Module 2 Study Guide- States of Consciousness and
Learning
States of Consciousness
• Sleep theories
o Evolutionary psychology and sleep
§ Hypotheses
§ Sleep is essential to restore resources expended throughout
the day (little evidence that supports this)
§ Our sleep patterns evolve as an adaptive response to
predatory risk, which increases in the darkness
o Cognitive function of sleep
§ Sleep’s importance for cognitive function and memory formation
§ Increased capacity for creative thinking, language learning, and
influential judgments, and processing of emotional information
• Sleep disorders
o Parasomnias
§ Unwanted, disruptive motor activity/experiences during sleep play a
role, REM or NREM
o Sleepwalking
§ Sleeper engages in relatively complex behaviors ranging from
wandering about to driving a vehicle, unresponsive, slow wave
sleep or any other time
o REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD)
§ muscle paralysis associated with the REM sleep phase doesn’t
occur. High levels of physical activity
o Restless leg syndrome-
§ A sensation in the legs during periods of inactivity or when trying to
fall asleep
o Night terrors
§ Result in sense of panic and often accompanied by screams and
attempts to escape the immediate environment
o Insomnia
§ Consistently difficult falling or staying asleep
o Sleep Apnea
§ Episodes during which a sleeper’s breathing stops
§ Obstructive and central sleep apnea
o SIDS
§ Sudden infant death syndrome
§ Infant stops breathing in sleep and dies
o Narcolepsy
, § Cant resist falling asleep at inopportune times
§ Often associated with cataplexy- muscle weakness
• Dream theories
o Threat-simulation theory- dreaming should be seen as an ancient
biological defense mechanism, thought to provide an evolutionary
advantage because of its capacity to repeatedly simulate potential
threatening events
o Expectation-fulfillment theory
§ Serves to discharge emotional arousals that haven’t been
expressed throughout the day, frees up brain space to deal and
allows instinctive urges to stay intact expectation is “fulfilled” in a
metaphorical form, which explains why dreams are usually
forgotten
o Continual activation theory
§ Dreaming is a result of brain activation and synthesis, sleep’s
function is to process, encode, and transfer data from short-term to
long-term through consolidation
• Culture and altered states (lecture)
o Altered state of consciousness
§ A change in awareness produced by sleep, meditation, hypnosis, or
drugs
o Religious and Cultural Traditions
§ Often have supernatural explanations for altered states of
consciousness
§ Many have rituals that intentionally induce altered states of
consciousness
§ Peyote, ayahuasca
o Meditation
§ Blocks out distractions and achieve an altered state of
consciousness
§ Focus attention on an object, word, breathing, or body movement
o Hypnosis
§ Procedure through which a hypnotist uses suggestions to change
thoughts, feelings, sensations, perceptions, or behavior in the
subject
§ Deep relaxation
§ Some people cant be
§ Used in medicine, dentistry, psychiatry
§ Surgical pain management
§ Good for trauma
o
• Circadian rhythms and disruption of circadian rhythms
o Two important circadian rhythms
§ Body temp, sleep best at lower body temp, most alert when at daily
high point
o Disruptions
Learning
States of Consciousness
• Sleep theories
o Evolutionary psychology and sleep
§ Hypotheses
§ Sleep is essential to restore resources expended throughout
the day (little evidence that supports this)
§ Our sleep patterns evolve as an adaptive response to
predatory risk, which increases in the darkness
o Cognitive function of sleep
§ Sleep’s importance for cognitive function and memory formation
§ Increased capacity for creative thinking, language learning, and
influential judgments, and processing of emotional information
• Sleep disorders
o Parasomnias
§ Unwanted, disruptive motor activity/experiences during sleep play a
role, REM or NREM
o Sleepwalking
§ Sleeper engages in relatively complex behaviors ranging from
wandering about to driving a vehicle, unresponsive, slow wave
sleep or any other time
o REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD)
§ muscle paralysis associated with the REM sleep phase doesn’t
occur. High levels of physical activity
o Restless leg syndrome-
§ A sensation in the legs during periods of inactivity or when trying to
fall asleep
o Night terrors
§ Result in sense of panic and often accompanied by screams and
attempts to escape the immediate environment
o Insomnia
§ Consistently difficult falling or staying asleep
o Sleep Apnea
§ Episodes during which a sleeper’s breathing stops
§ Obstructive and central sleep apnea
o SIDS
§ Sudden infant death syndrome
§ Infant stops breathing in sleep and dies
o Narcolepsy
, § Cant resist falling asleep at inopportune times
§ Often associated with cataplexy- muscle weakness
• Dream theories
o Threat-simulation theory- dreaming should be seen as an ancient
biological defense mechanism, thought to provide an evolutionary
advantage because of its capacity to repeatedly simulate potential
threatening events
o Expectation-fulfillment theory
§ Serves to discharge emotional arousals that haven’t been
expressed throughout the day, frees up brain space to deal and
allows instinctive urges to stay intact expectation is “fulfilled” in a
metaphorical form, which explains why dreams are usually
forgotten
o Continual activation theory
§ Dreaming is a result of brain activation and synthesis, sleep’s
function is to process, encode, and transfer data from short-term to
long-term through consolidation
• Culture and altered states (lecture)
o Altered state of consciousness
§ A change in awareness produced by sleep, meditation, hypnosis, or
drugs
o Religious and Cultural Traditions
§ Often have supernatural explanations for altered states of
consciousness
§ Many have rituals that intentionally induce altered states of
consciousness
§ Peyote, ayahuasca
o Meditation
§ Blocks out distractions and achieve an altered state of
consciousness
§ Focus attention on an object, word, breathing, or body movement
o Hypnosis
§ Procedure through which a hypnotist uses suggestions to change
thoughts, feelings, sensations, perceptions, or behavior in the
subject
§ Deep relaxation
§ Some people cant be
§ Used in medicine, dentistry, psychiatry
§ Surgical pain management
§ Good for trauma
o
• Circadian rhythms and disruption of circadian rhythms
o Two important circadian rhythms
§ Body temp, sleep best at lower body temp, most alert when at daily
high point
o Disruptions
