Altered states

of consciousness
Shobie Gonzaga
Psy 100
Department of Psychology
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“Consciousness poses the most baffling

problems in the science of the mind.
There is nothing that we know more
intimately than conscious experience,
but there is nothing that is harder to
explain.” Chalmers, 1995.
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consciousness
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What is consciousness?
• Being aware of something; current awareness of external and internal
stimuli – events in the environment and of body sensations, memories
and thoughts (Nolen-Hoeksema, Fredrickson et al., 2009)
• William James - a stream or ever-changing flow of awareness
• Waking consciousness - we are awake and aware of our thoughts,
emotions and perceptions
• Altered State of Consciousness - a radical deviation from the overall
pattern of functioning of the mind during the ordinary waking state of
consciousness
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Functions of consciousness
1. Monitoring – consciousness selects stimuli and disregards others
a. Selective attention – process of focusing on a particular object in
the environment for a certain period of time
2. Controlling – consciousness plays a role in directing and controlling
behavior; actions are guided and arranged to coordinate with events
around us
3. Automaticity and Dissociation
a. Automaticity – habituation of responses that initially required
conscious attention; once skills are well learned, they no longer
require our attention; the more automatic an action is, the less it
requires conscious control
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Functions of concsiousness
b. Dissociation – a wide array of experiences from mild detachment
from immediate surroundings to more severe detachment from
physical and emotional experience
Altered states of
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consciousness
• Sleep
• Dreams
• Hypnosis
• Mediation
• Drug-induced alterations of the consciousness
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Sleep
Sleep comes to every individual.
Sleep is studied thru measuring the patterns of our
brain waves by using an EEG
(electroencephalogram)
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Sleep
Circadian Rhythm – 24-hour cycle body clock; responsible for our sleep
patterns such as when we sleep and when we wake up every 24 hours.

Age and experience can change our circadian rhythm.

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Stages of sleep
• Wakefulness – beta waves; high in frequency and lowest in amplitude
(desynchronous); small and rapid waves due to the multiple mental
activities in a day
• Relaxation – alpha waves; slower waves; increase in amplitude
(synchronous)
• People go thru a series of distinct stage of sleep each night every 90
minutes
• Stages of sleep: stages 1-4 is the Non-Rapid Eye Movement; stage 5 is
the Rapid Eye Movement
BRAIN WAVE PATTERNS 11
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Stages of sleep
Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3

Theta waves Slower and more Large and slow delta

Slower in frequency and regular wave pattern waves
greater in amplitude than Sleep spindles – sudden Transition from light
alpha waves increase in wave sleep to deep sleep
Transition from frequency Body temp and heart
wakefulness to sleep K-complexes – sudden rate decrease
Occurrence of hypnagogic increase in amplitude Person not easily
hallucination Lasts for 20mins awakened
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Stages of sleep
Stage 4 Stage 5

Deepest stage of sleep; delta sleep
Lowest heart rate, breathing and
body temp
Least responsive to outside
stimulation
Lasts for 30 mins
Not much difference with stages 3 &
4
Rapid Eye Movement; paradoxical sleep
Before reaching this stage, the cycle
reverses (stage 1,2,3,4,3,2,1,REM)
Back and forth movement of the eyes
Vivid dreams
Increased HR, respiration and brain
activity
STAGES OF SLEEP: CYCLE 14

*LOOK AT
THE SLIDE
OF THE
BRAIN WAVE
PATTERNS
TO SEE THE
LEGEND
FOR THE
COLORS
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Sleep disorders
Insomnia
difficulty or
problems in falling or
staying asleep
Narcolepsy
sudden, recurring,
overwhelming sleepiness;
occurs several times in a
day; genetic
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Sleep disorders
Sleep Apnea
sudden stop of breathing during sleep; very brief episodes; waking up
due to a jolting behavior upon stopping to breathe
Night Terrors
suddenly waking up accompanied by extreme fear, panic, physiological
arousal from NREM sleep; usually in children 3-8 years ol
Nightmares
dreams that take place during REM sleep
Sleepwalking and Sleeptalking
experienced by children in stage 4; people do not remember the episode
in the morning
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dreams
“an altered state of consciousness in which picture
stories are constructed based on memories, current
concerns, emotions, fantasies and images”
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Theories of dreaming
• Sigmund Freud
• Dreams are the royal road to the unconscious; wish fulfillment
• Latent content – symbolic content of the dreams
• Manifest content – remembered part of the dream
• Activation-synthesis hypothesis
• Dreaming is produced when the brain is activated during REM
sleep resulting in the stimulation of the limbic system, amygdala
and hippocampus
• Facilitate filing of memories as they may help sift, sort and fix the
day’s events in our memories
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Theories of dreaming
• Develop and preserve neural pathways
• Reflection of brain maturation and cognitive development
• Reflect our current knowledge and understanding of concepts
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Theories of Dreaming
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Wish fulfillment theory by Freud

meditation
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“an altered state of

consciousness
achieved by
refocusing and
restricting attention”
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meditation
• Done by performing rituals, regulating breathing, eliminating external
stimuli, forming mental images of an event or symbol
• Traditional forms: ZEN & YOGA
• Mantra: a repeated sound or syllable to facilitate and enhances
meditative processes and state
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hypnosis
“an altered state of consciousness achieved thru
reaching a trance-like state where individuals are
made highly suggestible”

Discovered by Franz Anton Mesmer

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Uses of hypnosis
• Controlling pain
• Reducing smoking
• Treating psychological disorders
• Assisting in law enforcement
• Improving athletic performance
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Psychoactive drugs
“an altered state of consciousness reached thru
consumption of psychoactive drugs that influence a
person’s emotions, perceptions and behavior”
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addicTion
• Addictive behavior
• Pathological need for a substance or activity and may involve the
abuse of psychoactive drugs
• Addictive drugs
• Substances that create a physical or psychological dependence on
the user
• Dependence is a vicious cycle that involves tolerance and withdrawal
• Tolerance – amount of drug has to constantly increase to achieve
desired effect
• Withdrawal – physical symptoms that accompany abstinence from
the drug
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Types of psychoactive drugs

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stimulants
Drugs that excite and stimulate
neural activity and speed up body
functions
Known as “uppers”
Widely known: caffeine & nicotine
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stimulants
drug Street name effects Withdrawal symptoms Overdose reactions
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depressants
Drugs that depress and inhibit
neural activity and slow down
body functions
Known as “downers”

Barbiturates (tranquilizers),
benzodiazepines (sleeping pills),
opiates (pain killers)
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depressants
drug Street name effects Withdrawal symptoms Overdose reactions
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hallucinogens
Drugs that distort perceptions
and call up sensory images
without any input from the
senses
Often referred to as psychedelics
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hallucinogens
drug Street name effects Withdrawal symptoms Overdose reactions
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hallucinogens
drug Street name effects Withdrawal symptoms Overdose reactions
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Thank
you!
This ppt has been uploaded to the google drive.