Consciousness Psychology: States Of Consciousness In Social Psychology
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What is consciousness in social psychology?
States or levels of consciousness can vary. For example, you experience different levels of consciousness when you’re awake, asleep, preconscious, unconscious, and under the influence of alcohol or other substances.
What is consciousness in Freud’s psychoanalytic theory?
In Freud's psychoanalytic theory, consciousness is the part of the mind that contains our immediate thoughts, feelings, and perceptions, distinguishing it from the deeper, unconscious processes that influence behavior without our awareness.
Theories of consciousness: Exploring levels of consciousness
Sigmund Freud developed a theory of the levels of consciousness called psychoanalytic theory, which is still used by some psychologists today. Psychoanalytic theory divides consciousness into three levels: the conscious, the unconscious, and the preconscious.
Theories on the brain, memory, and the conscious in social psychology: Levels of consciousness
- Conscious: When you're conscious of something, you can think about it logically and talk about what you're experiencing.
- Preconscious: In preconsciousness, information is available to the consciousness of the brain, though it is not currently used.
- Unconscious: Freud was particularly interested in the unconscious, believing that unlocking the unconscious would provide relief from neuroticism. He saw this part of the mind as a place where urges, emotions, and ideas created conflicts, anxiety, and pain. The unconscious contained fears, immoral and sexual urges, violent motives, irrational wishes, selfish needs, and shameful experiences. Freud theorized that unconsciousness strongly influenced consciousness and behavior.
States of consciousness: Awareness, memory, and the nervous system
Consciousness exists on a continuum from a total lack of awareness, such as being in a coma, to heightened awareness achieved through meditative practice. Different levels of the continuum include:
- Ordinary wakeful consciousness
- Hypervigilance
- Lethargy
- Sleep
- Dreaming
- Hypnotic state
- Drug-induced states
- Meditative state
- Dissociative states
- Partial epileptic seizures
- Coma
The nervous system plays a key role in regulating these states by modulating neural activity.
Psychological perspective on the stream of consciousness
According to the psychologist William James, we exhibit many forms of consciousness that are highly personal, selective, active, and continuous. He coined the term “stream of consciousness” to describe the flow of our consciousness. The state of consciousness you’re experiencing can affect the ways you perceive stimuli. Similarly, conscious events also occur with nonhuman animals such as chimpanzees, dolphins, elephants, birds, and other animals like octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish.
The experience of altered states of consciousness and feelings
A person who is not unconscious experiences an altered state of consciousness when there is a change in their baseline mental state. This can result from meditation, trauma, drugs, food, a stimulating environment, sleeping, daydreaming, lack of sleep, etc. Altered states of consciousness can change:
- Sense of self
- Time perception
- Mental unity
- Volition
- Perception of reality
- Body image
- Emotions
There are times when people deliberately alter their consciousness, such as by meditating or drinking alcohol. The following are more examples of altered consciousness:
Hypnotic state: Feelings and imagination
Hypnosis describes a level of consciousness removed from the immediate surroundings, where people become fully integrated into their internal experiences, including feelings and imagination. Through deliberate focus on the imaginary and through suggestion, therapists can help clients enter a hypnotic state of reality.
Hypnosis can be used in a therapeutic context to reduce anxiety, to help a person disconnect from unpleasant side effects of medications (such as chemotherapy), to reduce the experience of pain, and to help the person connect with unconscious processing. In one study, hypnotism was found to reduce pain perception by 50% and create physiological changes in parts of the brain.
Meditative state with awareness
A meditative state is similar to the state of self-hypnosis. However, hypnosis is generally focused on achieving a specific objective, whereas meditation is often an open-ended practice.
Consciousness can be altered in several ways during and after meditation. One study revealed that the changes in consciousness were most profound when the eyes were closed for meditation. With different states of consciousness, you can feel changes in:
- Sense of time
- Imagery
- Self-consciousness
- Sense of meaning
- Sense of unity
- Mental clarity
- Positive emotions
- The sense of being in an altered state
Research consistently shows that practicing meditation can reduce stress and improve psychological and physical well-being.
Drug-induced state: Psychological impact on the nervous system
Different drugs affect the brain and consciousness differently:
- Alcohol changes levels of neurotransmitters, slows actions and reactions, causes cognitive functions to slow down, and increases dopamine.
- Marijuana changes thoughts, memory, and the perception of pain.
- Cocaine changes the reuptake of neurotransmitters, including norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin.
- Ecstasy increases positive emotions, decreases inhibitions, and increases the sense of intimacy with other people.
- Opiates reduce pain, cause euphoria, and ultimately decrease the production of endorphins in the body.
- Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) turns on serotonin receptors and affects the central cortex of the brain, which in turn changes thoughts, attitudes, insight, and sensory perceptions. LSD can change emotions dramatically over the course of its effect.
Psychosis in consciousness psychology
Psychosis is an altered consciousness state in which it's difficult to distinguish what is real from what isn't. With psychosis, you may experience visual or auditory hallucinations that others may not see or hear. You may have delusions, which are false beliefs, and your thoughts, speech, and behavior may become disorganized.
Several disorders can cause brief or prolonged periods of psychosis. These include schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, delusional disorder, psychotic disorder due to medical conditions, and schizotypal personality disorder. Oftentimes, a combination of medications (such as antipsychotic drugs and/or antidepressants) and cognitive behavioral therapy can effectively manage psychosis.
Lack of consciousness
Lack of consciousness occurs when someone does not have their normal awareness of both internal and external stimuli. Fainting, called syncope, is a loss of consciousness that typically lasts for less than a minute. When a lack of consciousness elapses for a prolonged period, it is typically classified as a coma. In addition to that, prolonged unconsciousness may also result from brain damage. The severity and location of the brain damage may determine its impact on cognitive functions and the recovery of conscious awareness.
Sleep: A fundamental experience in states of consciousness
Historically, scientists assumed that deep, non-REM sleep was in the same state as a lack of consciousness. However, recent studies suggest that other altered states happen during the sleep-wake cycle. There are different functions of non-REM sleep, such as memory consolidation, and different non-REM sleep experiences, including the perception and sensations that occur during sleep.
Dreaming and information storage
Dreaming is a type of altered state in which you experience hallucinations that have a story-like quality. Dreams often contain vivid images that come from your imagination. You may have imagined sensory perceptions, such as seeing, hearing, or touching things that are not there.
Partial epileptic seizures
Epilepsy can cause an altered state of consciousness during seizures. Studies of partial epileptic seizures have found that people can hallucinate during seizures, experience changes in thoughts and behaviors, and express feelings dissociated from reality.
Confronting challenges regarding a conscious
Psychosis and drug-induced altered states of consciousness can make it difficult to interact effectively with your surroundings, which can be both isolating and potentially harmful to your safety. If you’re concerned about your mental health, you might seek therapy from a licensed professional with experience in cognitive psychology.
More information on online therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a specific type of psychotherapy that can help you learn to identify, monitor, and redirect your thoughts and feelings while building healthier coping mechanisms. Oftentimes, CBT therapists ask their clients to use evidence from the external world to challenge their thoughts and preconceptions. Behavioral therapists may also draw on principles from classical conditioning to help people change negative behaviors. A study from 2018 found that CBT significantly reduced symptoms of psychosis, particularly in those with schizophrenia. According to a 2017 study, cognitive behavioral techniques may even help reduce seizure frequency for patients with epilepsy, possibly by reducing stress.
Some people with certain mental health concerns may find it burdensome to leave home for therapy, which may make online therapy a more appealing option. For individuals with psychiatric disorders, including depression, generalized anxiety, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and bipolar disorder, a 2017 study found that online CBT was effective and typically less costly than in-person therapy.
Takeaway
If you are experiencing a psychiatric disorder or mental health concern that alters your state of consciousness, you don’t have to face it alone. With BetterHelp, you can be matched with an online therapist with experience implementing various psychological processes. You can connect with your therapist via audio, video chat, and in-app messaging at a time that works for you. Take the first step and reach out to BetterHelp today.
What is consciousness in psychology?
In psychology, consciousness means an individual’s awareness of both internal stimuli, such as fatigue, hunger, and emotions, as well as external stimuli from the physical world, including sounds and temperature. The broadly accepted and traditional understanding of consciousness implies a state of self-awareness, or being aware of an internal idea, memory, or external object from the outer world. This awareness and conscious experience also play a role not just in humans, but also in animal life. Emerging evidence from studies suggests that nonhuman animals may also experience observable conscious events. Mammals and birds are believed to have conscious experience, along with other animals such as octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish.
Some major theories in the field of psychology and brain science that explain how the brain may produce consciousness include the global workspace theory (GWT), integrated information theory (IIT), higher-order thought theory, attention schema theory (AST), and the recurrent processing theory. Other theories also aim to explain how one’s conscious awareness is related to patterns of brain activity, conscious events, and other cognitive and physical processes. These theories are often supported by consciousness results of various neural and cognitive studies, each focusing on different aspects of conscious experience and individual differences.
According to Ned Block, an American philosopher who made important contributions to understanding the conscious mind, there are two kinds of consciousness: Phenomenal consciousness and access consciousness. Phenomenal consciousness refers to the experience of what it's like to be in a particular state, which represents the subjective quality of conscious experience. Meanwhile, access consciousness is the one available for use in reasoning and for direct control of speech and action. Both of these demonstrate different aspects of conscious experience, shaped by individual differences.
What are the levels of consciousness?
According to Sigmund Freud and his psychoanalytic theory, consciousness is divided into three levels: the conscious, the unconscious, and the preconscious.
Conscious level: The conscious level of consciousness refers to a person's current awareness, encompassing their thoughts, sensations, perceptions, and feelings. It is the level that a person actively experiences at any given moment. The conscious experience is a first-person perspective of a memory, input, or happening.
Preconscious level: The preconscious level of consciousness contains the information available to the consciousness of the brain, but is not currently used at the moment.
Unconscious level: This is the deepest level of consciousness, which Freud considers the part of the mind that houses urges, emotions, and ideas that create conflicts, pain, and anxiety. It encompasses the thoughts, feelings, and mental life that are not readily accessible to a person. According to Freud, the unconscious level of consciousness contains a person’s fears, sexual urges, violent motives, selfish needs, shameful experiences, and irrational wishes that reflect individual differences and personal identity.
Why is consciousness important, and how does consciousness work?
Consciousness is important for many reasons. Consciousness impacts the ability to learn, experience, and interact with one’s surroundings. It is a fundamental aspect of self-awareness and subjective notion, helping individuals understand themselves better as they develop a sense of personal identity and distinction from others. Consciousness enables individuals to plan for the future, make informed decisions, and act with intention. Consciousness also facilitates the processing of information, allowing people to adapt and adjust their behavior and personal identity in response to their experiences. Several theories offer insight into conscious awareness, including the global workspace theory, integrated information theory, and attention schema theory.
What is unconscious in psychology?
In the field of psychology and cognitive sciences, the unconscious refers to the cognitive processes that occur outside of an individual's conscious awareness. According to Freud, the unconscious is part of the psyche that is hidden from awareness and is also difficult to recall. It's the part of the mind that contains a vast collection of mental phenomena such as emotions, thoughts, and memories, which influences behavior and choices without a person’s explicit knowledge.
What is the most common cause of loss of consciousness?
Individuals may experience a lack of consciousness due to fainting, or a so-called syncope. This phenomenon is characterized by a loss of consciousness that typically lasts for less than a minute. When it occurs for a prolonged period, it is classified as a coma. In contrast, locked-in syndrome or pseudocoma occurs when a person has a conscious mind but is unable to move or communicate verbally because of paralysis of voluntary muscles.
Brain damage can also cause loss of consciousness. Brain damage and injury may disrupt a person’s brain processes and normal functioning, which is a crucial aspect of accessing primary consciousness. On the other hand, typical phenomena such as deep sleep and sleep-wake cycles can involve a temporary loss of full wakeful consciousness, characterized by a state of reduced responsiveness and awareness.
How do I know if I am conscious?
Consciousness studies and theories indicate that being conscious means being at the front of your awareness. Firsthand and subjective experience is a key component in understanding whether a person is conscious or not. While it’s challenging to discern another person’s subjective experience, it can be observed through their behaviors, responses to stimuli, psychological mechanisms, and language use. Individuals in conscious states can thoughtfully and rationally interact with the world around them. Individuals are aware of their conscious states because they are experiencing something; they are aware of themselves, their thoughts, feelings, personal identity, and their surroundings.
How does Carl Jung define consciousness?
Several major theories explain consciousness and its relation to mental and physical processes, one of them is by Carl Gustav Jung, a renowned psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. Carl Jung explores consciousness in his theory of human psychology. Carl Jung’s theory suggests individuation, a multi-phase process of integrating and combining the conscious and unconscious aspects of an individual to gain a deeper understanding of oneself. According to him, a failure to attain each phase of the individuation process could lead to mental health conditions such as phobias, depression, or psychosis.
How do most psychologists define consciousness?
In consciousness studies, several major theories attempt to explain human consciousness. Some of the major theories proposed by cognitive scientists include the global workspace theory, integrated information theory, higher-order thought theory, attention schema theory, and the recurrent processing theory.
Global workspace theory (GWT): The global workspace theory is a theoretical framework regarding human consciousness, first introduced by cognitive scientist Bernard Baars. The global workspace theory posits that the human brain is akin to a stage in a theater, equating consciousness to a “spotlight.” In global workspace theory, mental processes and information constantly occur behind the scenes (unconsciously), while significant information, thoughts, or ideas receive a spotlight and are broadcast to the whole system (consciously). When it comes to the conscious mind, the global workspace theory suggests that human consciousness arises when it is broadcast to a “global workspace,” making the information accessible to various cognitive processes and brain regions. While different aspects of the global workspace theory are matters of ongoing debate and the focus of further research, it remains one of the leading theories that explain conscious experience.
Integrated information theory (IIT): The integrated information theory, developed by Dr. Giulio Tononi and his collaborators, is another theoretical framework that aims to explain human consciousness. The integrated information theory suggests that a system is conscious if it holds a collective information that is both unified and integrated. Aside from that, the integrated information theory suggests that the quantity and quality of human consciousness can be measured by a mathematical value called Φ (phi). Some concepts of integrated information theory consider the role of algorithmic complexity in explaining how the brain integrates information. The integrated information theory remains to be criticized by scholars and requires further research to explain conscious experience.
Higher-order theory: This theory suggests that conscious awareness arises when our thoughts are represented in a higher mental state. A simple and classic example of this is a person experiencing pain, a first-order state. A higher-order thought occurs when the person becomes aware of the mental experience, which is, in that case, the pain: “I am feeling pain.”
Attention schema theory (AST): The attention schema theory is another evolutionary theory about human consciousness, developed by neuroscientist Michael Graziano. The attention schema theory suggests that the brain constructs subjective awareness as a model of schemas. The brain creates “schemas” on what it’s paying attention to, tracking it to simplify complex mental and physical processes.
Recurrent processing theory (RPT): Neuroscientist Victor Lamme argues that recurrent processing is a fundamental aspect of human consciousness. The recurrent processive theory suggests that human consciousness arises from the feedback loops in the brain areas.
Where is our consciousness located?
A 2000 consciousness research study noted that neuroscientists consider the cerebral cortex to be the “seat of consciousness,” while parts of the brain, such as the midbrain reticular formation and certain thalamic nuclei, help support the functions of the cortex. Meanwhile, a 2021 scientific study shows that consciousness depends on the integration between the parietal cortex, thalamus, and striatum.
A scientific study from 2022 titled “Does brain activity cause consciousness? A thought experiment” explored conscious awareness on the basis of neural activity. The study challenges the assumption that action potentials are the primary cause of consciousness, suggesting that other mental and physical processes are also critical factors. While the study did not specifically explore artificial intelligence, its implications extend to questions about the intersection of artificial intelligence and the different aspects of consciousness. Despite the current progress in neuroscience, further research supported by empirical evidence is recommended to better understand the neural correlates of the conscious experience. The neural correlates that explain human conscious awareness are still an active area of research among neuroscientists.
In contrast to most scientific studies, the French philosopher and mathematician René Descartes considered the pineal gland to be the center of consciousness. Descartes regarded it as the principal seat of the soul where all thoughts are formed.
At what age does self-consciousness develop?
According to consciousness studies from 2012, reflective self-awareness in human infants emerges mostly between 15 and 18 months of age. Children at this stage begin to recognize their facial and body movements in the mirror, which exhibits self-recognition. More complex processes of the conscious mind develop as children grow and learn from new experiences gained through interactions and conscious events. Various theories rooted in consciousness studies provide insight into conscious awareness, including the global workspace theory, integrated information theory, higher-order thought theory, attention schema theory, and the recurrent processing theory. These theories explain what consciousness means and its implications despite individual differences. However, further research is needed to gain a deeper understanding of the nature of conscious experience.
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