Chapter 5 Psychology 175.102

Qualitatively different patterns of subjective experience, including ways of experiencing both internal and external events.

The subject of awareness of mental events

Refers to the process of focusing conscious awareness, providing heightened sensitivity to a limited range of experience requiring more extensive information processing.

Diverted attention from information that maybe relevant but emotionally upsetting.

Involves automatising one or more tasks or rapidly shifting attention between them, refers to the capacity to split attention or cognitive resources between two or more tasks.

Training attention away from external stimuli to internal thoughts and imagined scenarios.

Awake and alert (beta waves) Relaxed, eyes closed (Alpha waves) Stage one. (Theta waves) Only lasts a few minutes Stage two. Sleep deepens as alpha activity disappears Stage three. (Delta waves) Slow rhythmic delta waves Stage four. (Mostly delta waves) Deep sleep categorised by relaxed muscles, decreased rate of respiration and slightly lower body temperature. REM stage. Rapid eye movement sleep. After a period of REM sleep, the person the same thinking through stage two and onto Delta sleep.

Meditation, hypnosis, ingestion of drugs and religious experiences.

The meditator develops a deep state of tranquillity by altering the normal flow of conscious thoughts.

Characterised by deep relaxation and suggestibility.

Drugs that operate on the nervous system to alter mental activity.

Substances that depress or slow down the nervous system. Common depressants are barbiturates and benzodiazepines.

Also known as downers, these provide a sedative or calming effect and in higher doses can be used as sleeping pills.

Or antianxiety agents, serve as tranquilizers; common examples are Valium and Xanax.

Also a depressant that slows down the activity of the central nervous system. The immediate effects of its use can range from intense pleasure and a strong feeling of well-being to feeling confused, drowsiness, reduced coordination, nausea and vomiting. Long-term effects include dependence, depression and cognitive impairment. People who are physically dependent on heroine usually develop tolerance to drug, making it necessary to take more and more to get the desired effect. Eventually, a dose plateau is reached, at which no amount of the drug is sufficient.

Alcohol is a depressant contrary to common belief.

Drugs that increase alertness, energy and autonomic reactivity such as heart rate and BP. Range from commonly used substances such as nicotine and caffeine to more potent ones such as amphetamines and cocaine.

Nicotine increases heartbreak BP while often decreasing emotional reactivity. Thus cigarette smokers often report that smoking increases the arousal and alertness while also providing a soothing perfect.

Whereas moderate amounts of caffeine can help a person stay awake, high doses can produce symptoms indistinguishable from anxiety disorders, such as the jitters or even panic.

Cocaine causes hyperarousal, leading to a rush that can last a few minutes to several hours. Cocaine is one of the most potent pleasure-inducing substances, as well as one of the most addictive, ever discovered.

Amphetamines lead to hyperarousal and a feeling of speeding, where everything seems to move quickly. The molecular structure of amphetamines is similar to that of neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine.

Derive their name from hallucinations: sensations and perceptions that occur in the absence of external stimulation.

Ecstasy interferes with the concentration and action of serotonin and our brains, resulting in a change of mood, repression of libido and appetite, mental stimulation and increased body temperature.

Marijuana produces a state of being high, or stoned, during which the individual may feel euphoric, giddy, uninhibited or contemplative. During a marijuana high, judgement is moderately impaired, problem solving becomes less focused and efficient, and attention is more difficult to direct.