CHAPTER
9
States of Consciousness
IN THIS CHAPTER
Summary:While you are reading this book you may find yourself daydreaming
as irrelevant thoughts surface, images of other situations come into view, and
you create inner, private realities unconnected to this topic. Daydreams
provide stimulation when your interest is flagging and let you experience pos-
itive emotions. Although we hope not, you may even doze off. If so, you are
experiencing different states of consciousness. In the late 1800s, early struc-
turalists like Wilhelm Wundt, followed by Edward Titchener, examined con-
sciousness in order to learn about the structure of the mind, and functionalists
like William James considered consciousness as essential for adapting to the
environment. During the first half of the 1900s, behaviorists discounted and
ignored consciousness. By the 1950s, cognitive psychologists returned to the
examination of consciousness, especially the phenomenon of attention.
Attentionis a state of focused awareness. What you pay attention to is what
you process into perceptions, thoughts, and experiences.
Consciousnessis your awareness of the outside world and yourself,
including your own mental processes, thoughts, feelings, and perceptions.
Your consciousness is selective, subjective and unique to you, always chang-
ing, and central to your sense of self.
This chapter examines variations in consciousness, some which you com-
monly experience and others which you don’t.Key Ideas
Levels of consciousness
Sleep and dreams
Sleep disorders
Hypnosis
Meditation
Psychoactive drugs—Depressants, Narcotics, Stimulants, Hallucinogens102
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