AP Psychology Notes

Chapter 5: States of Consciousness

  1. Overview
    1. Dualism vs. Monism
      1. ​Dualism
        1. ​humans consist of thought and matter
          1. ​matter- everything that has substance
          2. thought - nonmaterial. Arises from, but is independent of the brain. Gives humans free will.
      2. Monism
        1. ​thought and matter are aspects of the same substance
        2. thought stops existing when the body dies
    2. ​​Consciousness
      1. ​Our level of awareness about ourselves and our environment
  2. ​​Levels of Consciousness
    1. ​Mere-Exposure Effect
      1. ​We prefer stimuli that we have seen before over novel stimuli, even if we don’t consciously remember seeing it
    2. Priming
      1. ​Research participants respond more quickly/accurately to questions they’ve seen before, even if they don’t remember it
    3. ​Blind Sight
      1. ​One level of consciousness isn’t getting visual information
      2. Their behavior demonstrates that another level can see
      3. They report being blind
    4. ​Types of Levels
      1. ​Conscious level
        1. ​information about yourself and your environment that you are aware of
      2. ​Nonconscious level
        1. ​body processes controlled by the mind that we’re not aware of
      3. ​Preconscious level
        1. ​information about yourself or your environment that you aren’t thinking about, but could be
      4. ​Subconscious level
        1. ​information of which we aren’t consciously aware
        2. must exist due to behavior
        3. proof: priming and mere exposure effect
      5. ​Unconscious level
        1. ​some events/feelings that are unacceptable to the conscious mind are repressed into it
  3. ​​​Sleep
    1. ​Sleep Cycle
      1. ​Circadean rhythm
        1. metabolic and thought processes follow a pattern
      2. ​Sleep onset
        1. ​the period when we are falling asleep
        2. possible mild hallucinations
        3. alpha waves
          1. ​produced when we are drowsy but awake
      3. ​​Theta waves
        1. ​high frequency, low amplitude
        2. as we go from awake to stage 1 to stage 2, they get slower and higher in amplitude
        3. stage 1, stage 2, awake
      4. ​Sleep spindles
        1. ​stage 2
        2. short bursts of rapid brain waves
      5. ​Delta sleep
        1. ​stages 3 and 4
        2. slow-wave sleep
        3. delta waves
        4. the slower the waves, the deeper the sleep
      6. ​REM sleep
        1. ​dreams occur
        2. improves memory
        3. rapid eye movement
        4. intense brain activity
        5. paralysis, though a few muscle twitches
        6. paradoxical sleep
      7. ​REM rebound
        1. ​if deprived of REM sleep the previous night, we will spend more time in REM
    2. ​​Sleep Disorders
      1. ​Insomnia
        1. ​recurring problems in falling or staying asleep
        2. affects 10% of the population
        3. sleeping pills disturb sleep patterns
      2. ​Narcolepsy
        1. ​periods of intense sleepiness
        2. may fall asleep at unpredictable times
        3. may fall right into REM
        4. affects less than .001% of the population
      3. ​Sleep apnea
        1. ​as common as insomnia
        2. causes you to stop breathing for short periods of time at night
          1. ​​​wake up slightly and gasp for air
          2. won’t remember waking up
        3. ​affects attention, memory, energy
        4. ​​prevents deep sleep
        5. high risk group: overweight men
      4. ​Night terrors and somnambulism (sleep walking)
        1. ​more common in children
        2. early in the night; stage 4
        3. not remembered in the morning
    3. ​​Dreams
      1. ​Freudian psychoanalysis
        1. ​emphasizes dream interpretation as a way to uncover information in the unconscious mind
        2. dreams are wish fulfilling
          1. ​​​in dreams we act out our unconscious desires
        3. ​manifest content
          1. ​the literal storyline of dreams
          2. latent content- the unconscious meaning of it
          3. the ego protects us from information in the unconscious mind… “protected sleep”
      2. ​​Activation-synthesis theory
        1. ​dreams are the brain’s interpretation of what is happening physiologically during REM sleep
      3. Information-processing theory
        1. ​the function of REM is to integrate information processed during the day into our memory
        2. support:
          1. ​stress increases the number and the intensity of our dreams
          2. dream content often relates to daily concerns
          3. babies REM more
  4. ​​​​Hypnosis
    1. ​Posthypnotic Amnesia
      1. ​Forgetting events that occurred while you were under hypnosis
    2. ​Posthypnotic Suggestion
      1. ​A suggestion that a hypnotized person behave in a certain way after hypnosis ends
    3. ​Role Theory
      1. ​During hypnosis, people act out the role of a hypnotized person because they are expected to
      2. Hypnosis is a social phenomenon
      3. Hypnotic suggestability
        1. ​ability to be hypnotized
        2. higher in people who:
          1. ​have rich fantasy lives
          2. can focus intensely on a single task for a long time
          3. follow directions well
    4. ​​​State Theory
      1. ​Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness
    5. ​Dissociation Theory
      1. ​Ernest Hilgard
      2. Hypnosis causes a voluntary split in consciousness
        1. one level responds to the suggestions of the hypnotist
        2. the other level retains awareness of reality
      3. ​Ice water bath experiment
        1. ​subjects felt pain but reported none
        2. demonstrates the presence of a hidden observer
          1. ​​​a level of our consciousness that monitors what is happening while another level obeys the hypnotist
  5. ​​​​Drugs
    1. ​Psychoactive Drugs
      1. ​Chemicals that change the chemistry of the brain
      2. Induce an altered state of consciousness
      3. The effects are due both to expectations and physiological processes
      4. Blood-brain barrier
        1. ​thick walls surrounding the brain’s blood vessels
        2. molecules of psychoactive drugs are small enough to pass through it
      5. ​Agonists
        1. ​mimic neurotransmitters
      6. ​Antagonists
        1. ​prevent neurotransmitters from entering receptor sites, but don’t mimic their functions
      7. ​Tolerance
        1. ​caused by a physiological change
        2. more of the same drug is needed for the same effect
        3. cause withdrawal symptoms
    2. ​​Stimulants
      1. ​Speed up body processes
        1. ​autonomic nervous system
      2. ​Produce a sense of euphoria
      3. ​​Caffeine, cocaine, amphetamines, nicotine
      4. Disturb sleep, reduce appetite, increase anxiety, cause heart problems
    3. ​Depressants
      1. ​Slow down body systems
      2. ​Alcohol, barbiturates, anxiolytics (tranquilizers, antianxiety drugs)
      3. Cause euphoria
      4. Alcohol
        1. ​slows reactions/judgment
        2. affects motor coordination
    4. ​​Hallucinations (Psychedelics)
      1. ​Cause changes in perception of reality
        1. ​sensory hallucinations
        2. loss of identity
        3. vivid fantasies
      2. ​Unpredictable effects
      3. LSD, peyote, psilocybin mushrooms, marijuana
      4. Reverse tolerance
        1. ​second dose may be less than first but cause greater effects
        2. the drug lingers in the body for weeks
    5. ​​Opiates
      1. ​Morphine, heroin, methadone, codeine
      2. Similar in chemical structure to opium
        1. ​a drug derived from the poppy plant
      3. ​Act as agonists for endorphins
        1. ​pain killers
        2. mood elevators
      4. ​Cause drowsiness and euphoria
      5. Very physically addictive
        1. ​rapidly change brain chemistry and create tolerance/withdrawal

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How to cite this note (MLA)

Aboukhadijeh, Feross. "Chapter 5: States of Consciousness" StudyNotes.org. Study Notes, LLC., 12 Oct. 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.apstudynotes.org/psychology/outlines/chapter-5-states-of-consciousness/>.
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