chapter five
What is Consciousness?
What is the Nature of Consciousness?
→ consciousness is our awareness of our thoughts, sensations and feelings
William James’ stream of consciousness: a description stating our
consciousness is a continuous flow of feelings
fringes are thoughts about the thoughts
metacognition: thinking about thinking
thinking about fringes
How Do We Define Consciousness?
consciousness: individual awareness of external events, internal
sensations under arousal
awareness of thought, self, experiences
qualia: feelings of experiences of mental states, subjective
experiences
arousal: being engaged in the environment psychologically
Where is Consciousness in the Brain?
1. Awareness is Subjective:
a. the prefrontal cortex is involved in awareness beyond sensory input
b. global brain workspace - variety of brain regions working at once
2. Arousal:
chapter five 1
, a. this is physiological
b. reticular activating system: the brain stem, medulla and the thalamus
c. this is based on the regulation of awareness
→ the consciousness is more accurately related to the mind, not directly located in
the brain
theory of mind: our understanding that we think, feel and perceive and
have private experiences
this is where sympathy and empathy come from
ie: autistic individuals lack the theory of mind
What are Different Levels of Awareness?
1. Higher Level:
controlled processing, actively attaining a goal
ie: solving math problems
2. Lower Level:
automatic, requires little attention
ie: typing on a keyboard
3. Altered State:
produced by drugs, trauma or fatigue
ie: hypnosis or alcohol
4. Subconscious:
awake or sleeping
ie: dreaming or daydreaming
5. No Awareness:
too laden with anxiety to admit (according to Freud)
ie: anesthesia
chapter five 2
, What is Higher Level Consciousness?
controlled process: most alert states in humans
→ here we are attaining a goal
→ we have selective attention
→ slower than automatic but still efficient
involves the prefrontal cortex (thinking or planning)
executive function: high-order complex cognitive processes (ie:
thinking or decision making)
this is selective and focuses on a specific thought (cognitive control)
What is Lower Level Consciousness?
1. Automatic Processes:
a. require little attention and don’t interfere with other activities
b. less conscious effort
c. ie: an expert musician
2. Daydreaming:
a. between active consciousness and dreaming
b. the mind wandering
c. may be negative *worrying or positive *hoping
d. may be useful → solve a problem
What Are Altered States of Consciousness?
Any noticeably different from normal awareness
loss of consciousness or hallucination
chapter five 3
What is Consciousness?
What is the Nature of Consciousness?
→ consciousness is our awareness of our thoughts, sensations and feelings
William James’ stream of consciousness: a description stating our
consciousness is a continuous flow of feelings
fringes are thoughts about the thoughts
metacognition: thinking about thinking
thinking about fringes
How Do We Define Consciousness?
consciousness: individual awareness of external events, internal
sensations under arousal
awareness of thought, self, experiences
qualia: feelings of experiences of mental states, subjective
experiences
arousal: being engaged in the environment psychologically
Where is Consciousness in the Brain?
1. Awareness is Subjective:
a. the prefrontal cortex is involved in awareness beyond sensory input
b. global brain workspace - variety of brain regions working at once
2. Arousal:
chapter five 1
, a. this is physiological
b. reticular activating system: the brain stem, medulla and the thalamus
c. this is based on the regulation of awareness
→ the consciousness is more accurately related to the mind, not directly located in
the brain
theory of mind: our understanding that we think, feel and perceive and
have private experiences
this is where sympathy and empathy come from
ie: autistic individuals lack the theory of mind
What are Different Levels of Awareness?
1. Higher Level:
controlled processing, actively attaining a goal
ie: solving math problems
2. Lower Level:
automatic, requires little attention
ie: typing on a keyboard
3. Altered State:
produced by drugs, trauma or fatigue
ie: hypnosis or alcohol
4. Subconscious:
awake or sleeping
ie: dreaming or daydreaming
5. No Awareness:
too laden with anxiety to admit (according to Freud)
ie: anesthesia
chapter five 2
, What is Higher Level Consciousness?
controlled process: most alert states in humans
→ here we are attaining a goal
→ we have selective attention
→ slower than automatic but still efficient
involves the prefrontal cortex (thinking or planning)
executive function: high-order complex cognitive processes (ie:
thinking or decision making)
this is selective and focuses on a specific thought (cognitive control)
What is Lower Level Consciousness?
1. Automatic Processes:
a. require little attention and don’t interfere with other activities
b. less conscious effort
c. ie: an expert musician
2. Daydreaming:
a. between active consciousness and dreaming
b. the mind wandering
c. may be negative *worrying or positive *hoping
d. may be useful → solve a problem
What Are Altered States of Consciousness?
Any noticeably different from normal awareness
loss of consciousness or hallucination
chapter five 3
