|
1
|
|
|
2
|
- A ‘raw feel’ or experience
- What we are ‘aware’ of
- Young & Block identify four types:
- Access
- Phenomenal
- Monitoring
- Self
|
|
3
|
- One way of studying consciousness has been to study those who have
suffered trauma or injury to the brain
- Visual neglect is caused by damage to the right hemisphere of the br=
ain
- Marshall and Halligan (1988) studied a 49 year old woman known as PS,
who had suffered an injury to her parietal lobe
|
|
4
|
- PS was shown a series of picture cards, showing two identical houses=
- In some pictures, the houses had flames coming out of either the lef=
t or
the right side of the house
- PS could identify the flames when they came out of the right side of=
the
house, and answered that she would rather live in the house that was=
not
on fire!
|
|
5
|
- When the flames came out of the left side of the house, PS thought t=
hat
asking her which house she preferred was silly – she was not c=
onscious
of the flames
- Even so, on 80% of the trials she still preferred the house which was
not on fire
- She could process the visual information (flames) without conscious
awareness
|
|
6
|
- Bisiach and Luzzatti conducted research in Italy with two patients w=
ho
had damage to the right parietal lobe
- They asked them to imagine a famous square in Milan, to imagine
themselves facing the cathedral, and describe what they saw.
- The patients could only describe the right hand side of the square.<=
/li>
|
|
7
|
- When Bisiach and Luzzatti asked the patients to imagine themselves
turning around with their backs to the Cathedral, and describing the
square from the other direction, they still described only the right
hand side of the square… even this was now the ‘other=
217;
side
- This suggests that their problem is one of consciousness, rather than
visual impairment
|
|
8
|
- One problem of clinical case studies is that they only reflect the
experiences of a few, very unusual individuals
- All of us experience daily changes in our own consciousness – =
can
you think of examples?
|
|
9
|
- Do you day dream? Some studies have suggested that up to 96% of us d=
ay
dream, with highest levels among children and young people, declinin=
g as
we get older
- Zimbardo et al (1995) describe day dreaming as a ‘mild shift in
consciousness’, involving fantasy or thoughts
|
|
10
|
- Klinger (1987) argues that day dreams are healthy for both adults and
children
- They allow us to plan, solve problems and experience creativity
- They can also be used to alleviate boredom, and to
‘visualise’ success!
- One of the most common times to day dream is just before we fall
asleep…
|
|
11
|
- We spend around 1/3 of our lives asleep, in an ‘altered state =
of
consciousness’
- Interest in dreams as a route to the ‘unconscious’ mind =
can
be traced to Freud and the psychoanalytical school
- Modern research uses EEG scans to measure brain activity while we sl=
eep
|
|
12
|
- Research has connected periods of REM sleep (rapid eye movement) with
dreaming
- Researchers have found that if we are deprived of REM sleep, we
experience more REM sleep the next night – an ‘REM’
rebound
- It has been suggested that REM sleep contributes to memory, emotion =
and
the development of motor skills
|
|
13
|
- Have you ever experienced somnambulism, or ‘sleepwalking’=
;?
- A number of high profile legal cases have questioned whether those
suffering from this condition are ‘conscious’ during per=
iods
of somnambulism
- Individuals are able to interact with their environment, but are they
responsible for their actions?
|
|
14
|
- There are many accounts of ‘extended states, through hypnosis,
meditation, dance, relaxation and mind-altering drugs (including
prescribed medication, legal drugs such as alcohol and caffeine, and
illegal drugs such as cannabis).
- Have you experienced an ‘extended’ state of consciousnes=
s?
How did this come about, and what did you feel?
|
|
15
|
- Hypnosis has been a source of fascination – and scepticism =
211;
for many centuries
- Hypnosis involves inducing an altered state of consciousness under w=
hich
an individual is more responsive to the hypnotist’s suggestion=
s
- It has been suggested that some individuals have a higher level of
‘hypnotisability’ than others
|
|
16
|
- There are different opinions within psychology about the processes
involved in hypnosis
- While Freud believed that hypnosis could be used to explore the
unconscious mind, and there has been evidence of hypnosis being used=
for
behavioural change and pain relief, others argue that we only experi=
ence
a strong placebo effect.
|
|
17
|
- Many religions and alternative health practitioners find that medita=
tion
can be used to alter one’s conscious state
- Meditation often involves repeating a mantra or focusing on an objec=
t or
colour to induce relaxation
- Others have reported similar effects through dance
|
|
18
|
- ‘Mind-altering’ drugs may be legal – prescribed or
widely available – or illegal
- Drugs can be categorised in four ways:
- Opiates (e.g. morphine, heroin)
- Hallucinogens (e.g. LSD, cannabis)
- Depressants (e.g. alcohol, barbiturates)
- Stimulants (e.g. cocaine, caffeine, nicotine)
|
|
19
|
- The consciousness-altering properties of drugs have been well-docume=
nted
in popular culture
- Most of us are familiar with the pleasurable aspects of a glass of w=
ine
or cup of coffee!
- We develop tolerance to these psychoactive drugs, leading to
physiological and/or psychological dependence
|
![](3D"master27_background.gif")
![](3D"master27_image001.gif")
![](3D"master26_background.gif")
![](3D"master26_image002.gif")
![](3D"slide0008_image003.gif")
![](3D"notes_flag.gif")
No=
tes![](3D"buttons.gif")
