1-1 ½ pages) Restates hypothesis and whether it was supported Data explains and how it does/n t support the hypothesis Explanation of results in regard to past research Limitations of the experiment described extraneous variables (min 2) Conclusion VH H M L/NS Overall grade:

Reference list Alphabetical order All information must be cited in text as well as being placed in the reference list Use (author, date) format, URL Appendices Need to be listed and labelled in order that they appear in your report What you can bring: 1 X A4 double sided dot point plan Aim and hypothesis Graphs/tables Reference list Appendices Textbook Internet downloads/photocopies (past research or information) What you can t bring: Any part of the SAC already written up that you are going to copy Workbook You must include when handing in your SAC: Criteria sheet Report Appendices Plan