CHAPTER 4

CONSCIOUSNESS

Psychology, Fourth Edition

Saundra K. Ciccarelli J. Noland White

Copyright 2015, 2012, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.

All rights reserved.

Learning Outcomes
4.1 Define conscious, and the different levels of
consciousness?
4.2 Explain why people need to sleep, and how does sleep
work?
4.3 Identify the different stages of sleep, including the stage
of dreaming and its importance?
4.4 Explain how sleep disorders interfere with normal sleep?
4.5 Describe how people dream, and what do they dream
about?

Consciousness
Consciousness
a persons awareness of
everything that is going on
around him/her at any given
moment
Awareness of ourselves
and our environment
There are different states of
consciousness including;
Waking consciousness
and Altered state of
consciousness

Types of consciousness
1. Waking consciousness
state in which thoughts, feelings, and sensations
are clear and organized, and the person feels
alert
2. Altered state of consciousness

state in which there is a shift in the quality or

pattern of mental activity as compared to waking
consciousness.
Example:
1. Thoughts may become fuzzy and disorganized(less alert) ,
2. thoughts may take bizarre turns, as they so often do (in
dreams).
3. state of increased alertness, as when under the influence
of a stimulant/ drug).
4. You may also divide your conscious awareness, as when
you drive to work or school and then wonder how you got there.

 This altered state of divided

consciousness can be a
dangerous thing,
as many people who try to drive
and talk on a cell phone at the
same time should demand
focused attention,
and it is simply not possible to do
both at once.
Studies have shown that driving
while talking on a cell phone,
even a hands-free phone,
puts a person at the same degree
of risk as driving under the
influence of alcohol.

The forms of altered states

There are many forms of altered states of
consciousness.
Example: sleep, daydreaming, being
hypnotized, or achieving a meditative state
are usually considered to be altered state.
1. Sleep
Have you ever wondered why people have
to sleep?
They could get so much more work done if
they didnt have to sleep,
and they would have more time to play and do
creative things.
People can try to stay awake, and
sometimes they may go for a while without
sleep, but eventually they must sleep.

Why do people need to sleep, and how does sleep work?

A . One reason for this fact is that sleep is one of the human
bodys biological rhythms,
natural cycles of activity that the body must go through.
Circadian rhythm: a cycle of bodily rhythm that occurs over a
twenty-four-hour period
Example:
1. Monthly; the cycle of a womans menstruation,
2. shorterthe beat of the heart is a biological rhythm.
3. Daily basis, like the rise and fall of blood pressure and body
temperature.
The sleepwake cycle is ultimately controlled by the brain,
specifically by an area within the hypothalamus,

Necessity of Sleep
B. Hypothalamus: tiny section of the brain that
influences the glandular system
suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)

deep within the hypothalamus

1. the internal clock that tells people
when to wake up and when to fall asleep
2. It is sensitive to changes in light. As
daylight fades,
3. the SCN tells the pineal gland to
secrete melatonin.
As melatonin accumulates, a person will
feel sleepy.
As the light coming into the eyes
increases, the SCN tells the pineal gland
to stop secreting melatonin, allowing the
body to awaken

C. Not only melatonin but also

neurotransmitter serotonin is controlling
the process of the regulation of sleep.
As the day goes by, serotonin levels in
the nervous system increase and seem
to be associated with sleepiness.
Although people can do without sleep
for a while, they cannot do without it
altogether.

Example: In one experiment, rats were

placed on moving treadmills over water.
They couldnt sleep normally because
they would then fall into the water and
be awakened,
but they did drift repeatedly into
microsleeps, or brief sidesteps into
sleep lasting only seconds.

 Micro sleep periods are no doubt

responsible for a lot of car accidents
that occur when drivers have had
very little sleep.
Sleep deprivation: any significant
loss of sleep
results in irritability and problems
with concentration

Okay, so we obviously need to sleep. But what does it do for

us? Why do we have to sleep at all?

D. Adaptive theory:
Sleep is a product of evolution

Adaptive theory of sleep proposing

that
animals and humans evolved sleep
patterns to avoid predators by
sleeping when predators are most
active (Hunting times).
Example: if during active hunting
hours
the prey is in a safe place sleeping
and conserving energy,
it is more likely to remain
unharmed.

Necessity of Sleep
E. Restorative theory:
Theory of sleep proposing that
sleep is necessary to the
physical health of the body
and serves to replenish chemicals
and repair cellular damage
There is evidence that most
bodily growth
and repair occur during the
deepest stages of sleep,
when enzymes responsible for
these functions are secreted in
higher amounts.

Which of these theories is correct?

The answer is that both are probably
needed to understand why sleep occurs the
way it does.
Adaptive theory explains why people sleep
when they do,
and restorative theory explains why people
need to sleep.

Sleep Patterns of Infants and Adults

How much sleep is enough sleep?

The answer varies from person to person because
of each persons age and possibly inherited sleep
needs,
but most young adults need about 7 to 9 hours of
sleep each 24-hour period in order to function
well.
Some people are short sleepers, needing only 4 or
5 hours,
whereas others are long sleepers and require more
than 9 hours of sleep

There are actually two kinds of sleep:

REM and non-REM (NREM)
1) Rapid eye movement (REM): stage of sleep
in which the eyes move rapidly under the
eyelids and the person is typically experiencing
a dream
1.1 active type of sleep when most of a
persons dreaming takes place,
1.2 the voluntary muscles are inhibited,
meaning that the person moves very little,
1.3 paradoxical sleep (high level of brain activity)
1.4 If wakened during REM sleep, sleepers
always report a dream and REM rebound
2) NREM (non-REM) sleep: do not include REM
2.1) a much deeper, more restful kind of sleep.
2.2) the persons body is free to move around
(including kicking ones bed partner!).

The stages of sleep

Electroencephalograph (EEG)
allows scientists to see the brain
wave activity
as a person passes through the
various stages of sleep and to
determine what type of sleep the
person has entered
1. Beta waves: smaller and faster
brain waves, typically indicating a
person who is wide awake and
mentally active.
2. alpha waves: brain waves that
indicate a state of relaxation or
light sleep and getting drowsy.
3.theta waves: brain waves
indicating the early stages of sleep
4.delta waves: long, slow waves
that indicate the deepest stage of
sleep

Sleep Disorders
1. Nightmares
bad dreams occurring
during REM sleep

It is called REM behavior

disorder
mechanism that blocks
the movement of the
voluntary muscles fails
But sometimes allows
the person to thrash
/move around, or even
get up and act out
nightmares

Stage Four Sleep Disorders

2. Sleepwalking (somnambulism)
episode of moving around or walking around
in ones sleep
occurs in deep sleep
more common among children than adults
Causes
delay in maturation or immaturity in the
central nervous system
high-voltage delta waves
clustered in families
sleep deprivation, fever, and excessive
tiredness
Drug and alcohol consumption

Night terrors

the person experiences

extreme fear and screams/yells
or runs around during deep sleep
doesnt wake fully
relatively rare disorder

Sleep Disorders
Can sleepwalking be a defense against criminal charges?
Kenneth Parks case
In 1987, Kenneth Parks, a 23-year-old man from Toronto,
Canada, got up early in the morning, got in his car, and drove
23 kilometers to the home of his wifes parents. He stabbed
his mother-in-law to death, attacked his father-in-law, and then
drove to the police.
Once there, he told them that he thought he had killed some
people.
Parks had no motive and had been suffering from severe
insomnia.
He did have a history of sleepwalking
and his defense team, which included sleep experts and
psychiatrists, concluded
that he was indeed unaware of his actions at the time of the
crime.
He was acquitted (Denno, 2002; Martin, 2004).

 Scott Falater case

Scott Falater, 43 years old, was accused of
murdering his wife in 1997. Scott holding his
wifes head under water in the swimming pool.
He called the police, who found a bloody pool
and the body of Yamila Falater with 44 stab
wounds.
But Falater claimed to be sleepwalking during all of
these actions.
Although sleep experts for the defense stated
that Falaters story was possible, the prosecution
pointed to marital troubles as motive.
Most damaging to his case was the witness who
stated that 3 weeks before the murder,
Falater had been discussing the case of Kenneth
Parks and Parkss acquittal for murder based on
a sleepwalking defense.
The jury found Falater guilty of murder in the first
degree and he was given a life sentence.

Sleep Disorders
Brian Thomas case
In July of 2008 Brian Thomas of South
Wales in Great Britain, a devoted
husband and father of two children,
killed his wife while dreaming of
intruders breaking into their camper.
Thomas had a history of sleepwalking
and normally slept apart from his wife.
Experts found that he suffered from
night terrors,
and he was acquitted of her murder by
reason of temporary insanity (Morris,
2009)

3. Insomnia: the inability to get to sleep, stay

asleep, or get a good quality of sleep
Sleep apnea: disorder in which the person stops
breathing for nearly half a minute or more
4. Apnea is a serious problem. Not only does it
disturb nightly sleep, making the
person excessively sleepy in the daytime,
but also it can cause heart problems

Obesity is a primary cause of apnea and blocked

airways
5. Narcolepsy: person falls immediately into REM
sleep
during the day at inappropriate times and places
without warning, especially when the person
experiences strong emotions
It is a kind of sleep seizure.
The operation of a car or other machinery very
dangerous for the narcoleptic

Dreams
Freuds book : The Interpretation of Dreams
(1900)
He believed that one of the ways to uncover
early memories or unconsciousness was to
examine the dreams of his patients,
dreams as wish fulfillment;
believing that conflicts, events, and desires
of the past would be represented in
symbolic form in the dreams.
MANIFEST CONTENT The manifest
content of a dream is the actual dream
itself.
Example: trying to climb out of a
bathtub, the manifest content of the
dream is exactly thathes trying to
climb out of a bathtub.

Dreams
LATENT CONTENT Freud
would find more meaning in
the dream than is at first
evident.
He believed that the true
meaning of a dream was
hidden, or latent, and only
expressed in symbols.
Example: the water in the tub
might symbolize the waters of
birth, and the tub itself might
be his mothers womb. Using
a Freudian interpretation, it
may be dreaming about
being born.
Exactly how the dream is
interpreted depends on the
other features of the dream
and what is happening in
the persons waking life.

Using brain-imaging techniques such as a

PET scan, researchers have found
evidence that dreams are products of
activity in the pons.

This lower area sends random signals to

the association areas of the cortex
interpret those signals as seeing,
hearing, and so on.

Because those signals come from the real

world, this process results in an
experience of reality.

But when people are asleep, the signals

from the brain stem are random and not
necessarily attached to actual external
stimuli, yet the brain must somehow
interpret these random signals.

It synthesizes (puts together) an

explanation of the cortexs activation
from memories and other stored
information.

In this theory, called the activationsynthesis hypothesis,

a dream is merely another kind of
thinking that occurs when people sleep.
It is less realistic because it
comes not from the outside world of
reality
but from within peoples memories and
experiences of the past.

The frontal lobes, which people normally

use in daytime thinking, are more or less
shut down during dreaming,
which may also account for the unrealistic
and often bizarre nature of dreams.

Figure 4.4 The Brain and Activation-Synthesis Theory

According to the activation-synthesis theory of dreaming, the pons in the brainstem sends
random signals to the upper part of the brain during REM sleep. These random signals pass
through the thalamus, which sends the signals to the proper sensory areas of the cortex.
Once in the cortex, the association areas of the cortex respond to the random activation of
these cortical cells by synthesizing (making up) a story, or dream, using bits and pieces of
life experiences and memories

 Activation-information-mode model (AIM)

concerns about dream meaning, calling it the activation-informationmode model, or AIM (Hobson et al., 2000).
revised version of the activation-synthesis explanation of dreams
information that is accessed during waking hours can have an
influence on the synthesis of dreams

In other words, when the brain is making up a dream to explain its

own activation,
it uses meaningful bits and pieces of the persons experiences from the
previous day
or the last few days
rather than just random items from memory.

Learning Objectives
4.6 How does hypnosis affect consciousness?
4.7 What is the difference between a physical
dependence and a psychological dependence
on a drug?
4.8 How do stimulants and depressants affect
consciousness and what are the dangers
associated with taking them, particularly
alcohol?
4.9 What are some of the effects and dangers of
using hallucinogens, including marijuana?
4.10How can the workings of our consciousness
explain supernatural visitations?

Hypnosis
Hypnosis: state of consciousness
in which the person is especially
susceptible to suggestion
Trance: a half-conscious state
characterized by an absence of
response to external stimuli,
hypnotic suggestion one imparted/
communicated to a
person in the hypnotic state.
posthypnotic suggestion
implantation in the mind of a subject
a suggestion to be acted upon after
recovery from the hypnotic state.

Hypnosis
Four elements of hypnosis:
1. hypnotist tells the person to focus on what is
being said
2. person is told to relax and feel tired
3. hypnotist tells the person to let go and accept
suggestions easily
4. person is told to use vivid imagination

Hypnotic susceptibility: degree to which a

person is a good hypnotic subject

Theories of Hypnosis

HYPNOSIS AS DISSOCIATION:

THE HIDDEN OBSERVER Ernest Hilgard (1991; Hilgard & Hilgard,

1994) believed that hypnosis worked only on the immediate
conscious mind of a person, while a part of that persons mind (a
hidden observer) remained aware of all that was going on.

Its the same kind of dissociation that takes place when people drive
somewhere familiar and then wonder how they got there.

One part of the mind, the conscious part, is thinking about dinner or
a date or something else, while the other part is doing the actual
driving.

In the same way, Hilgard believes that there is a hidden part of the
mind that is very much aware of the hypnotic subjects activities and
sensations, even though the hypnotized part of the mind is
blissfully unaware of these same things.

Theories of Hypnosis

HYPNOSIS AS SOCIAL ROLE-PLAYING: THE SOCIAL-COGNITIVE

EXPLANATION

The researchers found that participants who were not familiar with hypnosis,
and had no idea what the role of a hypnotic subject was supposed to be,
could not be hypnotized.

Add to those findings the later findings of Kirsch (2000) that expectancies of
the hypnotized person play a big part in how the person responds and what
the person does under hypnosis.

The social-cognitive theory of hypnosis assumes that people who are

hypnotized are not in an altered state but are merely playing the role expected
of them in the situation.

They might believe that they are hypnotized, but in fact it is all a very good
performance, so good that even the participants are unaware that they are
role-playing.

Social roles are very powerful influences on behavior, as anyone who has
ever worn a uniform can understandthe uniform stands for a particular role
that becomes very easy to play (Zimbardo, 1970; Zimbardo et al., 2000)

Psychoactive Drugs

Psychoactive drugs: drugs that alter

thinking, perception, and memory

Physical dependence
tolerance: more and more of the drug is
needed to achieve the same effect
withdrawal: physical symptoms resulting
from a lack of an addictive drug in the
body systems
can include nausea, pain, tremors,
crankiness, and high blood pressure ,
tremor
Psychological dependence: the feeling
that a drug is needed to continue a feeling
of emotional or psychological well-being

Stimulants
Stimulants: drugs that increase the
functioning of the nervous system
amphetamines: drugs that are
synthesized (made in labs) rather
than found in nature
cocaine: natural drug; produces
euphoria, energy, power, and
pleasure
nicotine: active ingredient in tobacco
caffeine: the stimulant found in
coffee, tea, most sodas, chocolate,
and even many over-the-counter
drugs

Depressants
Depressants: drugs
that decrease the
functioning of the
nervous system
barbiturates: depressant
drugs that have a
sedative effect
benzodiazepines: drugs
that lower anxiety and
reduce stress

Rohypnol: the date rape drug Rohypnol (roh-HIPnol). Rohypnol is the trade name for flunitrazepam
(FLOO-neye-TRAZ-uh-pam).

Abuse of two similar drugs appears to have replaced

Rohypnol abuse in some parts of the United States.
These are: clonazepam (marketed as Klonopin in the
U.S.and Rivotril in Mexico) and alprazolam (marketed
as Xanax). Rohypnol is also known as:

Circles
Forget Pill
LA Rochas
Lunch Money
Mexican Valium
Mind Erasers
Poor Man's Quaalude
R-2
Rib
Roach

Alcohol
Alcohol:
the chemical resulting
from fermentation or
distillation of various
kinds of vegetable matter
often mistaken for a
stimulant, alcohol is
actually a CNS depressant
Stumble and stagger
Unable to speak and walk

Narcotics
Narcotics
opium-related drugs
suppress the sensation of pain
by binding to and stimulating the
nervous systems natural
receptor sites for endorphins.
opium: substance made from the
opium poppy and from which all
narcotic drugs are derived
morphine: narcotic drug derived
from opium; used to treat severe
pain
heroin: narcotic drug derived from
opium that is extremely addictive

Hallucinogens
Psychogenic Drugs
drugs including hallucinogens and marijuana
that produce hallucinations or increased
feelings of relaxation and intoxication
hallucinogens: drugs that cause false sensory
messages, altering the perception of reality
LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide): powerful
synthetic hallucinogen
PCP( phencyclidine): synthesized drug now
used as an animal tranquilizer that can cause
stimulant, depressant, narcotic, or hallucinogenic
effects
MDMA (methylene-dioxy-meth-amphetamine
) (Ecstasy or X):
designer drug that can have both stimulant and
hallucinatory effects

Stimulatory hallucinogenics: drugs that produce a

mixture of psychomotor stimulant and
hallucinogenic effects

Marijuana
marijuana (pot or
weed):
mild hallucinogen
derived from the
leaves and flowers
of a particular type
of hemp plant

Hallucinations
Hypnogogic hallucination: hallucination
that can occur just as a person is entering
N1 sleep
Hypnopompic hallucination:
hallucination that happens just as a
person is in the between-state of being in
REM sleep (in which the voluntary
muscles are paralyzed) and not yet fully
awake