CH 7 - Altered States of Consciousness - Notes

Ch 7 Altered States of Consciousness
Consciousness – a state of awareness

• Altered State of Consciousness – involves a change
in mental processes in which one is not completely
aware
Sleep – is a state of altered consciousness, characterized

by unresponsiveness to our environment and usually
limited mobility
1. Why do we sleep?
a. Restoration – brain recovers from exhaustion and
stress
b. Primitive Hibernation – body conserves energy
c. Adaptive Process – kept human’s out of harm’s
way at night when they’d be vulnerable to
animal attacks
d. Clear our minds of useless info
i. Sleep to dream
2. Study of sleep is greatly aided by the EEG, which
records the electrical activity of the brain
3. Two types of sleep: Active and Quiet
4. Quiet Stages of Sleep
a. Stage I – lightest level of sleep, absence of
concentrated thought and you are in a state of
relaxation (10 minutes)
b. Stage II – brain waves shift from low-amplitude,
high frequency to high amplitude, low frequency
(30 minutes)
c. Stage III – large amplitude delta waves begin to
sweep your brain every second or so
d. Stage IV – deepest sleep and its difficult to wake
a sleeper in this stage
i. Talking out loud, bed wetting, and
sleepwalking occur during this stage
ii. Important to physical and psychological
well-being
5. 75% of sleep is spent in stages I-IV
6. REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep – period of sleep
during which the eyes dart back and forth and
dreaming usually occurs
a. Called active sleep – brain sends out waves that
closely resemble those of a person who is fully
awake
b. Lasts about 15-45 minutes depending on time of
night, then you work your way back to Stage IV
7. This cycle is repeated every 90 minutes or so
How much sleep?

1. Depends on age and the individual
2. Everyone sleeps and both types of sleep are
important to normal functioning
3. Circadian Rhythm – biological clock genetically
programmed to regulate physiological responses
within 24-25 (24.18 to be exact) hours
Sleep Disorders
1. Insomnia – inability to obtain adequate sleep
a. Caused by mental stress or drug use
2. Sleep Apnea – causes frequent interruptions of
breathing during sleep
a. 10-15 seconds of snoring followed by a physical
movement of the body due to lack of oxygen is
one of the most common symptoms
b. Primarily affects older people
c. Caused by enlarged tonsils, repeated throat or
middle ear infections, or obesity
3. Narcolepsy – suddenly falling asleep or feeling very
sleepy during the day
a. Sleep attacks may occur during the day which
are accompanied by brief periods of REM sleep
4. Nightmares – frightening dreams causing individuals
to wake-up with vivid memories of dream
5. Night Terrors – occur during Stage IV and results in
5-20 minutes of screaming, sweating, confusion, and
rapid heart rate
6. Sleepwalking – walking or carrying out behaviors
while asleep with no memory of the activity
a. Mostly affects children
Dreams – mental activity that takes place during sleep
1. Everyone dreams and research indicates that it is
necessary each night
2. Dreams become more vivid and longer as the night
wears on
3. Dreams do not occur in a split second, they
correspond to a realistic time scale
4. Everyday activities and common settings (living
rooms, cars, classrooms, etc.) are common in dreams
5. Most involve strenuous recreation or sitting and
watching
6. Majority of emotions in dreams are negative
7. Freud argued that dreams were an important part of
our emotional lives
Hypnosis – a form of altered consciousness in which

people become highly suggestible to changes in behavior
and thought
1. Very different than sleep
2. Able to focus attention on one tiny aspect of reality
and ignore all other sensations
3. Participant is not under the hypnotist’s control but
can be convinced to do things he or she would not
normally do (cooperation)
4. Not everyone can be hypnotized, anyone can resist
5. Psychologists do not agree on the nature of hypnosis,
but it does reveal that people often have potential
abilities that they don’t use
6. Uses of Hypnosis
a. Posthypnotic Suggestion – a suggestion made
during a hypnotic trance that influences the
subject’s behavior afterward
i. Helpful in aiding or enhancing memory and
changing unwanted behaviors
b. Hypnotic Analgesia – a reduction in pain
reported by patients undergoing hypnosis
Biofeedback – process of learning to control bodily states

with the help of machines that provide info about
physiological states
1. Has been used to teach people to control brain
waves, heart rate, blood pressure, skin temperature,
and sweat-gland activity
2. Basic Principle: feedback makes learning possible
3. Using biofeedback to treat conditions without
medications is a very active area of research
Meditation – focusing attention to clear one’s mind and

produce relaxation
1. Three Major Approaches:
a. Transcendental Meditation – involves mental
repetition of a mantra
i. Sit with eyes closed and meditate twice a
day for 15-20 minutes each
b. Mindfulness Meditation – focus on the present
moment
c. Breath Meditation – focus on inhaling and
exhaling
2. Researchers generally agree that most people can
benefit from the sort of systematic relaxation that
meditation provides
Sec 3: Drugs and Consciousness
Psychoactive Drugs – interact with the CNS to alter a

person’s mood, perception, and behavior
1. Marijuana – dried leaves and flowers of Indian hemp
(Cannabis sativa) that produces an altered state of
consciousness when smoked or ingested
a. Sensory experiences are greatly enhanced
b. Not physically addictive but can be
psychologically addictive
c. Can instill or heighten a variety of unpleasant
experiences
d. Effects lung functioning more so than cigarettes
e. Disrupts memory formation making it difficult to
carry out mental and physical tasks
f. Marijuana users score lower on IQ tests than
nonusers
Hallucinations – are perceptions that have no direct

external cause – seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, or
feeling things that do not exist
1. Maybe produced by hypnosis, meditation, certain
drugs, withdrawal from a drug to which one is
addicted and psychological breakdown
2. Also occur during dreaming at night and day and
when people are deprived of sleep
3. Periods of high concentration , emotion, or fatigue
also cause hallucinations
4. Hallucinations are very much alike from person to
person
Hallucinogens – main effect is to produce hallucinations,

found in plants that grow throughout the world
1. Also known as “Psychedelics”
2. LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide) – best known and
most extensively studied hallucinogen, also the most
potent and is one of the most powerful drugs known
a. Produces a “trip” that lasts 6-14 hours
b. Often taken in strips of paper or sugar cubes in
order to control doses
c. Side effects include impaired thinking, panic
reactions and flashbacks
Opiates (Narcotics) – opium, morphine, and heroin

1. Use reduces pain, produces feeling of euphoria, can
lead to addiction, and death from respiratory failure
Alcohol – most widely abused mind altering substance in

the U.S.
1. It is a depressant that serves to inhibit the brain’s
normal functions
2. Causes people to act without social restraint or
social control
3. Permanent damage to the brain and liver and a
change in personality can result from prolonged
heavy use of alcohol
Drug Abuse & Treatment

1. Drug abusers are those that regularly use illegal drugs
or excessively use legal drugs
2. People abuse drugs to change how they feel (bored,
to fit it, gain confidence, forget problems, relax, feel
good)
3. Greatest risk of abusing psychoactive drugs is loss of
control
4. Addiction – overwhelming and compulsive desire to
obtain and use drugs
5. Treatment:
a. Must admit they have a problem
b. Enter treatment program and/or therapy
c. Join support group to remain drug free (many
relapse)

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Ch 7 Altered States of Consciousness

Consciousness – a state of awareness

Sleep – is a state of altered consciousness, characterized

How much sleep?

Hypnosis – a form of altered consciousness in which

Biofeedback – process of learning to control bodily states

Meditation – focusing attention to clear one’s mind and

Sec 3: Drugs and Consciousness

Psychoactive Drugs – interact with the CNS to alter a

Hallucinations – are perceptions that have no direct

Hallucinogens – main effect is to produce hallucinations,

Opiates (Narcotics) – opium, morphine, and heroin

Alcohol – most widely abused mind altering substance in

Drug Abuse & Treatment

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