Unit 6 Conciousness
Overview
Are you awake or asleep? Are you aware of what you are doing or are you daydreaming? Is some form of substance altering your experience? How do you know?
In Unit 6, we will delve into the world of the various states of consciousness - the study of consciousness will help us answer the questions above! Consciousness is a person’s subjective awareness, including thoughts, perceptions, experiences of the world, and self-awareness (Krause et al., 2018). Whether you realize it or not, every day you go through many changes in consciousness—your thoughts and perceptions are constantly adapting to your environment. Sometimes, when paying close attention to something, you seem to be more in control of conscious experiences. At other times, such as when you are daydreaming, consciousness seems to wander. These changes in your subjective experiences, which are many, along with the difficulty in defining them, make consciousness one of the most interesting and challenging areas of psychological study.
Topics
This unit is divided into the following topics:
- Biological Rhythms
- Sleep and Dreams
- Hypnosis
- Drugs
Learning Outcomes
When you have completed this unit, you should be able to:
- Define, and apply, the key terminology associated with sleep, dream, and sleep disorders, with hypnosis, meditation, and disorders of consciousness, and with different categories of drugs and their effects on the nervous system and behaviour.
- Explain how the sleep cycle works, theories of why we sleep, the competing theories of hypnosis, and drug tolerance and dependence.
- Apply your knowledge to identify and practice good sleep habits, what hypnosis can and cannot do, and to better understand your own beliefs about drug use.
- Analyze different theories about why we dream, the effectiveness of using neuroimaging to study mind-wandering, and to detect consciousness in brain-damaged patients.
- Analyze the difference between spiritual and recreational drug use, and the short- and long-term effects of drug use.
Activity Checklist
Here is a checklist of learning activities you will benefit from in completing this unit. You may find it useful for planning your work.
Learning Activities
- Read and Reflect – Chapter 5
- Review the Unit 6 – Course Notes (found on Course Notes tab)
- Complete the Biorhythms activity
- Complete the Dream Interpretation activity.
- Complete the Hypnosis activity.
- Complete the A Search for Meaning activity.
- Complete the Exploring Blindsight activity
Note
The course units follow topics in the textbook, Revel for An Introduction to Psychological Science by Krause et al. (4th Edition). For each unit, please read the pertinent chapter(s) before completing the assessment for the unit.
6.1 Biological Rhythms
An altered state of consciousness…
Prior to discussing biological rhythms, it could be of some value to prime your brain concerning altered states of consciousness. As you read through the following content, keep in my some possibilities of altered states of consciousness are: daydreaming, intense concentration (e.g., studying in noisy surroundings), “highway hypnosis,” and the mental detachment practiced by some long distance runners or other athletes enduring pain.
It is important to remember that in our discussion of biological rhythms we are NOT referring to biorhythms. In the spirit of critical evaluation, you can both apply the biorhythm theory to events in your life and read a debunking of this pseudoscientific notion in Activity 6.1. The theory is that we have three cycles of different lengths: physical, 23 days; emotional, 28 days; intellectual, 33 days. Each cycle begins neutral and gets increasingly positive, then gradually declines, becoming neutral, and then negative, only to rise to neutral at the end and begin all over. Your present position in each cycle is determined by calculating the number of days since you were born (when you presumably began each cycle).
Biological rhythms are patterns that cycle within days, weeks, months, or years. It seems that every living think on earth possesses biological rhythms, or cycles that allow them to adapt to their environment. For example, some animals are well known for hibernating during the cold winter months. Because this behaviour happens on a yearly basis, it is part of a circannual rhythm (a term that literally means “a yearly cycle”). However, the biological rhythm that has the most impact upon our lives is a cycle that occurs over the course of a day. Circadian rhythms are internally driven daily cycles of approximately 24 hours affecting physiological and behavioural processes (Krause et al., 2018). Circadian rhythms influence our sleepy and wakeful periods, our body’s temperature, when we feel hungry, and times of greatest productivity. If you have experienced shift work or even jetlag, you have a first-hand example of how biological rhythms affect your daily patterns and the difficulty of changing them. Knowledge of biological rhythms can have practical value in planning trips and in arranging shift work.
A practical example of how damaging ignorance of biological rhythms can be is found in Hawaii’s compounded pest problem. Centuries ago the Norwegian rat was introduced to the Hawaiian Islands by early European explorers. The rat found the conditions “idyllic” and soon became a problem. In an attempt to control the rat population, Indian mongooses were introduced in the mid-nineteenth century. Here’s where the ignorance of biological rhythms became problematic…. Unfortunately, rats are nocturnal (active at night) and mongooses are diurnal (active during the day). Consequently, now Hawaiians have a problem with rats and mongooses!
Activity: Read and Reflect
Take a moment to read through chapter 5 of your textbook and review the Course Notes for this unit. Consider how some of the themes and concepts you read about apply to what you have learned in this section.
Activity: Biorhythms
If you perform a quick search on the internet, you will find many sites that will calculate your biorhythm cycles for you. Biorhythms are a popular internet topic. If you are interested in playing with this, before calculating your rhythms, try to think of a day when you accomplished something special. Write down the date, and then see if your biorhythms would have predicted your prowess on that day. Follow the link below:
For some critical analysis of biorhythms, read through the following resource:
After exploring the resources above, read the following quote and consider the questions below:
“The natural world, including our body, seems to function in rhythmic patterns. However, modern culture and especially modern technology often disrupt these patterns.”
- How many ways can you think of that modern technology disrupts our natural rhythms?
- What is the effect of these disruptions?
Be prepared to share your thoughts and insights with other members of the class
6.2 Sleep
When you think about it, sleep is a real puzzle. Start with the basic question “Why do we sleep?” The answer? Well, besides the obvious, “We sleep because we are tired,” nobody really knows why we sleep. When we do sleep, we experience some amazing things: At times we are paralyzed; at times we move. Sometimes we experience images and other sensations that we call dreams. Sometimes, happenings in our environment intrude into our dreams, most of the time we are oblivious to our surroundings. We begin to explore these phenomenon…
Sleep and Learning
The relationship between sleep and learning often intrigues students of psychology. In brief, research indicates the following: Learning ability suffers dramatically in some people with lack of sleep, but most people can reduce their sleep for a limited period of time (e.g., to study) without suffering (providing drugs are not used, since they introduce their own problems). Sleeping immediately after learning complex material can aid consolidation, while learning immediately after a deep sleep can be more difficult. There is limited evidence that people can actually learn (i.e., through listening to a teaching) while they are sleeping.
Dreams
Some researchers believe that dream content indicates that the right hemisphere of the brain is responsible for most of our dreams. You might examine this idea by recording your dreams over several nights or share recent dreams with some friends/people in your Learning Lab so that each person has 3 or 4 dreams to examine. Next, analyze these dreams for right hemisphere content (emotion, unusual or bizarre imagery, spatial awareness, irrational or illogical events) versus left hemisphere content (rational, verbal, problem-solving behavior, “true-to-life”). Which predominates? You might find that the process of describing a dream imposes order (left hemisphere) on an otherwise haphazard flow of images (right hemisphere).
Activity: Dream Interpretation
Psychologists disagree on the possibility that dreams might contain important meaning. Most are skeptical. The Bible contains many instances of God speaking through dreams; yet most contemporary Christians seem to ignore this area. Here are some resources to help you consider dreams as a spiritual experience:
The next set of resources if for you to explore lucid dreaming. Lucid simply means mental clarity, so lucid dreaming is knowing that you are dreaming while dreaming:
After exploring the resources above, consider the following and think about the question below:
Have you ever had a “dream come true?” That is, have you ever had an experience that you had dreamed about previously? Many people report that they have had experiences like this. Sometimes the dreams appear to warn of future disaster that the dreamer avoids because of the dream. Often the dreams are seemingly meaningless apparent glimpses of the future….
- How do you explain these experiences?
Be prepared to share your thoughts and insights with other members of the class
6.3 Hypnosis
Is hypnosis really that unusual…?
Many psychologists, notably Theodore Barber, have questioned the existence of hypnosis as a separate state of consciousness. This may surprise you. In fact, hypnosis may be just a state of highly focused attention, which is not really all that unfamiliar. In a sense, we may always be hypnotized by something. Is “highway hypnosis” (driving great distances with no recollection of consciously having done so) the same as clinical hypnosis? What about mental states induced through relaxation training or biofeedback or Lamaze childbirth techniques? Each of these are altered states of consciousness that many of us may have experienced.
Hypnotic Techniques
The techniques of hypnotic induction are really no secret. You might find it fascinating to learn the rules of this arcane art. Many methods exist, but they all seem to involve:
- Relaxation
- Concentration
- Giving free reign to the imagination
- Soothing, repetitive stimulation
- Allowing oneself to respond to suggestions made by the hypnotist
For a non-threatening introduction to hypnosis, you might try one of the many popular self-hypnosis resources available on the internet.
Hypnosis and the Law
The use of hypnosis in law enforcement has raised some difficult legal and psychological issues. What does hypnosis do to a witness’ memory? Martin Orne suggests that, although hypnosis can sometimes be a useful exploratory device, it cannot be used as a source of acceptable testimony. Subjects who want to deceive can do so even while in a deep trance. Moreover, research suggests that hypnosis can create and modify memories and make witnesses more confident of vaguely remembered details. Further, juries, the police, and prosecuting attorneys may have an unjustified confidence in the almost magical power of hypnosis to reveal accurate memories. A fascinating study in the difficulties of forensic hypnosis is found in the case of Kenneth Bianchi, the so-called “Hillside Strangler.”
You can find more on this story by searching: “Martin Orne Obituary”
Christians and Hypnosis
Many Christians are wary of hypnosis because of the loss of control they associate with it, or because they fear it will leave them open to demonic influence. However, many psychologists think it is just another example of the mind’s ability to separate or “dissociate” itself from the immediate environment, similar to many people’s experience of “highway hypnosis.” Perhaps it is nothing more than “guided meditation.” Some Christians find it a useful tool in therapy. Can hypnosis be useful to Christians? (From Psychology and Christianity, by Ronald Philipchalk)
Activity: Hypnosis
Hypnosis is a guaranteed attention-grabber. Many people seem to have an opinion it. On one hand, we have extreme claims about the power of hypnosis; on the other, we have denial that hypnosis exists at all as a unique state. Here are a couple of useful web sources (out of the many less useful ones out there):
After exploring these resources, consider the following questions:
- After reading about hypnosis, would you be willing to be hypnotized? Why or why not?
Be prepared to share your thoughts and insights with other members of the class
6.4 Drugs
How many substances can you think of that we (not only you but other people as well) ingest regularly without giving much thought to their effect on our moods and feelings?
Some possibilities include: colas, tea, coffee, chocolate, sugar, alcohol, painkillers, anti-depressants, (e.g., Prozac), prescription psychotropics (e.g, to control maniac-depression, schizophrenia, etc.), marijuana, heroin, amphetamines (diet and wake-up pills), ecstasy and other so-called “club drugs,” cocaine, steroids, hallucinogenics.
Try rank ordering your list from “acceptable” at one end to “unacceptable” at the other. Now put a mark where acceptable becomes unacceptable. On what basis do you decide that a drug is unacceptable? Legality? Popularity? Addictiveness? Potential harm? Effect on your mood? Cost?
Drugs and Religious Experience
Most Christians do not advocate using drugs to heighten religious experience. However, they may promote other forms of physiological intervention in order to promote or heighten religious experiences. Can you think of some?
Because of the close link between our bodies and our minds, physical processes in our bodies can have profound influence on our minds. Fasting, isolation, and other forms of deprivation and even punishment all have the potential to effect dramatic changes in our bodies. For centuries religious people have used these for religious purposes. Are drugs any different? Today the use of a drug to promote a spiritual experience is referred to as an entheogen. An entheogen is a psychoactive chemical that produced altered states of perception and sensation used in a religious ritual or sacred context. One example of this come from W.H. Clark (1973). After reviewing a carefully controlled study, and surveying scores of users of LSD-type drugs, Clark concludes, “In some situations and with some people, and especially when both subject and guide intend it, the Psychedelic drugs release very profound religious experience of a mystical nature,” and further, “There are many well-attested cases on record of dramatic, long-lasting conversions and religious growth of a profound nature following use of LSD-type drugs”. Could religious experience have a chemical basis? (From Psychology and Christianity, by Ronald Philipchalk). Another famous example of exploring the use of drugs and its impact on religious experience is from the Marsh Chapel Experiment (aka The Good Friday Experiment). You can find more information on this study from the long-term follow-up here:
Activity: Drug Information Resources
The following resources below will give you an opportunity to investigate the impact that many different drugs can have on a person’s health, relationships, career, and treatment, along with many other topics related to drug research.
After reviewing the information above, consider the following questions:
- How do you decide whether or not to use a drug?
- What physiological techniques do religious people sometimes use to bring on or heighten religious experience?
- Is there a physiological component to religious experience?
Be prepared to share your thoughts and insights with other members of the class
Assessment
Refer to the course schedule for graded assignments you are responsible for submitting. All graded assignments, and their due dates, can be found on the “Assessment” tab.
In addition to any graded assignments you are responsible for submitting, be sure to complete all the Learning Activities that have been provided throughout the content - these are intended to support your understanding of the content.
Checking your Learning
Before you move on to the next unit, you may want to check to make sure that you are able to:
- Define, and apply, the key terminology associated with sleep, dream, and sleep disorders, with hypnosis, meditation, and disorders of consciousness, and with different categories of drugs and their effects on the nervous system and behaviour.
- Explain how the sleep cycle works, theories of why we sleep, the competing theories of hypnosis, and drug tolerance and dependence.
- Apply your knowledge to identify and practice good sleep habits, what hypnosis can and cannot do, and to better understand your own beliefs about drug use.
- Analyze different theories about why we dream, the effectiveness of using neuroimaging to study mind-wandering, and to detect consciousness in brain-damaged patients.
- Analyze the difference between spiritual and recreational drug use, and the short- and long-term effects of drug use.