Chapter 9 States of Consciousness purple – 5 steps to a 5 Some are mixed in between from
Myer’s red – Barron's
*Overview:
Attention
▫ is a state of focused awareness
★ What you pay attention to is what you process into perceptions, thoughts, and
experiences.
Consciousness
▫ is your awareness of the outside world and yourself, including your own:
o mental processes
o thoughts
o feelings
o and perceptions.
▫ Your consciousness is:
o selective
o subjective
o and unique to you:
▪ always changing
▪ and central to your sense of self
→ In the late 1800s, early structuralists like Wilhelm Wundt, followed by Edward
Titchener, examined consciousness in order to learn about the structure of the mind. →
And functionalists like William James considered consciousness as essential for
adapting to the environment.
o During the first half of the 1900s, behaviorists discounted and ignored
consciousness.
o By the 1950s, cognitive psychologists returned to the examination of
consciousness, especially the phenomenon of attention.
▪ Currently, consciousness is becoming a more sophisticated brain imaging
tool and an increased emphasis on cognitive psychology.
A historical discussion about consciousness centers on the competing philosophical theories
of: A. dualism
• Dualists believe humans and the universe in general consists of 2 materials: ▪
thought
o is a nonmaterial aspect that arises from (but is in some way
independent of) brain
▪ matter
o is everything that has substance
, • Dualists agree that thought given humans free will
→ Some philosophers maintain that though is eternal and continues existing
after the brain and body die
B. monism
• Monists disagree w/ dualists, and believe:
▪ everything is the same substance
▪ and thought and matter are aspects of the same substance
• Monists believe that thought is a by-product of the brain processes and stops
existing WHEN body dies
✓ This debate between the Dualists and Monists is a philosophical debate, NOT a
scientific one.
o However, psychologists use research to describe some of the processes or
elements of consciousness through:
▪ experiments
▪ and theories/hypotheses
★ Psychologists define consciousness as our level of awareness about ourselves and
our environment
→ We are conscious to the degree we are aware of what is going on inside
and outside ourselves
TIP:
❑ This psychological definition (above after a ‘star’) implies that consciousness is not like
an on/off switch. We are not conscious or unconscious. Psychologists refer to different
levels and different states of consciousness.
______________________________________________________________________________
*Levels of Consciousness
Mere-exposure effect
▫ psychological phenomenon by which people tend to develop a preference for things
merely because they are familiar with them.
▫ For example:
o Let’s say a researcher shows a group of research participants a list of nonsense
terms for a short period of time. Later, the same group is shown another list of
terms and asked which terms they prefer or like best.
o The mere-exposure effect predicts that the group will choose the terms they saw
previously, even though the group could not recall the first list of nonsense terms
if asked. On some level, the group knows the first list.
Priming
▫ occurs whenever exposure to one thing can later alter behavior or thoughts. ▫ For
example, if a child sees a bag of candy next to a red bench, they might begin looking for or
thinking about candy the next time they see a bench.
,Blindsight
▫ is a phenomenon in which patients with damage in the primary visual cortex of the brain
can tell where an object is although they claim they cannot see it.
▫ For example:
o Some people who report being blind can nonetheless accurately describe the path
of a moving object or accurately grasp objects they say they cannot see!
o One level of their consciousness is not getting any visual information, while
another level is able to “see” as demonstrated by their behavior.
→ The concept of consciousness consisting of different levels or layers is well established.
→ Not all researchers agree about what the specific levels are, but some of the possible
types offered by researchers are shown in the following.
Level of Description
Consciousness
Conscious The information about yourself and your environment you are
Level currently aware of.
e.g.: Your conscious level right now is probably focusing on these
words and their meanings.
Nonconscio Body processes controlled by your mind that we are not usually (or
us Level ever) aware of.
e.g.: Right now, your nonconscious is controlling your heartbeat,
respiration, digestion, and so on.
Preconscio Information about yourself or your environment that you are not currently
us Level thinking about (not in your conscious level) but you could be. e.g.: If I
asked you to remember your favorite toy as a child, you could bring that
preconscious memory into your conscious level.
Subconscio Information that we are not consciously aware of but we know must exist
us Level due to behavior. The behaviors demonstrated in examples of priming and
mere-exposure effect suggest some information that we are not
consciously aware of but we know must exist due to behavior. The
behaviors demonstrated in examples of priming and mere-exposure
effect suggest some information is accessible to this level of
consciousness but not to our conscious level.
Unconscio Psychoanalytic psychologists believe some events and feelings are
us Level unacceptable to our conscious mind and are repressed into the
unconscious mind. Many psychologists object to this concept as difficult
or impossible to prove.
, Dual processing
▫ refers to processing information on conscious and unconscious levels at the same time.
TIP: Don’t confuse the unconscious and unconsciousness:
Unconsciousness
▫ is characterized by loss of responsiveness to the environment, resulting from:
o disease
o trauma
o or anesthesia
Consciousness
▫ enables you to:
o analyze
o compare
o and interpret experiences
o and allows you to integrate:
▪ what you already know
▪ what you perceive in the present
▪ and what you anticipate.
▫ can be altered by:
o sleep
o hypnosis
o meditation
o and drugs
____________________________________________________________________________
_ *Sleep
To a psychologist, referring to being asleep as being unconscious is INCORRECT !!!
→ Sleep is one of the states of consciousness.
TIP:
→ According to the psychological definition of consciousness, sleep is a state of
consciousness because, while we are asleep, we are less aware of ourselves and our
environment than we are when we are in our normal awake state.
→ Other states of consciousness—drug-induced states, hypnosis, and so on—are states of
consciousness for similar reasons.
*Sleep Cycle
Circadian rhythm
▫ are the cycles that tell the body when to sleep, wake, and eat
▫ the biological and psychological processes that oscillate in predictable patterns each day
Myer’s red – Barron's
*Overview:
Attention
▫ is a state of focused awareness
★ What you pay attention to is what you process into perceptions, thoughts, and
experiences.
Consciousness
▫ is your awareness of the outside world and yourself, including your own:
o mental processes
o thoughts
o feelings
o and perceptions.
▫ Your consciousness is:
o selective
o subjective
o and unique to you:
▪ always changing
▪ and central to your sense of self
→ In the late 1800s, early structuralists like Wilhelm Wundt, followed by Edward
Titchener, examined consciousness in order to learn about the structure of the mind. →
And functionalists like William James considered consciousness as essential for
adapting to the environment.
o During the first half of the 1900s, behaviorists discounted and ignored
consciousness.
o By the 1950s, cognitive psychologists returned to the examination of
consciousness, especially the phenomenon of attention.
▪ Currently, consciousness is becoming a more sophisticated brain imaging
tool and an increased emphasis on cognitive psychology.
A historical discussion about consciousness centers on the competing philosophical theories
of: A. dualism
• Dualists believe humans and the universe in general consists of 2 materials: ▪
thought
o is a nonmaterial aspect that arises from (but is in some way
independent of) brain
▪ matter
o is everything that has substance
, • Dualists agree that thought given humans free will
→ Some philosophers maintain that though is eternal and continues existing
after the brain and body die
B. monism
• Monists disagree w/ dualists, and believe:
▪ everything is the same substance
▪ and thought and matter are aspects of the same substance
• Monists believe that thought is a by-product of the brain processes and stops
existing WHEN body dies
✓ This debate between the Dualists and Monists is a philosophical debate, NOT a
scientific one.
o However, psychologists use research to describe some of the processes or
elements of consciousness through:
▪ experiments
▪ and theories/hypotheses
★ Psychologists define consciousness as our level of awareness about ourselves and
our environment
→ We are conscious to the degree we are aware of what is going on inside
and outside ourselves
TIP:
❑ This psychological definition (above after a ‘star’) implies that consciousness is not like
an on/off switch. We are not conscious or unconscious. Psychologists refer to different
levels and different states of consciousness.
______________________________________________________________________________
*Levels of Consciousness
Mere-exposure effect
▫ psychological phenomenon by which people tend to develop a preference for things
merely because they are familiar with them.
▫ For example:
o Let’s say a researcher shows a group of research participants a list of nonsense
terms for a short period of time. Later, the same group is shown another list of
terms and asked which terms they prefer or like best.
o The mere-exposure effect predicts that the group will choose the terms they saw
previously, even though the group could not recall the first list of nonsense terms
if asked. On some level, the group knows the first list.
Priming
▫ occurs whenever exposure to one thing can later alter behavior or thoughts. ▫ For
example, if a child sees a bag of candy next to a red bench, they might begin looking for or
thinking about candy the next time they see a bench.
,Blindsight
▫ is a phenomenon in which patients with damage in the primary visual cortex of the brain
can tell where an object is although they claim they cannot see it.
▫ For example:
o Some people who report being blind can nonetheless accurately describe the path
of a moving object or accurately grasp objects they say they cannot see!
o One level of their consciousness is not getting any visual information, while
another level is able to “see” as demonstrated by their behavior.
→ The concept of consciousness consisting of different levels or layers is well established.
→ Not all researchers agree about what the specific levels are, but some of the possible
types offered by researchers are shown in the following.
Level of Description
Consciousness
Conscious The information about yourself and your environment you are
Level currently aware of.
e.g.: Your conscious level right now is probably focusing on these
words and their meanings.
Nonconscio Body processes controlled by your mind that we are not usually (or
us Level ever) aware of.
e.g.: Right now, your nonconscious is controlling your heartbeat,
respiration, digestion, and so on.
Preconscio Information about yourself or your environment that you are not currently
us Level thinking about (not in your conscious level) but you could be. e.g.: If I
asked you to remember your favorite toy as a child, you could bring that
preconscious memory into your conscious level.
Subconscio Information that we are not consciously aware of but we know must exist
us Level due to behavior. The behaviors demonstrated in examples of priming and
mere-exposure effect suggest some information that we are not
consciously aware of but we know must exist due to behavior. The
behaviors demonstrated in examples of priming and mere-exposure
effect suggest some information is accessible to this level of
consciousness but not to our conscious level.
Unconscio Psychoanalytic psychologists believe some events and feelings are
us Level unacceptable to our conscious mind and are repressed into the
unconscious mind. Many psychologists object to this concept as difficult
or impossible to prove.
, Dual processing
▫ refers to processing information on conscious and unconscious levels at the same time.
TIP: Don’t confuse the unconscious and unconsciousness:
Unconsciousness
▫ is characterized by loss of responsiveness to the environment, resulting from:
o disease
o trauma
o or anesthesia
Consciousness
▫ enables you to:
o analyze
o compare
o and interpret experiences
o and allows you to integrate:
▪ what you already know
▪ what you perceive in the present
▪ and what you anticipate.
▫ can be altered by:
o sleep
o hypnosis
o meditation
o and drugs
____________________________________________________________________________
_ *Sleep
To a psychologist, referring to being asleep as being unconscious is INCORRECT !!!
→ Sleep is one of the states of consciousness.
TIP:
→ According to the psychological definition of consciousness, sleep is a state of
consciousness because, while we are asleep, we are less aware of ourselves and our
environment than we are when we are in our normal awake state.
→ Other states of consciousness—drug-induced states, hypnosis, and so on—are states of
consciousness for similar reasons.
*Sleep Cycle
Circadian rhythm
▫ are the cycles that tell the body when to sleep, wake, and eat
▫ the biological and psychological processes that oscillate in predictable patterns each day
