States of Consciousness
States of Consciousness
What is a “State of Consciousness” * A pattern of subjective experience, and a way of explaining internal and external events in our lives * The various states of consciousness that we all experience * In between wakefulness and sleep * Times of day when we daydream
Forms of Consciousness * Subjective/private - no one knows what reality is like for anyone else - every human creature is constituted to be able profound and secret mystery to every other * Dynamic - We drift in/out of various states all the time * Self-Reflective - the mind is aware of its own consciousness - your brain reflects on the fact that “you” are conscious
Conscious and Unconscious Mind * Cognitive penises - reject Freud * There is no unconscious mind driven by repressed emotions and instinctive urges (Freud’s Id) * The unconscious mind is * A support service * Works in harmony with our conscious mind
Controlled vs. Automatic Processing * Controlled Processing - when you do something deliberate (eg. study, decide to do something, etc.) * Automatic Processing - something we have done so often we think very little about it (typing, driving, using utensils) * Drawbacks - prevents us considering new ways of doing something * Benefits - faster, quicker response time; doing two things at once (eating and talking - known as divided attention) * Problem - divided attention can be a drawback (accident rates increase 3-4 with talking on a cell and driving)
Emotional Unconscious * Our moods are affected by the environment - often in ways we don’t perceive * University experiment - students subjected to word that are * Strongly negative - cancer * mildly negative (monday * Mildly positive - parade * Strongly positive - friends
Results
* Asked to rate their mood afterwards * Those who experience negative words had a less positive
What is a “State of Consciousness” * A pattern of subjective experience, and a way of explaining internal and external events in our lives * The various states of consciousness that we all experience * In between wakefulness and sleep * Times of day when we daydream
Forms of Consciousness * Subjective/private - no one knows what reality is like for anyone else - every human creature is constituted to be able profound and secret mystery to every other * Dynamic - We drift in/out of various states all the time * Self-Reflective - the mind is aware of its own consciousness - your brain reflects on the fact that “you” are conscious
Conscious and Unconscious Mind * Cognitive penises - reject Freud * There is no unconscious mind driven by repressed emotions and instinctive urges (Freud’s Id) * The unconscious mind is * A support service * Works in harmony with our conscious mind
Controlled vs. Automatic Processing * Controlled Processing - when you do something deliberate (eg. study, decide to do something, etc.) * Automatic Processing - something we have done so often we think very little about it (typing, driving, using utensils) * Drawbacks - prevents us considering new ways of doing something * Benefits - faster, quicker response time; doing two things at once (eating and talking - known as divided attention) * Problem - divided attention can be a drawback (accident rates increase 3-4 with talking on a cell and driving)
Emotional Unconscious * Our moods are affected by the environment - often in ways we don’t perceive * University experiment - students subjected to word that are * Strongly negative - cancer * mildly negative (monday * Mildly positive - parade * Strongly positive - friends
Results
* Asked to rate their mood afterwards * Those who experience negative words had a less positive