Consciousness

The nature of consciousness


Consciousness refers to the subjective awareness of metal events and serves two main functions;

1. Monitoring the self and the environment and
2. Controlling thought and behaviour

Perspectives on consciousness


The psychodynamic perspective. Freud distinguished three types of mental activities conscious processes, of which of the person is currently subjectively aware; preconscious processes, which are not presently conscious but could be readily brought into consciousness; and the unconscious processes, which are dynamically kept from consciousness because they are threatening.

The cognitive perspective. The cognitive unconscious focuses on information-processing mechanisms that operate outside of awareness, such as procedural knowledge and implicit memory.

The behavioural perspective. Consciousness was considered analogous to a continuously moving video camera, surveying potentially significant perceptions, thoughts, emotions, goals and problem-solving strategies. The two functions of consciousness - monitor and control - allow people to initiate and terminate thought and behaviour in order to attain goals.

The evolutionary perspective. Consciousness evolved as a mechanism for directing behaviour in adaptive ways, which was superimposed on more primitive psychological processes such as conditioning. The primary function of consciousness is to foster adaptation.

Sleeping and dreaming


The sleep cycle is governed by circadian rhythms, cyclical biological 'clocks' that evolved around the daily cycles of light and dark

Sleep proceeds through a series of stages that can be assessed by EEG. The major distinction is between rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM (NREM) sleep. Most dreaming occurs in REM sleep, in which the eye dart around and the EEG takes on an active pattern resembling waking consciousness.

Three theories on dreaming:

1. Freud believed that dreams have meaning and distinguished between the manifest content (story line) and the latent content (underlying meaning) of the dream

2. The cognitive perspective suggests that dreams are the outcome of cognitive processes and that their content reflects the concerns and metaphors people express in their waking cognition

3. Some theorists propose that dreams are biological phenomena with no meaning at all

Altered states of consciousness


Altered states of consciousness, in which the usual conscious ways of perceiving, thinking and feeling are modified or disrupted, are often brought about through meditation, hypnosis, ingestion of drugs and religious experiences

Meditation creates a deep state of tranquility by altering the normal flow of conscious thoughts

Hypnosis is characterised by deep relaxation and suggestibility

The most common way people alter their state of consciousness is by ingesting psychoactive substances - such as alcohol and other depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens and marijuana - that operate on the nervous system to alter mental activity