Term
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Definition
| The awareness of objects and events in the external world and of our own existence and mental experiences at any given moment. |
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Term
| What is a state of consciousness? |
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Definition
| Level of awareness. Our internal state and external surroundings, that determines how much of this information we take in and respond to. |
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Term
| What is normal waking conciousness (NWC)? |
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Definition
| NWC refers to the states of conciousness associated with being awake and aware of our thoughts, memories, feelings and the sensations we are experienceing from the outside world. |
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Term
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Definition
| A concentration of mental activity that involves focusing on a specific stimulus while ignoring other stimuli. |
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Term
| What does selective attention involve? |
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Definition
| Selective attention involves choosing and attending to a specific stimulus to the exclusion of others. |
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Term
| When are we more likely to take notice of something? |
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Definition
| We are more likely to take notice of something ifit is important to us, if it changes in some way or if it is novel. |
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Term
| What does divided attention refer to? |
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Definition
| The ability to distribute our attention and undertake two or more activities simultaneously. |
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Term
| What are content limitations in NWC? |
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Definition
| The content held in NWC are more restricted than content in an altered state of conciousness. |
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Term
| What happens to content of our consciousness in an altered state of conciousness? |
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Definition
| In an altered state of conciousness the content of our consciousness is nonsensical, illogical and disorganised. |
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Term
| What is controlled process? |
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Definition
| Controlled process involves conscious, alert awareness and mental effort in which the individual actively focuses their attention on achieving a particular goal. |
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Term
| What is meant by serial processing? |
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Definition
| Serial processing is the controlled processing of information, usually with this type of processing you can only perfrom one task requiring controlled processing at a time. |
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Term
| What does an automatic process require? |
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Definition
| An automatic process requires little conscious awareness and mental effort, minimal attention and it does not interfere with the performance of other activities. |
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Term
| What is parallel processing? |
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Definition
| Parallel processing means that usually we can handle two or more tasks at the same time. |
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Term
| What is the Stroop Effect? |
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Definition
| The Stroop Effect is a demonstration of automatic processing. It is when the name of a colour is printed in a colour not denoted by the name, naming the colour of the word takes longer and is more prone to errors than when the colour of the ink matches the name of the colour. |
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Term
| How does the Stroop Effect demonstrate the effect of automatic processing? |
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Definition
| The Stroop Effect demonstrates the effect of automatic processing as it demonstrated how our automatic response it to read the word rather then say the colour. |
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Term
| What is an altered state of conciousness (ASC)? |
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Definition
| ASC is any state of consciousness that is distinctly different from normal waking consciousness, in terms of level awareness and experience, and the quality of intensity of sensations, perceptions, thoughts, feelings and memories that are experienced. |
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Term
| What are common characteristics of ASCs? |
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Definition
- perceptual and cognitive distorions
- a disturbed sense of time
- changes in emotional awareness
- changes in self-control
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Term
| How are perceptions distorted during an ASC? |
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Definition
| Perceptions are distorted during an ASC as sensory experiences are more vivid. For example colours seem brighter, tastes and smells are stronger, sounds are louder or more variable and touch is more sensitive. |
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Term
| How are cognitions distorted during an ASC? |
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Definition
| In ASCs cognitive functions are impaired, thought processes are more disorganised, thinking is illogical and lacking in sequence, difficulties in problem-solving may be experienced and people can have trouble remembering events. |
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Term
| How is one's time orientation distorted during an ASC? |
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Definition
| During an ASC time is frequently distorted. Time passes at a different speed, it may seem that it is passing quicker or much slower. |
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Term
| How is emotional awareness affected by an ASC? |
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Definition
| During ASCs a change of awareness and experience is altered. Unpredeictable emotions may occur, some people become more emotional while some have no feelings at all. |
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Term
| How is self-control affected by an ASC? |
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Definition
| During ASC the ability to maintain self-control is changed. Often people can have dificulty coordinating and controlling movements, dificulty maintaining control of emotions or be more susceptible to suggestion. |
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Term
| What is daydreaming and when is it most likely to occur? |
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Definition
| Daydreaming is an altered state of consciousness in which we shift our attention from external stimuli to internal thoughts, feelings and imagined scenarios. Daydreaming is most likely to occur when we are stationary than when we are moving about . |
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Term
| What are some views as to the purpose of daydreaming? |
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Definition
| Freud believed that the purpose of daydreaming was so we could do in our fantasies what we are not able to do in reality. Through daydreaming we reduce frustration and tension we would experience due to unfulfilled wishes and needs. |
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Term
| What are psychoactive drugs? |
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Definition
| Psychoactive drugs are chemicals that change conscious awareness, perception or moods. Eg. alcohol, caffeine and nicotine. |
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Term
| What type of drug is alcohol? |
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Definition
| Alcohol is a psychoactive drug as it changes the conscious awareness, perception and moods. |
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Term
| What variables affect alcohol's influence on consciousness? |
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Definition
| Alcohol's influence on conciousness depends on the concentration of alcohol consumed, amount of alcohol consumed, conditions under which the alcohol is consumed, rate of consumption, drinking history, amount of food in the stomach, body weight, age, gender, body chemistry, physical wellbeing, emotional state and mood. |
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Term
| What are the effects of alcohol's influence on consciousness? |
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Definition
Shortened attention span: dificulties maintaining concentration.
Impaired perceptions: slow-down in the processing of information from the senses.
Impaired thinking: difficulties with understanding, thinking clearly, applying good judgement.
Impaired memory: difficulties forming new memories or memory loss.
Slower reaction times: focusing attention on the immediate situation and away from any future consequence to self. |
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Term
| What are the effects of alcohol's influence on consciousness? |
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Definition
Reduced self-awareness: not reacting quickly.
Impaired emotional awareness and control: exaggerated states of emotional experience.
Impaired perception of time.
Less self-control: more self confident/daring
Difficulties with voluntary muscular control and fine movements: uncoordinated, loss of balance
deterioration in perfomace of complex tasks. |
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Term
| What is a psychological construct? |
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Definition
| A concept that is 'constructed' to describe specific 'psychological' activity, or a pattern of activity, that is believed to occur or exist but that cannot be directly observed or measured. |
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Term
| How is an electroencephalograph used to study the level of alertness in NWC (include brain waves) |
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Definition
| An electroencephalograph is a device that detects, amplifies and records general patterns of electrical activity of the brain. |
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