ALTERED STATES OF

CONSCI OUSNESS
CONSCI OUSNESS: SLEEP | DREAMS | HYPNOSI S | DRUGS

CONSCI OUSNESS
A persons awareness of
everything that is going on
around him/her at any
given moment.
Waking Consciousness
ALTERED STATE OF
CONSCI OUSNESS
State in which there is a
shift in the quality or
pattern of mental activity as
compared to waking
consciousness.
There are many forms of
ASC. Ex: daydreaming,
being hypnotised, etc.
The most common altered
state is sleep.
SLEEP
one of the human bodys
biological rhythms (natural
cycles of activity that the
body must go through)
Circadian Rhythm - a cycle
of bodily rhythm that
occurs over a 24 hour
period.
Circa - about; Diem - day
NECESSI TY
OF SLEEP
Hypothalamus - tiny section
of the brain that influence
the glandular system.
Suprachiasmatic Nucleus -
internal clock that tells
people when to wake up
and when to fall asleep.
Tells the pineal gland to
secrete melatonin.
NECESSI TY
OF SL EEP
Microsleeps - brief
sidesteps into sleep only
lasting few seconds.
Sleep deprivation - any
significant loss of sleep,
resulting in problems in
concentration and
memory.
WHY WE SL EEP
Adaptive Theory - Animals evolved sleep patterns to
avoid predators by sleeping when predators are most
active.
Restorative Theory - Sleep replenishes chemicals and
repairs cellular damage.
Figure 4.1 Sleep Patterns of Infants and Adults
Infants need far more sleep than older children and adults. Both REM sleep and NREM sleep decrease dramatically in
the first 10 years of life, with the greatest decrease in REM sleep. Nearly 50 percent of an infants sleep is REM,
compared to only about 20 percent for a normal, healthy adult. (Roffwarg, 1966)
STAGES OF SLEEP
Rapid Eye Movement (REM) - stage of sleep in which the
eyes move rapidly under the eyelids and the person is
typically experiencing a dream.
Voluntary muscles are inhibited
90% of dreaming
Non-REM (NREM) - any of the stages of sleep that do not
include the REM.
The body is free to move around
STAGES OF SL EEP: PRE- SL EEP
Beta Waves (smaller/faster) - person is wide awake and
mentally active.
Alpha Waves (larger/slower) - person is relaxed or
lightly sleeping.
STAGES OF SL EEP: NON- REM
Stage 1: Theta waves; light sleep; hypnic jerk;
hypnagogic images
Stage 2: Temperature, breathing and heart rate
decreases; sleep spindles
Stage 3 and 4: Delta waves; deep sleep; growth
hormones released; hard to wake up.
Figure 4.3 A Typical Nights Sleep
The graph shows the typical progression through the night of Stages 14 and REM sleep. Stages 14 are indicated on the y-axis, and REM
stages are represented by the green curves on the graph. The REM periods occur about every 90 minutes throughout the night (Dement, 1974).
SL EEP
DI SORDERS
NI GHTMARES
Bad dreams arousing
feelings of horror,
helplessness, extreme
sorrow, etc.
REM BEHAVI OR
DI SORDER
A rare disorder in which
the mechanism that blocks
the movement of voluntary
muscles fail, allowing the
person to thrash around
and act out nightmares.
SL EEPWAL KI NG
( SOMNAMBUL I SM)
Occurring during deep
sleep.
More common in children
Sleepwalkers will not have
memories of the
sleepwalking episode.
NI GHT
TERRORS
Relatively rare disorder in
which the person
experiences extreme fear
and screams or runs
around during deep sleep
without fully waking.
A VAL I D DEFENSE?
Should sleepwalking be a valid defines for a crime as
serious as murder? What about other crimes?
What kind of evidence should be required to convince
a jury that a crime was committed during
sleepwalking?
PROBLEMS
DURI NG SLEEP
Insomnia - the inability to
get to sleep, stay asleep,
or get a good quality of
sleep.
Sleep Apnea - disorder in
which the person stops
breathing for nearly half a
minute or more.
Narcolepsy - a sleep
disorder in which a person
falls into REM sleep
without warning.
Cataplexy - sudden
loss muscle tone
DREAMS
SI GMUND FREUD
WI SH
FUL FI L L MENT
Manifest Content - the
actually dream itself.
Latent Content - the true,
hidden meaning of the
dream.

HYPNOSI S
State of consciousness in
which the person is
especially susceptible to
suggestion.
FOUR EL EMENTS
OF HYPNOSI S
Person is told to focus on
what is being said
Person is told to feel tired
and relax
Person is to told to accept
suggestions
Person is told to use vivid
imagination
HYPNOSI S
CAN:
Produce amnesia
Reduce pain
Alter sensory impressions
Help people relax
HYPNOSI S
CANNOT:
Give increased strength
Reliably enhance memory
Regress people to an
earlier age or an earlier life
THEORI ES OF HYNOSI S
Hypnosis as dissociation
works on immediate consciousness, while hidden
observer is aware of everything going on.
Social-Cognitive Perspective
Hypnotized people not in altered state but are
playing situational role expected of them.
THE I NFL UENCE
OF
PSYCHOACTI VE
DRUGS
ALTERED STATES:
PSYCHOACTI VE
DRUGS
Drugs that alter
thinking, perception,
and memory.
WHAT S THE DI FFERENCE BETWEEN PHYSI CAL
AND PSYCHOLOGI CAL DEPENDENCE?
Physical Dependence
Persons body becomes
unavailable to function
normally without drugs.
Tolerance
Withdrawal
Negative
Reinforcement
Psychological Dependence
The feeling that a
drug is needed to
continue a feeling of
emotional or
psychological well-
being.
Positive
reinforcement
STI MUL ANTS
Drugs that increase the functioning of the
nervous system
Amphetamines - synthesized drugs
( made in labs)
Cocaine - natural drug; produces
euphoria, energy, power, and
pleasure.
Nicotine - active ingredient in tabacco
Caffeine
DEPRESSANTS
Drugs that decrease the functioning of the nervous system.
Barbituates - depressant drugs that have a sedative
effect.
Benzodiazepines - drugs that lower anxiety and
reduce stress.
Rohypnol - the date rape drug.
Alcohol
NARCOTI CS
A class of opium related drugs that suppress the the
sensation of pain by binding to and stimulating the
nervous systems natural receptor sites for endorphins.
Opium - derived from the opium poppy from
which all narcotic drugs are derived.
Morphine - Used to treat severe pain.
Heroine - derived from opium and extremely
addictive.
HAL L UCI NOGENS
Psychogenic Drugs - drugs including
hallucinogens and marijuana that produces
hallucinations or increased feelings of relaxation
and intoxication.
Hallucinogens - drugs that causes false
sensory messages, altering the
perception of reality.
LSD (lysergic acid diathylamide) -
powerful synthetic hallucinogen.
PCP - synthesised drug now used as an
animal tranquilliser.
MDMA (Ecstasy or X) - designer drug that can have
both stimulant and hallucinatory effects.
Psilocybin - natural hallucinogen found in certain
mushrooms; shrooms
MARI J UANA
pot or weed
mild hallucinogen derived from leaves and flowers of a
particular hemp plant.