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 Outline
• Definition of Consciousness
• Levels of Awareness
• Sleep
• Dreams
• Hypnosis
• Psychoactive drugs
 Definition of Consciousness

• Consciousness is the awareness of one’s surrounding’s

and of what is in one’s mind at a given moment. It is
our experience of a moment as we move through it.
But consciousness also involves the capacity to take in
and process information briefly sending it to
specialized areas for further use or storage.
• Consciousness includes the feelings, thoughts, and
aroused states of which we are aware. Altered states of
consciousness occur when we sleep, are hypnotized, or
take any psychoactive drugs (Pastorino, & Doyle-
Portillo, 2013).
 Two Dimensions of Consciousness

Consciousness has two aspects: the degree to which we are

awake and the degree to which we are aware.
• Wakefulness refers to alertness, or the extent to which a person is
awake or asleep.

• Awareness refers to the monitoring of information from the

environment and from one’s own thoughts.

Usually wakefulness and awareness go hand in hand, but they

do not always work together. A person can be awake but not very
aware, as is true in vegetative states or extreme drunkenness. For
example, coma is one extreme of consciousness and is
characterized by very low wakefulness and awareness. It is a state
of consciousness in which the eyes are closed and the person is
unresponsive and unarousable ( Pastorino, & Doyle-Portillo, 2013).
Levels of Awareness
 Levels of Awareness
Higher-Level Consciousness

– controlled processing

– executive function
• Planning, problem solving
• Actively focus efforts toward a goal

– requires attention

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 Levels of Awareness
Lower-Level Consciousness

– automatic processes
• require little attention/conscious effort
• do not interfere with other ongoing activities

– daydreaming
• wandering thoughts
• fantasy, imagination, rumination
• potentially useful
(reminding, solving)

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 Levels of Awareness
Altered States of Consciousness

– drug states
– fatigue, illness, trauma,
deprivation
– meditation, hypnosis
– mental disorders

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 Levels of Awareness
• Subconscious Awareness
– incubation
– parallel processing

• Sleep and Dreams

– low levels of consciousness of outside world

• No Awareness
– unconscious (censored) thought--Freud
– non-conscious processes

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 Meditation
a peaceful state of mind,
not occupied by worry.

Mindfulness meditation used to treat

a variety of conditions
(e.g., depression, chronic pain).

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• Meditation is a form of mental training that
can be used to calm the mind, stabilize
concentration, or enhance awareness of the
present moment. Evidence from brain imaging
studies suggests that meditation has lasting
effects on mood, concentration, and learning.
 Sleep
• Sleep is important for three major restorative processes: neural growth, memory
consolidation, and the formation of enzymes that protect against cellular damage.

• When teenagers and adults get at least 8 hours of sleep, the benefits include
restored body tissues, body growth, immunity to disease, an alert mind,
processing of memories, and enhance mood.
• The circadian rhythm of sleep is a natural rhythm of sleep and waking
programmed by a group of brain cells in the hypothalamus called the
suprachiasmatic nucleus.
• A typical night of sleep involves cycling through two states of sleep: Non-REM
sleep which progressively relaxes the person, and REM (rapid-eye-movement)
which is very active, also occurs only during stage 1 sleep when most dreaming
occurs.
• The most common sleep problems is insomnia or the inability to get to sleep or
stay asleep. It is the most common sleep disorder.
• Other sleep disorders include sleep apnea, in which a person stops breathing
while asleep, and a rarer condition called narcolepsy, in which a person falls asleep
during alert times of the day (Pastorino, & Doyle-Portillo, 2013).
 Dreams

Contents of Dreams

• Manifest Content. According to Freud, the

surface content of a dream, containing dream
symbols that disguise the dream’s true
meaning.
• Latent Content. According to Freud, this refers
to the dream’s hidden content; it unconscious
and true meaning (King, 2013).
 Theories of Dreaming

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 Theories of Dreaming
• Cognitive Theory of Dreaming proposes that we
can undertand dreaming by applying the same
cognitive concepts we use in studying the waking
mind. The theory rests on the idea that dreams
are essentially subconscious cognitive processing.
• Activation-Synthesis Theory proposes that
dreaming occurs when the cerebral cortex
synthesizes neural signals generated from activity
in the lower brain and that dream results from
the brain’s attempts to find logic in random brain
activity that occurs during sleep.
 Hypnosis
Hypnosis is marked by…

– altered attention and expectation

– unusual receptiveness
to suggestions

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 Hypnosis
Hypnosis is a state of mind that occurs
naturally and established by compliance with
instructions. It is characterized by focused
attention, suggestibility, absorption, lack of
voluntary control over behavior, and
suspension of critical faculties of mind. People
may be more easily hypnotized if they are
relaxed, but they can be hypnotized without
relaxation.
 Psychoactive Drugs
Act on nervous system to:
– alter consciousness
– modify perceptions
– change moods

Why do people take drugs?

What are the trends in

adolescent use?
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 Psychoactive drugs
Psychoactive drugs act on the nervous system to alter consciousness,
modify perceptions and alter mood. In order to understand the effects of
psychoactive drugs, it is important to establish the scientific meaning of
three specific drug terms: tolerance, substance abuse, and substance
dependence.

– Tolerance has to do with the amount of a drug required to produce its effect.
After repeated use, it is usually the case that more and more of it is needed to
achieve the same effect.
– Substance dependence occurs when someone is either physically or
psychologically reliant on a drug’s effect. Typically, dependence is evident
when the person stops using the drug and experiences withdrawal symptoms.
Withdrawal symptoms may include physical symptoms such as vomiting,
shaking, sweating, physical pain, hallucinations, or headaches.
– Substance abuse or overindulgence in an addictive substance, especially
alcohol or drugs
 Types of Psychoactive Drugs
• Barbiturates and Sedatives
– Barbiturates, commonly known as “downers”, are a category of
depressants that are typically prescribed to reduce or to induce sleep.
Well-known barbiturate drugs include Nembutal and Seconal.
– Sedatives or tranquilizers are also prescribed to reduce anxiety. They
include a class of drugs called the benzodiazepines, including Valium
and Xanax.
• Both types of depressants have effects similar to alcohol. In small
dosages, they slow the nervous system, promoting relaxation. In
high dosages, though, they severely impair motor functioning,
memory, and judgment. Like alcohol, these drugs influence the
functioning of the neurotransmitter GABA. When these drugs are
taken in combination with alcohol, they are potentially lethal
because they can cause suppression of those brain areas that
control breathing and heart rate, which can lead to
unconsciousness, coma, or death.
 Types of Psychoactive Drugs
• Opiates (Narcotics): Morphine, Codeine, Opium, and Heroin
The opiates, or narcotics, are drugs that are used to treat pain
by mimicking pain-inhibiting neurotransmitters in the body such as
endorphins. In addition to blocking pain, they produce a feeling of
pleasure that is almost like floating. The opiates are extremely
addictive, causing dependence within a few weeks. When you take
opiates, your brain recognizes an abundance of pain inhibitors in
the body and decreases its own production of endorphins. So when
the effect of the opiate wears off, you feel your earlier pain and the
absence of pleasure, and will want another, larger dose.
• Stimulants
The stimulants include drugs that interfere with the brain
functioning by speeding normal brain activity.
 Types of Psychoactive Drugs
• Caffeine is a psychoactive drug because of its effects on the brain. It is perhaps
the most frequently used psychoactive drug in the world. Caffeine is and
active ingredient in coffee, tea, sodas, some energy drinks, chocolate,
migraine headache medications, and some diet pills. It stimulates the brain by
blocking neurotransmitters (adenosine) that slow down our nervous system
and cause sleep. In small doses, caffeine gives us a boost, keeping us more
alert and helping us focus. It helps problem solving and decreases reaction
time. However, in large doses, caffeine can “wire” you, causing insomnia,
upset stomach, racing heartbeat, nervousness, and irritability.

• Nicotine, the active ingredient in tobacco and the source of a smoker’s craving
for cigarette, is a powerful stimulant. Tobacco use has been linked to lung
cancer, throat cancer, emphysema, and heart disease. Nicotine affects several
neurotransmitters. It influences acetylcholine and glutamate such that in low
doses, nicotine improves attention and memory. Nicotine also elevates
dopamine levels, leading to feelings of pleasure and reward. In high doses,
nicotine causes vomiting, diarrhea, sweating, and dizziness.
 Types of Psychoactive Drugs
• Cocaine and its derivative, crack, are powerful and dangerous stimulant
drugs. Snorted, smoked, or injected, cocaine is quickly absorbed into the
body and thus reaches the brain rapidly. Crack is powdered cocaine mixed
with water and other additives that is then boiled until a solid mass
performs. It is broken into rocks and smoked with a long glass tube called
crack pipe. Inhaling the smoke delivers large quantities of the drug to the
lungs and produces an intense and immediate high.High doses of cocaine
can cause paranoia, sleeplessness, delusions, seizures, strokes, and
potentially cardiac arrest.

• Amphetamines are synthetically produced compounds that produce long-

lasting excitation of the sympathetic nervous system, the part of the
nervous system that keeps us ready for action. Amphetamines raise heart
rate, increase motivation, and elevate mood. Some common effects are
insomnia, stomach distress, headaches, decreased libido, and difficulty in
concentration.
 Types of Psychoactive Drugs
• Ecstasy is chemically similar to both
methamphetamine and the active ingredient in
psilocybin mushrooms, making it both a
stimulant and a mild hallucinogen. It produces
mild hallucinations as well as physiological
arousal. It is sometimes called the “love drug”
because it produces feelings of euphoria,
warmth, and connectedness with others. Long-
term effects include persistent mental deficits,
low mood, and serotonin deficiencies in certain
areas of the brain.
 Types of Psychoactive Drugs
• Hallucinogens are substances that create distorted perceptions of reality
ranging from mild to extreme. Examples of this are the following:

– Marijuana, also called pot or weed, is a mild hallucinogen. It rarely causes

overdose that cause death. Marijuana alters mood to create euphoria and
changes perception, especially one’s perception of time and food. It makes
time appear to slow down and makes food more desirable.
– PCP is sold on the street by such names as “angel dust” and “rocket fuel”.
“Sherms”, “killer joints” or “KJs” are names that refer to PCP poured over
cigarettes or marijuana joints. PCP can be eaten, snorted, smoked, or injected.
PCP has hallucinogenic properties as well as stimulant and depressant effects.
In higher doses, PCP causes a drop in blood pressure, pulse rate, and
respiration. This may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, blurred vision,
drooling, loss of balance, and dizziness. Hallucinations, confusion, paranoia,
and garbled speech also result. Users may become severely disoriented or
suicidal and may therefore be a danger to themselves or others. Seizures,
coma, or death may also occur.
 Types of Psychoactive Drugs
• LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), more commonly
referred to as acid, is the most potent perception-
altering drug known. Users of LSD may experience
increased blood pressure and heart rate, dizziness,
loss of appetite, and nausea, but the drug’s main
effects appear to be emotional and sensory. Even at
low doses, LSD causes bizarre hallucinations,
distortions in time and body image, and intense
emotions that together are often referred to as
“tripping” (Pastorino, & Doyle-Portillo, 2013).
 Reference
Lahey, B. (2012). Psychology: An Introduction.
(11thEd.) NY: McGraw Hill.

Pastorino, E. & Doyle-Portillo, S. (2013). What is

Psychology? Essentials. (2ndEd.) Canada:
Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.