WHAT IS CONSCIOUSNESS? Consciousness —> a person’s subjective experience of the world and the mind
Phenomenology —> how things seem to the conscious person (subjective). If I were to start a study on how people in a specific group feel, that would be a phenomenological study
Problem of other minds —> difficulty perceiving others’ consciousness
Mind/body problem —> mind and body have a connection (originally proposed by Descartes). Brain’s activities may precede conscious activity Little kids —> they start finding out about other people when they start mimicking what others do. They see other little kids at school.
FREE WILL ISSUE Another famous psychological issue is if we have free will or not. Are we functioning based on our free will or are we driven by something?
Libet —> attempted a scientific psychophysiology experiment of free will, which showed that the brain of the subject had prepared for the movement in advance
NATURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS Four basic properties:
-Intentionality —> we control our focus of attention. When we play group sports, our focus of attention is spread onto many objects. Focus of attention is something that the brain does. -Unity —> resistance to division
-Selectivity —> the capacity to focus onto some objects and exclude others
Dichotic listening exercise —> multitasking. Everything we can do is based on how our brain is designed. Our brain is not designed for multitasking
Cocktail party experiment —> everybody is at a party and somebody says your name. You immediately pay attention because our brain is really attentive about others talking about us
The necker cube —> reversible. It has to do where your brain focuses.
STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS We have different states of consciousness. We are talking about when we are paying attention to our surroundings and external stimuli. -Awake
-Asleep
-Unconsciousness
-Alertness/awareness
-Daydream
-Hypnosis
Consciousne
Phenomenology —> how things seem to the conscious person (subjective). If I were to start a study on how people in a specific group feel, that would be a phenomenological study
Problem of other minds —> difficulty perceiving others’ consciousness
Mind/body problem —> mind and body have a connection (originally proposed by Descartes). Brain’s activities may precede conscious activity Little kids —> they start finding out about other people when they start mimicking what others do. They see other little kids at school.
FREE WILL ISSUE Another famous psychological issue is if we have free will or not. Are we functioning based on our free will or are we driven by something?
Libet —> attempted a scientific psychophysiology experiment of free will, which showed that the brain of the subject had prepared for the movement in advance
NATURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS Four basic properties:
-Intentionality —> we control our focus of attention. When we play group sports, our focus of attention is spread onto many objects. Focus of attention is something that the brain does. -Unity —> resistance to division
-Selectivity —> the capacity to focus onto some objects and exclude others
Dichotic listening exercise —> multitasking. Everything we can do is based on how our brain is designed. Our brain is not designed for multitasking
Cocktail party experiment —> everybody is at a party and somebody says your name. You immediately pay attention because our brain is really attentive about others talking about us
The necker cube —> reversible. It has to do where your brain focuses.
STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS We have different states of consciousness. We are talking about when we are paying attention to our surroundings and external stimuli. -Awake
-Asleep
-Unconsciousness
-Alertness/awareness
-Daydream
-Hypnosis
Consciousne
