Chapter 7: States of Consciousness

What is an altered state of Consciousness?

• States of awareness that differ from normal, alert, waking consciousness are
called altered states of consciousness (ASCs). Altered states are especially
associated with sleep and dreaming, hypnosis, sensory deprivation, and
psychoactive drugs.
• Cultural conditioning greatly affects what altered states a person recognizes,
seeks, considers normal, and attains.
o Consciousness: Mental awareness of sensations, perceptions, memories,
and feelings.
o Waking Consciousness: A state of normal, alert awareness.
 Beta Waves: Small, fast brain waves associated with being awake
and alert.
o Altered State of Consciousness: A condition of awareness distinctly
different in quality or pattern from waking consciousness.

What are the effects of sleep loss and changes in sleep patterns?
• Sleep is an innate biological rhythm essential for survival. Higher animals and
people deprived of sleep experience involuntary microsleeps.
o Biological Rhythm: Any repeating cycle of biological activity, such as
sleep and waking cycles or changes in body temperature.
o Sleep Deprivation: Being prevented from getting desired of needed
amounts of sleep.
o Microsleep: A brief shift in brain-wave patterns to those of sleep.
• Moderate sleep loss mainly affects vigilance and performance on routine or
boring tasks. Extended sleep loss can (somewhat rarely) produce a temporary
sleep-deprivation psychosis.
o Sleep-Deprivation Psychosis: A major disruption of mental and
emotional functioning brought about by sleep loss.
• Sleep patterns show some flexibility, but 7 to 8 hours remain average. The
amount of daily sleep decreases steadily from birth to old age. Once-a-day sleep
patterns, with a 2-to-1 ratio pf waking and sleep are most efficient for most
people.
o Sleep Patterns: The order and timing of daily sleep and waking periods.
 Short Sleeper: A person averaging 5 hours of sleep or less a night.
 Long Sleeper: A person who averages 9 hours of sleep of more
per night.

Are there different stages of sleep?

• Sleep occurs in four stages. Stage 1 is light sleep (marked by small irregular brain
waves and some alpha waves), and stage 4 is deep sleep. The sleeper alternates
between stages 1 and 4 (passing through stages 2 and 3) several times each night.
 o Sleep Hormone: A sleep-promoting substance found in the brain and
spinal cord.
o Sleep Stages: Levels of sleep identified by brain-wave patterns and
behavioral changes.
 Stage 1: Light sleep; heart rate slows, breathing becomes more
irregular, muscles of your body relax. This may trigger a reflex
muscle contraction throughout the body called a hypnic jerk.
 Stage 2: Sleep deepens, body temperature drops further. EEG
begins to include sleep spindles, which are short bursts of
distinctive brain-wave activity.
 Stage 3: Large, slow brain waves called Delta waves appear.
 Stage 4: Deep sleep; deepest level of normal sleep, reached by
most people in about an hour. Brain waves are almost pure delta,
and the sleeper is in a state of oblivion.
o Alpha Waves: Large, slow brain waves associated with relaxation and
falling asleep.

How does dream sleep differ from dreamless sleep?

• There are two basic sleep states: rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and non-REM
(NREM) sleep. REM sleep is much more strongly associated with dreaming than
non-REM sleep is.
o REM Sleep: Sleep marked by rapid eye movements during sleep and a
return to stage 1 EEG patterns.
 REM Behavior Disorder: A failure of normal muscle paralysis,
leading to violent actions during REM sleep.
o NREM Sleep: Non-rapid eye movement sleep characteristic of stages 2,
3, and 4
• Dreaming and REMs occur mainly during light sleep, similar to stage 1.
Dreaming is accompanied by emotional arousal but relaxation of the skeletal
muscles.
• People deprived of dream sleep show a REM rebound when allowed to sleep
without interruption. However, total sleep loss seems to be more important than
loss of a single stage.
• In addition to several other possible functions, REM sleep appears to aid the
processing of memories.

What are the causes of sleep disorders and unusual sleep events?
• Sleepwalking (somnambulism) and sleep talking occur during NREM sleep.
Night terrors occur in NREM sleep, whereas nightmares occur in REM sleep.
Narcolepsy (sleep attacks) and cataplexy are caused by a sudden shift to stage 1
REM patterns during normal waking hours.
o Night Terrors: A state of panic during NREM sleep.
o Nightmares: A bad dream that occurs during REM sleep.
 Imagery Rehearsal: Mentally rehearsing and changing a
nightmare in attempt to prevent it from recurring.
 o Narcolepsy: A sudden, irresistible sleep attack.
o Cataplexy: A sudden temporary paralysis of the muscles.
• Sleep apnea (interrupted breathing) is one source of insomnia and daytime
hypersomnia (sleepiness).
• Apnea is suspected as one cause of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Exposure to secondhand smoke is a major risk factor for SIDS. With only a few
exceptions, healthy infants should sleep face up or on their sides.
o Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS): The sudden, unexplained
death of an apparently healthy baby.
• Insomnia may be temporary or chronic. When it is treated through the use of
drugs, sleep quality is often lowered and drug-dependency insomnia may develop.
o Insomnia: Difficulty in getting to sleep or staying asleep.
o Temporary Insomnia: A brief period of insomnia.
o Chronic Insomnia: Insomnia that persists for more than 3 weeks.
o Drug-Dependency Insomnia: Insomnia that follows withdrawal from
sleeping pills
• Behavioral approaches to managing insomnia, such as sleep restriction and
stimulus control, are quite effective.
o Stimulus Control: Linking a particular response with specific stimuli.

Do dreams have meaning?

• Most dream content is about familiar settings, people, and actions. Dreams more
often involve negative emotions than positive emotions.
• The Freudian, or psychodynamic, view is that dreams express unconscious
wishes, frequently hidden by dream symbols.
o Psychodynamic Theory: Any theory of behavior that emphasizes internal
conflicts, motives, and unconscious forces.
o Wish Fulfillment: Freudian belief that many dreams express unconscious
desires.
o Dream Symbols: Images in dreams that serve as visible signs of hidden
ideas, desires, impulses, emotions, relationships, and so forth.
• Many theorists have questioned Freud’s view of dreams. For example, the
activation-synthesis model portrays dreaming as a physiological process.
o Activation-Synthesis Hypothesis: An attempt to explain how dream
content is affected by motor commands in the brain that occur during
sleep, but are not carried out.

How is hypnosis done, and what are its limitations?

• Hypnosis is an altered state characterized by a narrow attention and increased
suggestibility. (Not all psychologists agree that hypnotic effects require an
alteration of consciousness.)
o Hidden Observer: A detached part of the hypnotized person’s awareness
that silently observes events.
 • Hypnosis appears capable of producing relaxation, controlling pain, and altering
perceptions. Stage hypnotism takes advantage of typical stage behavior and uses
deception to simulate hypnosis.

How does sensory deprivation affect consciousness?

• Extreme or unusual stimulus conditions often induce altered states of
consciousness. A prime example is sensory deprivation.
o Sensory Deprivation: Any major reduction in the amount or variety of
sensory stimulation.
• Prolonged sensory deprivation is stressful and disruptive. However, brief sensory
deprivation can enhance sensitivity and promote relaxation. Sensory deprivation
also appears to aid the breaking of long-standing habits and it facilitates creative
thinking.

What are the effects if the more commonly used psychoactive drugs?
• A psychoactive drug is a substance that affects the brain in ways that alter
consciousness. Most psychoactive drugs can be placed on a scale ranging from
stimulation to depression.
o Stimulant: A substance that increases activity in the body and nervous
system.
o Depressant: A substance that decreases activity in the body and nervous
system.
• Drugs may cause a physical dependence (addiction) or a psychological
dependence, or both. The physically addicting drugs are alcohol, amphetamines,
barbiturates, cocaine, codeine, GHB, heroin, methadone, morphine, nicotine, and
tranquilizers. All psychoactive drugs can lead to psychological dependence.
o Physical Dependence: Physical addiction, as indicated by the presence of
drug tolerance and withdrawal symptoms.
 Drug Tolerance: A reduction in the body’s response to a drug.
 Withdrawal Symptoms: Physical illness and discomfort
following the withdrawal of a drug.
o Psychological Dependence: Drug dependence that is based primarily on
emotional or psychological needs.
• Drug use can be classified as experimental, recreational, situational, intensive, and
compulsive. Drug abuse is most often associated with the last three.
o Experimental Drug Use: Short-term use based on curiosity.
o Social-Recreational Drug Use: Occasional social use for pleasure or
relaxation.
o Situational Drug Use: Use to cope with a specific problem, such as
needing to stay awake.
o Intensive Drug Use: Daily use with elements of dependence.
o Compulsive Drug Use: Intense use and extreme dependence.
• Stimulant drugs are readily abused because of the period of depression that often
follows stimulation. The greatest risks are associated with amphetamines
(especially methamphetamine), cocaine, MDMA, and nicotine, but even caffeine
 can be a problem. Nicotine includes the added risk of lung cancer, heart disease,
and other problems.
o Amphetamines: A class of synthetic drugs having stimulant effects on the
nervous system.
 Amphetamine Psychosis: A severe disruption of psychological
functioning caused by abuse of amphetamines.
o Methamphetamine: A stimulant drug closely related to amphetamine in
structure and effect.
o Cocaine: A crystalline drug derived from coca leaves; used as a central
nervous system stimulant and local anesthetic.
 Anhedonia: An inability to feel pleasure.
o MDMA (Methylenedioxymethamphetamine): A stimulant drug closely
related to amphetamine and commonly known as Ecstasy.
o Nicotine: A potent stimulant drug found in tobacco; nicotine is a known
carcinogen.
 Carcinogen: A substance capable of causing cancer.
o Caffeine: A natural drug with stimulant properties; found in coffee and
tea and added to artificial beverages and medicines.
 Caffeinism: Excessive consumption of caffeine, leading to
dependence and a variety of physical and psychological
complaints.
• Barbiturates and tranquilizers are depressant drugs whose action is similar to that
of alcohol. The overdose level for barbiturates and GHB is close to the
intoxication dosage, making them dangerous drugs. Mixing barbiturates,
tranquilizers, or GHB and alcohol may result in a fatal drug interaction.
o Barbiturate: One of a large group of sedative drugs that depress activity
in the nervous system.
o Tranquilizers: A drug that lowers anxiety and reduces tension.
o Alcohol: Common name for ethyl alcohol, the intoxicating element in
fermented and distilled liquors.
o GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate): An illicit central nervous system
depressant that produces intoxication and sedation.
• Alcohol is the most heavily abused drug in common use today. The development
of a drinking problem is usually marked by an initial phase of increasing
consumption, a crucial phase, in which a single drink can set off a chain reaction,
and a chronic phase, in which a person lives to drink and drinks to live.
o Alcohol Myopia: Shortsighted thinking and perception that occurs during
alcohol intoxication.
o Binge Drinking: Consuming five or more drinks in a short time (four
drinks for women).
o Detoxification: In the treatment of alcoholism, the withdrawal of the
patient from alcohol.
• Marijuana is subject to an abuse pattern similar to alcohol. Studies have linked
chronic marijuana use with lung cancer, various mental impairments, and other
health problems.
 o Marijuana: The leaves and flowers of the hemp plant, Cannabis Sativa.
 Hallucinogen: A substance that alters or distorts sensory
impressions.
 THC: Tetrahydrocannabinol, the main active chemical in
marijuana.
 Hashish: Resinous material scraped from the leaves of the hemp
plant; hashish has a high concentration of THC.

How can dreams be used to promote personal understanding?

• Dreams may be used to promote self-understanding. Freud held that the meaning
of dreams is hidden by condensation, displacement, symbolization, and secondary
elaboration.
o Dream Processes: Mental filters that hide the true meaning of dreams.
o Condensation: Combining several people, objects, or events into a single
dream image.
o Displacement: Directing emotions or actions toward safe or unimportant
dream images.
o Symbolization: The nonliteral expression of dream content.
o Secondary Elaboration: Making a dream more logical and complete
while remembering it.
• Hall emphasizes the setting, cast, plot, and emotions of a dream. Catwright’s view
of dreams as feeling statements and Perls’s technique of speaking for dream
elements are also helpful. Dreams may be used for creative problem solving,
especially when dream control is achieved through lucid dreaming.
o Lucid Dream: A dream in which the dreamer feels awake and capable of
normal thought and action.

Why is drug abuse so widespread?

• Drug abuse is related to a variety of factors, especially personal and social
maladjustment, attempts to cope, the immediate reinforcing qualities of
psychoactive drugs, peer group influences, and expectations about the value and
effect of drugs.
• Proposed remedies for drug abuse have ranged from severe punishment to
legalization. The search for a solution continues.

Additional Vocabulary:
• Page 255:
o Electroencephalogram (EEG): A device designed to detect, amplify, and
record electrical activity in the brain.
• Page 259:
o Tryptophan: A sleep-promoting amino acid.
• Page 265:
o Mesmerize: To hypnotize.
o Hypnotic Susceptibility: One’s capacity for becoming hypnotized.
 o Self-Hypnosis: A state of hypnosis attained without the aid of a hypnotist;
autosuggestion.
o Basic Suggestion Effect: The tendency of hypnotized persons to carry out
suggested actions as if they were involuntary.
o Stage Hypnosis: Use of hypnosis to entertain; often, merely a simulation
of hypnosis for that purpose.
• Page 267:
o Hypnogogic Images: Vivid mental images that may occur just as one
enters stage 1 sleep.
o REST: Restricted environmental stimulation therapy (mild sensory
deprivation can help people quit smoking, lose weight, and reduce their
use of alcohol and drugs.)