VCE Psychology consciousness and sleep

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Flashcards on VCE Psychology consciousness and sleep, created by Sukhmani Randhawa on 25/01/2015.
Sukhmani Randhawa
Flashcards by Sukhmani Randhawa, updated more than 1 year ago
Sukhmani Randhawa
Created by Sukhmani Randhawa almost 10 years ago
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Question Answer
CONSCIOUSNESS Awareness we have of our external surroundings and internal processes at any given moment.
CONSCIOUSNESS CAN BE: Personal: Subjective understanding of the external world - varies for individuals Selective: Consciously choose to shift our attention Continuous: Never empty - always aware of something Changing: We shift attention to new stimuli when bought into our awareness
STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS The level of awareness we have of our mental processes and external surroundings Varies at different times
NORMAL WAKING CONSCIOUSNESS Refers to the states of consciousness associated with being awake and aware of thoughts, feelings, memories and sensations we are experiencing from the outside world
ATTENTION Mental activity which involves focusing on specific stimuli whilst ignoring others Can be focused internally or externally
SELECTIVE ATTENTION Choosing to focus on a certain stimuli whilst ignoring others. Fail to notice other information while using selective attention
DIVIDED ATTENTION Ability to distribute our attention and focus on more than one activity at the same time Depends on how much conscious effort is required to do a task.
CONTENT LIMITATIONS IN NORMAL WAKING CONSCIOUSNESS Content held in Normal Waking Consciousness is more restricted/limited because we can selectively control what we pay attention to and block unwanted information. Information is organised/logical
CONTROLLED PROCESSES Use selective attention Tasks are difficult/complex Requires high conscious awareness and mental effort Parallel - can only preform one at a time Used when tasks are unfamiliar
AUTOMATIC PROCESSES Easier/less complex Little conscious awareness and mental effort Series - can preform more than one task at a time.
ALTERED STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS (ASC) Refers to any state of consciousness distinctly different (in terms of level of awareness, experience and quality/intensity of sensations, perseptions, thoughts, feelings and memories) from NWC
DISTORTIONS OF PERCEPTION IN ASC Makes senses more receptive to external stimuli, eg. colours brighter, sounds louder OR Dulls senses to point were sensations aren't felt at all People may lose their sense of identity
DISTORTIONS OF COGNITION IN ASC Thought processes are disorganised Thinking is illogical/lacking in sequence Trouble remembering events that occur whilst in ASC Recalling info from long term memory is difficult
TIME ORIENTATION IN ASC Estimation of time is frequently distorted Time seems to pass at a different speed than normal
CHANGES IN EMOTIONAL AWARENESS IN ASC Individuals may have uncharacteristic responses Inappropriate emotions Unpredictable emotional responses
DAYDREAMING ASC where awareness shifts from external stimuli to internal processes Occurs naturally Occurs when stationary/doing routine or boring activities May be consciousness responding to unchanging external world
HOW IS DAY DREAMING DIFFERENT TO NIGHT DREAMS? Daydreams have minimal eye movement high levels of alpha brain waves content is less organised/meaningful
MEDITATIVE STATE Use of a technique to deliberately alter normal waking consciousness in order to induce an ASC. characterised by a deep state of relaxation. involves altering the normal flow of conscious thoughts.
PSYCHOACTIVE DRUG Chemicals that change conscious awareness, perceptions or moods eg. Alcohol
DEPRESSANT Produces mild euphoria by depressing brain centres responsible for inhibition, judgement and self control eg. Alcohol
PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSTRUCT Constructed to describe specific psychological activities or patterns Cannot be directly measured but believed to exist Can only be inferred through behaviour or physiological measurements
ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPH (EEG) Detects, Amplifies, Records electrical activity of the brain associated with different mental processes/behavioural responses
BETA WAVES NWC, Alert, Awake High frequency Low amplitude
ALPHA WAVES NWC, relaxed, wakeful, meditative High frequency Low amplitude
THETA WAVES ASC, early stages of sleep Medium frequency High + Low amplitude
DELTA WAVES Associated with deepest stages of sleep Lowest Frequency Highest amplitude
GALVANIC SKIN RESPONSE Measures electrical conductivity of skin more sweat = higher electrical conductivity = higher emotional arousal
SLEEP Regularly occurring ASC which occurs spontaneously and characterised by a loss of consciousness
POLYSOMNOGRAPHY Intensive study of a sleeping person involving simultaneous monitoring and recording of various physiological responses during the night
SLEEP LABORATORIES Where sleep research takes place
ELECTROMYOGRAPH (EMG) Used to detect, record and Amplify electrical activity of muscles
ELECTROOCULARGRAPH (EOG) Used to detect, amplify and record electrical activity of the muscles that control eye movement
BODY TEMPERATURE DURING SLEEP Drops as we go into deeper stages and rises as we come back into lighter sleep.
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