1. Consciousness and
Its Altered States
January 29, 2013

3. OBJECTIVES
• At the end of the discussion about
Consciousness you are expected to:
COGNITIVE:
define consciousness in your own
words
examine critically one’s
consciousness

4. AFFECTIVE
find pleasure in studying the
consciousness of human beings

PSYCHOMOTOR
draw-out conclusions based on the
given
facts
about
human
consciousness


5. Definition and
Brief History of
Consciousness

6. Consciousness is
a state of
awareness of
the outside
world, of our
own thoughts
and feelings

7. William James
• One of the
earliest
Psychologists
who dealt
with
consciousness

8. Established the first laboratory
of experimental Psychology in
Harvard University
Believes that our everyday
conscious experience is only one
of the possible forms of
consciousness

9. He argued that there are
uncharted regions of human
consciousness that can be
explored by studying mental
illnesses, dreams and drug use

10. INTROSPECTION
Examination of
one’s own thoughts
and feelings
Objective
description of one’s
experiences

11. Normal Waking
Consciousness
What does it mean to be
conscious?

12. Directed Consciousness
• Our conscious
experience is
focused, ordered
and one-tracked

13. Flowing Consciousness
• When our
awareness
drifts from
one thought
to another

14. Daydreaming
• This is the period
of focused,
directed thinking
and feeling
about fantasies

15. Daydreams include fantasies
about ordinary, everyday things
as well as extravagant flights of
fancy (Klinger,1987)
Daydreams add color and
intrigue to our lives, making
them more exciting.

16. Advantages and Uses of
daydreams
Daydreams help make our life
more creative and original
Use the past to explore the
future
Help develop your personality

17. Divided Consciousness
• Characterized by splitting of two
conscious activities that occur
simultaneously, performing two
activities at the same time

18. Consciousness
and
Attention

19. Selective Attention
• The cognitive mental
process that limits the
amount of information
into consciousness

20. Attention
• William James referred to this as
the means by which we can scan
the environment and select only
stimuli to which we respond
while ignoring other stimuli

21. Subconscious
Mental Activity

22. Subconscious processes
are mental or behavioral
activities that take place
outside of conscious
awareness

24. Preconscious Processes
Are those subconscious
activities that can be
brought into awareness by
paying attention

25. Unconscious Process
Are those subconscious mental
activities that are more or less
permanently unavailable to
consciousness

26. Altered States of
Consciousness

28. Meditation
A popular exercise and an
important part of yoga and
other religious practices of
Buddhism and other Asian
religions

29. Simplest form
involves assuming
a relaxed sitting
position or lying
position and
breathing deeply,
slowly, and
rhythmically

30. • In some forms of meditation,
the individual repeats a sound
or word silently to himself or
herself – these words which
have religious meanings are
known as mantras

31. Goal of Meditation
Transcendental State
 achieving a desirable
altered state of
consciousness

32. Effects of Meditation
POSITIVE
 Has effect on personality,
performance and perception

33.  provides evidence for
enhanced creativity,
perceptual sensitivity, selfactualization, self-control
and satisfaction in life

34.  Elicits significant
physiological effects
– Heart rate drops during
meditation
– Blood pressure falls on
regular practice

35.  Can be therapeutic for
various psychological and
psychosomatic disorders like
anxiety, phobia, posttraumatic stress disorders,
mild depression, etc.

36. NEGATIVE
 Psychological difficulties at any
stage specifically for beginners –
episodes of anxiety and depression
and even psychotic breaks
particularly for those with history of
previous psychosis may surface
according to some experts

37. Hypnosis

38. Is a psychological state, induced
by ritualistic procedure in which
the subject experiences changes
in perception, memory and
behavior in response to
suggestions by the hypnotist

39. Characteristics
1. A sense of deep relaxation
and peacefulness exists
2. A hypnotized person
experiences hypnotic
hallucinations

40. 3. When told to do so, the
subject may experience
hypnotic analgesia, that is,
the subject may lose the
sense of touch or pain in
some regions of the body

41. 4. The subject can sometimes be
made to feel that he or she is
going back in time to an earlier
stage of life, such as childhood
5. The actions of hypnotized
individual sometimes seem as
if they are out of individual’s
control

42. Depersonalization
• Refers to the perceptual experience of
one’s body becoming “distorted” or
“unreal”
• It includes the illusion that the mind has
left the body and traveled about in a so
called “out-of-body experience” or
“astral projection”

43. Altering
Consciousness With
Drugs

44. Psychoactive Drugs
Drugs that alter
conscious
experience .
They have
powerful effects
and can be very
addictive.

45. TYPES

46. A. Stimulants
 Drugs that increase the
activity of the CNS –
providing a sense of energy
and well-being
 Often they are called uppers

47. Examples
• Caffeine – coffee, tea, soft drinks
• Nicotine – cigarettes and other
tobacco products
HEALTH RISK
• Abnormal heart rhythms, anxiety,
insomnia

48. • Amphetamines – stimulant drugs
that generally produce a conscious
sense of increased energy,
alertness, enthusiasm, and a
euphoria

49. Amphetamine Psychosis
A prolonged reaction to excessive
use of stimulants characterized
by distorted thinking, confused
and rapidly changing emotions
and intense suspiciousness

50. • Cocaine – made from the leaves of
coca plants
–Commonly inhaled as powder or
smoked in the dangerously powerful
form known as crack and the poor
man’s cocaine known as shabu
–Repeated use often causes a paranoid
suspiciousness

51. B. Narcotics
• Are powerful and highly
addictive depressants
• Examples: Heroin , opium –
relieve pain and induce a sudden
rushing high, followed by a
relaxed lethargic drowsiness

52. C. Depressants
• Are a large class of
psychoactive drugs that
influence conscious
experience by depressing
parts of the CNS

53. Examples
• Alcohol – most widely abused
drug to which most individuals
are physiologically addicted
- psychotropic drug in liquid
form

54. Effects
• Works principally as a depressant,
though it stimulates sociability and
exuberant activity
• It impairs visual judgment and
motor control and induces
sleepiness
• It worsens negative moods,

55. • Sedatives - Often called
downers, are depressants that
in mild doses generally produce
a state of calm relaxation
• Prescribe to aid sleep and
sometimes to combat anxiety

56. • Tranquilizers - Milder drugs
that are similar to sedatives
• They produce a sense of
calm relaxation for a brief
period of time

57. D. Hallucinogens
• Sometimes called psychedelics
• These drugs alter perceptual
experiences, but only large doses
cause vivid hallucinations
• Examples are Mescaline, Lysergic
acid diethylamide (LSD) and
psilocybin

58. Other Drugs
• Marijuana – produces a sense of
relaxation and well-being
–Prolonged use decreases the
efficiency of cognitive process,
weakens the body immune system,
decreases the action of male
hormones and increases risk of lung
cancer

59. • Inhalants – substances that
when inhaled produce a sense
of intoxication
–Toxic (poisonous) substances are
glue, paint, etc.
–These toxic fumes often cause
permanent damage and other
serious complications