Gen Psych: Chapter 4: Consciousness

Front 1

Consciousness

Back 1

The awareness of the sensations, thoughts, and feelings being experienced at a given moment. (Consciousness is our subjective understanding of both the environment around us and our private internal world, unobservable to others).

Front 2

Waking Consciousness

Back 2

The state of consciousness in which we are awake and aware of our thoughts, emotions, and perceptions.

Front 3

Altered states of consciousness

Back 3

Any state of consciousness other than that of waking consciousness.

Front 4

Stage 1 sleep

Back 4

The state of transition between wakefulness and sleep characterized by relatively rapid, low-amplitude brain waves.

Front 5

Stage 2 sleep

Back 5

A sleep deeper than that of stage 1, characterized by a slower, more regular wave pattern, along with momentary interruptions of "sleep spindles."

Front 6

Stage 3 sleep

Back 6

A sleep characterized by slow brain waves, with greater peaks and valleys in the wave pattern than in stage 2 sleep.

Front 7

Stage 4 sleep

Back 7

The deepest stage of sleep, during which we are least responsive to outside stimulation.

Front 8

Brain wave height =

Back 8

Brain wave amplitude =

Front 9

Brain wave speed =

Back 9

Brain wave frequency =

Front 10

REM

Back 10

Rapid Eye Movement

Front 11

Sleep spindles

Back 11

Sharply pointed, spiky brain waves which are seen in stage 2 sleep.

Front 12

REM sleep

Back 12

Sleep occupying 20% of an adult's sleeping time, characterized by increased heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate; erections; eye movements; and the experience of dreaming.

Front 13

NREM sleep means

Back 13

non-REM sleep.

Front 14

Stages 1-4 of sleep are collectively labeled what?

Back 14

NREM sleep.

Front 15

Dreams are experienced...

Back 15

...by EVERYONE during some part of their night's sleep.

Front 16

During REM sleep...

Back 16

...1) the major muscles of the body appear to be paralyzed. 2) dreams are most likely to occur.

Front 17

Rebound effect

Back 17

What happens when one is deprived of REM sleep and, upon being allowed REM sleep, spends greater than usual amounts of time in REM sleep.

Front 18

Monoamines

Back 18

A type of neurotransmitters.

Front 19

Sleep time requirements...

Back 19

...can vary over the course of a lifetime. (As people age, they generally need less and less sleep).

Front 20

Nightmares

Back 20

Unusually frightening dreams.

Front 21

Unconscious wish fulfillment theory.

Back 21

Sigmund Freud's theory that dreams represent unconscious wishes that dreamers desire to be fulfilled.

Front 22

Latent content of dreams

Back 22

According to Freud, the "disguised" meanings of dreams, hidden by more obvious subjects.

Front 23

Manifest content of dreams.

Back 23

According to Freud, the apparent story line of dreams.

Front 24

Dreams-for-survival theory

Back 24

The theory suggesting that dreams permit information that is critical for our daily survival to be reconsidered and reprocessed during sleep.

Front 25

Activation-synthesis theory

Back 25

Hobson's theory that the brain produces random electrical energy during REM sleep that stimulates memories lodged in various portions of the brain.

Front 26

Insomnia

Back 26

Difficulty sleeping.

Front 27

Sleep apnea

Back 27

A condition in which a person has difficulty breathing while sleeping.

Front 28

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

Back 28

A mysterious killer of seemingly normal infants who die while sleeping.

Front 29

Night terrors

Back 29

Sudden awakenings from non-REM sleep that are accompanied by extreme fear, panic, and strong physiological arousal. (usually occur during stage 4 sleep and may cause the sleeper to awaken with a shriek).

Front 30

Narcolepsy

Back 30

Uncontrollable sleeping that occurs for short periods while a person is awake.

Front 31

Sleepwalking and sleeptalking occur during...

Back 31

...stage 4 sleep.

Front 32

Circadian rhythms

Back 32

Biological processes that occur regularly on approximately a 24-hour cycle.

Front 33

Bodily functions that follow a circadian rhythm.

Back 33

1) sleeping.
2) walking.
3) body temperature.
4) hormone production.
5) blood pressure.

Front 34

The brain's suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) ...

Back 34

... controls circadian rhythms.

Front 35

Seasonal affective disorder

Back 35

A form of severe depression in which feelings of despair and hopelessness increase during the winter and lift during the rest of the year.

Front 36

Daydreams

Back 36

Fantasies that people construct while awake.

Front 37

6 suggestions to avoid insomnia.

Back 37

1) Exercise during the day (at least six hours before bedtime) and avoid naps.
2) Choose a regular bedtime and stick to it.
3) Avoid drinks with caffeine after lunch.
4) Drink a glass of warm milk at bedtime.
5) Avoid sleeping pills.
6) Try NOT to sleep.

Front 38

Daydream content...

Back 38

...is often more closely related to immediate events in the environment because people construct them while awake.

Front 39

Hypnosis

Back 39

A trance-like state of heightened susceptibility to the suggestions of others.

Front 40

Is hypnosis an altered state of consciousness?

Back 40

This is a key debate in psychology which is based on the following evidences for both sides.
Yes-for 4 reasons.
1) high suggestibility.
2) increased ability to recall and construct images.
3) acceptance of suggestions that clearly contradict reality.
4) changes in electrical activity in the brain are associated with hypnosis.
No-for 2 reasons.
1) altered brain-wave patterns are not sufficient to demonstrate a qualitative difference because no other physiological changes occur during a trance.
2) little support exists for the contention that adults can better recall childhood events with accuracy while in a trance.

Front 41

Hypnosis has been applied in the following 5 areas.

Back 41

1) controlling pain.
2) reducing smoking.
3) treating psychological
4) assisting in law enforcement.
5) Improving athletic performance.

Front 42

Mediation

Back 42

A learned technique for refocusing attention that brings about an altered state of consciousness.

Front 43

Mantra

Back 43

A form of meditation in which a sound, word, or syllable repeated over and over.

Front 44

Types of meditation.

Back 44

1) mantra
2) picture
3) flame
4) specific part of the body

Front 45

All forms of meditation are...

Back 45

...designed to bring about an altered state of consciousness in which attention is refocused.

Front 46

Ineffability

Back 46

The inability to understand an experience rationally or describe it in words.