Psy102 - Unit 5 (Consciousness)

Front 1

Sleep Paralysis

Back 1

State of being unable to move just after falling asleep or right before waking up.

Front 2

Consciousness

Back 2

Our subjective experience of the world, our bodies, and our mental perspectives.

Front 3

Circadian Rhythm

Back 3

Cyclical changes that occur on a roughly 24-hour basis in many biological processes.

Front 4

Biological Clock

Back 4

Term for the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the hypothalamus that's responsible for controlling our levels of alertness.

Front 5

Rapid Eye Movements

Back 5

Darting of the eyes underneath the closed eyelids during sleep.

Front 6

Non-REM (NREM) Sleep

Back 6

Stages 1 through 4 of the sleep cycle, during which eye movements do not occur and dreaming is less frequent and vivid.

Front 7

REM Sleep

Back 7

Stage of sleep during which the brain is most active and during which vivid dreaming most often occurs.

Front 8

Lucid Dreaming

Back 8

Experience of becoming aware that one is dreaming.

Front 9

Insomnia

Back 9

Difficulty falling and staying asleep.

Front 10

Restless Legs Syndrome

Back 10

Urge to move our legs or other body parts, often while attempting to sleep.

Front 11

Narcolepsy

Back 11

Disorder characterized by the rapid and often unexpected onset of sleep.

Front 12

Sleep Apnea

Back 12

Disorder caused by a blockage of the airway during sleep, resulting in daytime fatigue.

Front 13

Night Terrors

Back 13

Sudden waking episodes characterized by screaming, perspiring, and confusion followed by a return to a deep sleep.

Front 14

Sleepwalking

Back 14

Walking while fully asleep.

Front 15

Activation-Synthesis Theory

Back 15

Theory that dreams reflect inputs from brain activation originating in the pons, which the forebrain then attempts to weave into a story.

Front 16

Out-Of-Body Experience (OBE)

Back 16

Sense of our consciousness leaving our body.

Front 17

Near-Death Experiences (NDE)

Back 17

Out-of-body experiences reported by people who've nearly died or thought they were going to die.

Front 18

Deja Vu

Back 18

Feeling of reliving an experience that's new.

Front 19

Mystical Experience

Back 19

Feelings of unity or oneness with the world.

Front 20

Meditation

Back 20

Set of ritualized practices that train attention and awareness.

Front 21

Hypnosis

Back 21

Set of techniques that provides people with suggestions for alterations in their perceptions, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

Front 22

Past Life Regression Therapy

Back 22

Therapeutic approach that hypnotizes and supposedly age-regresses patients back to a previous life to identify the source of a present-day problem.

Front 23

Sociocognitive Theory

Back 23

Approach to hypnosis based on people's attitudes, beliefs, and expectations.

Front 24

Dissociation Theory

Back 24

Approach to explaining hypnosis based on a separation between personality functions that are normally well integrated.

Front 25

Psychoactive Drugs

Back 25

Chemicals similar to those found naturally in our brains that alter consciousness by changing cheical processes in neurons.

Front 26

Sedative

Back 26

Drug that exerts a calming effect.

Front 27

Hypnotic

Back 27

Drug that exerts a sleep-inducing effect.

Front 28

Tolerance

Back 28

Reduction in the effect of a drug as a result of repeated use, requiring users to consume greater quantities to achieve the same effect.

Front 29

Withdrawal

Back 29

Unpleasant effects of reducing or stopping consumption of a drug that users had consumed habitually.

Front 30

Delirium

Back 30

Disorientation, confusion, visual hallucinations, and memory problems, sometimes resulting from alcohol withdrawal.

Front 31

Alcohol Hallucinosis

Back 31

Auditory hallucinations, sometimes accompanied by paranoid beliefs, resulting from alcohol withdrawal.

Front 32

Stimulants

Back 32

Drugs that increase activity in the central nervous system, including heart rate, respiration, and blood pressure.

Front 33

Narcotics

Back 33

Drugs that relieve pain and induce sleep.

Front 34

Hallucinogenic

Back 34

Causing dramatic alterations of perception, mood, and thought.

Front 35

Identify the different stages of sleep and the neural activity and dreaming behaviours that occur in each.

Back 35

Sleep and wakefulness vary in response to a circadian rhythm that regulates many bodily processes over a 24-hour period. The "biological clock" is located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus in the hypothalamus. In the 1950's, researchers identified five stages of sleep that include periods of dreaming in which subjects' eyes move rapidly back and forth (rapid eye movement, or REM, sleep). Although vivid, bizarre, and emotional dreams are most likely to occur in REM sleep, dreams occur in non-REM sleep as well. In stage 1 sleep, we feel drowsy and quickly transition to stage 2 sleep in which our brain waves slow down, heart rate slows, body temperature decreases, and muscles relax. In stages 3 and 4 ("deep") sleep, large amplitude delta waves (1 or 2 cycles/second) become more frequent. In stage 5, REM sleep, the brain is activated much as it is during everyday life.

Front 36

Identify the features and causes of sleep disorders.

Back 36

Insomnia (problems falling asleep, waking in the night, or waking early) is the most common sleep disorder and is costly to society in terms of fatigue, missed work, and accidents. Restless legs can also cause insomnia. Episodes of narcolepsy, which can last as long as an hour, are marked by the rapid onset of sleep. Sleep apnea is also related to daytime fatigue and is caused by a blockage of the airways during sleep. Night terrors and sleepwalking, both associated with deep sleep, are typically harmless, and in both conditions the person doesn't remember their occurrence the next day.

Front 37

Determine how Freud's theory of dreams relates to research evidence on dreaming.

Back 37

Freud theorized that dreams represent disguised wishes. However many dreams involve unpleasant or undesirable experiences, and many involve uninteresting reviews of routine daily events. Thus, Freud's dream theory hasn't received much empirical support.

Front 38

Explain how theories of brain activation attempt to account for dreaming.

Back 38

According to activation synthesis theory, the forebrain attempts to interpret nonsensical signals from the brain stem (specifically, the pons). Another theory of dreaming suggests that reduction of activity in the prefrontal cortex results in vivid, and emotion, but logically disjointed, dreams. Neurocognitive theories hold that our dreams depend in large part on who we are, so that dreams vary depending on our cognitive and visuospatial abilities.

Front 39

Determine how scientists explain seemingly "mystical" alterations in consciousness.

Back 39

Hallucinations and mystical experiences are associated with fasting, sensory deprivation, hallucinogenic drugs, and prayer and, like near-death experiences, vary considerably in content across cultures. During out-of-body experiences, people's consciousness does not actually exit their bodies, and some NDEs are experienced by people who aren't near death. Deja vu experiences don't represent a memory from a past life, but may be triggered by small seizures in the temporal lobe or unconscious information processing.

Front 40

Evaluate the benefits of meditation.

Back 40

Although proponents have attributed many positive effects to meditation, it is unclear whether meditation qields benefits above and beyond relaxation and whether expectancies can account for its effects.

Front 41

Distinguish myths from realities concerning hypnosis.

Back 41

Contrary to popular belief, hypnosis is not a sleeplike state, subjects generally do not report having been in a "trance," people are aware of their surroundings and don't forget what happened during hypnosis, the type of induction has little impact, and hypnosis doesn't improve memory. In fact, hypnosis can lead to more false memories and inflated confidence in memories, regardless of their accuracy. According to the sociocognitive model of hypnosis, the often dramatic effects associated with hypnosis may be attributable largely to preexisting expectations and beliefs about hypnosis. Dissociation theory (Hilgard, 1986) is another influential theory of hypnosis. This theory exphasizes divisions of consciousness during hypnosis.

Front 42

Distinguish different types of drugs and their effectrs on consciousness.

Back 42

The effects of drugs are associated with the dose of the drug, as well as with users' expectancies, personality, and culture. Nicotine, a powerful stimulant drug, is responsible for the effects of tobacco on consciousness. Smokers often report feeling stimulated as well as tranquil, relaxed and alert. Cocaine is highly addictive. Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant, like the sedative-hypnotic drugs such as Valium. Sedative-hypnotic drugs reduce anxiety at low doses and induce sleep at moderate doses. Expectancies play a key role in determining how people react to alcohol. Heroin and other opiates are highly addictive. Heroin withdrawal symptoms range from mild to severe. The effects of marijuana, sometimes classified as a mild hallucinogen, include mood changes, alterations in perception, and disturbances in short-term memory. LSD is an incredibly potent hallucinogen. Although flashbacks are rare, LSD can elicit a wide range of positive and negative reactions.