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Chapter 3 personalized questions

Leila Ouellaj
Introduction to Psychology
9/18/2016

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Can I be aware without showing it physically?

Awareness arises from activities in parts of the brain. Like the example in the book of the
woman who was asked to imagine a tennis game, even if my body doesnt show any sign of
awareness, the parts of my brain related to a certain situation are actively simulated and
working. It cant be shown in an fMRI scan.
Is my brain able to focus on many things at the same time?
The answer is no, the brain can only focus at one thing at a time. I tend to be over-confident
and think that I can drive and text at the same time for example, however this is not possible.
My brain selects the action on the first plan and gives all the attention to it, this is whats
called selective attention. For example, if Im running and using my phone, my brain will
direct its attention to the phone because all my senses are directed to it, its the first plan
action and I will find myself running slower than before until I stop.
Can I be blind to a scene that occurred in front of me?
While working on this assignment, Im only thinking about it, a few moments ago my
roommate left the room, and although we have a small room, I didnt see her leaving nor
heard the door get closed until I lifted my eyes from the computer, and I said to myself:
Wow, when did that happen?. This is whats called in psychology as selective inattention. Its
also known as inattentional blindness. When I focus my attention on one thing, all other
objects or actions in the scene do not appear to my eyes and brain, its like they never
occurred and I have no ability to remember them.
How come I know more than I think I do?

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In normal times, I am only aware of the surface of things. When I say that I want to watch
TV, I only thing about the screen full of colors without realizing all the actions before like
looking for the remote control and turning on the television, this happens in my unconscious.
It is the dual processing, and it permits my brain to accomplish daily tasks and routine.
Parallel processing is unconscious and faster than conscious actions, it enables me to do some
actions without thinking about them as my conscious is occupied thinking about something
else.
What happens to my body and brain if I get sleep deprived?
As a college student, I tend to be sleep deprived a lot, and when it accumulates it can hit very
hard. I can get very stressed and nervous which causes conflicts in friendships and relations. I
am also a target of depression because sleep loss disturbs my mind. Moreover, it decreases my
energy, productivity and ability to concentrate; this can cause accidents as I get sleepy while
driving. It doesnt stop here, every time I get very little sleep, I find myself craving for bad
and fatty foods which makes me gain weight. And finally, for the physical effects of sleep
deprivation, it has a direct relation with immunity that decreases exponentially when
deprived.
How does my environment and biology affect my sleeping patterns?
The first thing that determines the time and amount of sleep I need is biological and it is my
age, as a young adult I need around 6 to 8 hours of sleep in normal conditions. But theres
more to it than age, the environment around me also affects my sleeping patterns as in todays
world, technology is everywhere so theres more light in night which can keep me awake for
longer. For example, when we travel somewhere far, if theres light at the time where we
normally sleep, our body adapts itself to that lighting and tries to keep us awake and reset our
biological clock.

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How and why do I dream?

As I sleep, my unconscious mind continues to watch my environment full of action. These
components get easily integrated into my dream and pushes my mind to associate certain
odors for example with a pleasant sound. However, we fail to remember any of it. Freud
believes that one of the reasons for which I dream is to satisfy my own wishes. Dreams are the
key to analyzing inner conflicts as he says. Other theorists oppose such an idea and claim that
dreams dont hide anything behind. Sometimes, I dream about events that happened in the
same day, this proves that dreams help sort and fixate information and experiences. Sleeping
and dreaming enhances my ability to memorize things. Dreaming also affects my
physiological part, the brain keeps stimulated by dreams which help develop and preserve
neurons and neural networks. Another explanation of dreams is the one related to random
stimulations of the neural system, it activates some areas of the brain that show us certain
images considered as dreams. Finally, dreams are said to reflect cognitive development, in
other words, they simulate reality and develop brain networks. All in all, dreams are
fascinating.
What process can lead me to drug tolerance?
When I first use a drug, I get a certain effect on my mind and body. And with repeated to that
same drug, my brains chemistry gets habituated to it and the effect gets lower. This is
frustrating because Ill always be on the journey of seeking for the effect of the first time
which will make add doses each time to get the wanted effect until Ill get drug dependent.
How do depressants affect my body?
Depressants are a type of drugs that calm neutral activity and body functions. If I take alcohol
as an example, having too much of it on long term can shrink my brain. Adding this to sleep
deprivation or any other psychological disorder can be deadly. It slows the neural system

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processing and decision making. On long term, alcohol can cause memory problems, as on
short term it causes blackouts in a way that the drinker forgets every event that happened
while drunk. Alcohol can also reduce my self-awareness and self-control. For example, if Im
drunk and trying to watch TV, Ill probably end up staring to the roof without realizing it.
Moreover, I may tend to blame everything on alcohol, such as my sexual desires since I
believe it affects my social behavior.
Why am I more exposed to nicotine addiction during my teen age?
Cigarette companies try to make me a client in my young age so I can stay so my whole life.
As a teenager, Im very vulnerable to the smoking look. It seems like all the popular kids and
stars are doing it. Thats how cigarette companies show smoking. I first do it to get attention,
or handle stress or maybe even to get accepted by other smokers into their social group. I can
get easily hooked up to smoking because nicotine is a very addictive substance. And
generally, the first cigarette is offered to me. If I no one close to me smokes, very likely, I
wont be a smoker either.