Chapter 6: States of Consciousness
Activities
Read, Watch & Listen
- How do Antidepressants Actually Work? An interesting look at anti-depressants.
(https://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2017/jul/10/how-do-antidepressants-actually-work) - When You’re Sleeping, how much does Your Brain Pay Attention to the Outside World: A fascinating study of what the brain is up to during sleep
(https://digest.bps.org.uk/2016/08/17/eyes-shut-mind-open-what-your-brain-pays-attention-to-while-youre-sleeping/#more-8167) - Researches Find “Night Owl” Gene Variant: Exploring the effect of genes on our biological rhythms.
(http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/night-owl-gene-1.4069398) - What it Means When you Dream About Your Teeth Falling Out: A podcast about dream interpretation:
(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/wellbeing/sleep/what-it-means-when-you-dream-about-your-teeth-falling-out/?playlist=series%3Awhat-your-dreams-mean) - Academic Anxiety Dreams, and What They Might Mean: An article describing research specifically into student dreams
(http://www.theguardian.com/science/occams-corner/2016/jan/04/academic-anxiety-dreams-what-they-mean-jenny-rohn) - This Khan Academy site provides a comprehensive look at psychoactive drugs:
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/health-and-medicine/mental-health/drug-abuse-and-drug-addictions/v/overview-of-psychoactive-drugs - Commonly Abused Drugs Charts: This site provides a wealth of information on commonly abused drugs (some illegal, some not)
(https://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/commonly-abused-drugs-charts) - Science Weekly Podcast: the Waking Nightmare of Sleep Paralysis
(http://www.theguardian.com/science/audio/2013/aug/05/podcast-science-weekly-sleep-paralysis)
Exercise: Watch & Learn
Sigmund Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams Pt. 1-4: An introduction to Freud’s theory of dream interpretation.
Video 6.1: Sigmund Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams Pt. 1-4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lig53eW2ptg), uploaded by S. Septer.
Exercise: Watch & Learn
Circadian Rhythm and Your Brain’s Clock: A short overview.
Video 6.2: Circadian Rhythm and Your Brain’s Clock (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbQ0RxQu2gM), uploaded by SciShow.
Exercises: Think & Do
- Stop, Breathe & think 4+: If you’d like to try meditating, this app is easy to use
(https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/stop-breathe-think/id778848692?mt=8) - Keeping a Dream Journal: a step by step guide to keeping a dream journal and an introduction to lucid dreaming. (http://www.world-of-lucid-dreaming.com/dream-journal.html)
- More Sleep Would Make Us Happier, Healthier and Safer: a brief report of some research into sleep deprivation. (http://www.apa.org/action/resources/research-in-action/sleep-deprivation.aspx)
Read it then answer the following questions:
a) What are some of the negative effects of sleep deprivation?
b) How have researchers demonstrated that most people are carrying a sleep-debt?
c) Why was it important for Dinges to randomly assign his volunteers to the different conditions in his study (you might want to re-read Chapter 3 if you’re not sure about this)
d) Are you currently showing any of the symptoms of a sleep deficit?
e) If so, what can you do to remedy the situation - Read the “Research Focus” section on pages 222-3, then see if you can answer the following questions:
a) What kind of research design was used by Lejeuz et. al.?
i. experimental
ii. case study
iii. correlational
vi. survey
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b) Why do you think the researchers chose not to manipulate exposure to smoking?
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c) Can you think of a different way of measuring the desire to take risks?
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5. Alcohol Reality Check: The questionnaire on this website (which is entirely anonymous) analyzes your alcohol intake to see if it is putting you at any risk. (http://www.uvic.site/alcoholreality/start)
Answers to the “things to do” Question 4:
a. iii) the researchers did not manipulate any variables but were interested in finding out whether adolescents who had smoked were more likely to take risks in a game
b. It would clearly have been unethical to compel any participants to smoke
c. Lots of possibilities here, you might make use of virtual reality and look at people’s willingness to (for example) try bungee jumping. Remember you need to abide by the ethical rules of the discipline and you also want to consider the construct validity of your measure (see Chapter 3)
References
The British Psychological Society. Research Digest. (2016). When you’re sleeping, how much does your brain pay attention to the outside world. Retrieved from https://digest.bps.org.uk/2016/08/17/eyes-shut-mind-open-what-your-brain-pays-attention-to-while-youre-sleeping/#more-8167
CBC News. (2003). NavCan hits airline tickets with surcharge. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/night-owl-gene-1.4069398
The Guardian. (2016). Academic anxiety dreams, and what they might mean. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/science/occams-corner/2016/jan/04/academic-anxiety-dreams-what-they-mean-jenny-rohn
The Guardian. (2017). How do antidepressants actually work? Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2017/jul/10/how-do-antidepressants-actually-work
Jha, A. (Host), & Phipps, J. (Producer). (2013, August 5). Science Weekly podcast: The waking nightmare of sleep paralysis [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/science/audio/2013/aug/05/podcast-science-weekly-sleep-paralysis
Khan Academy. (2015?). Psychoactive Drugs [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.khanacademy.org/science/health-and-medicine/mental-health/drug-abuse-and-drug-addictions/v/overview-of-psychoactive-drugs
National Institute of Drug Abuse. Advanced Addiction Science. (2018, June). Commonly abuse drug charts. Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/commonly-abused-drugs-charts
SciShow. (2014, January 9). Circadian Rhythm and Your Brain’s Clock [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbQ0RxQu2gM
Septer S. (2011, February 16). Sigmund Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams Pt. 1-4 [Video File]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lig53eW2ptg
The Telegraph. (2017). What it means when you dream about your teeth falling out. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/wellbeing/sleep/what-it-means-when-you-dream-about-your-teeth-falling-out/?playlist=series%3Awhat-your-dreams-mean