chapter 5 terms

term used by william james to describe the mind as a continuous flow of changing sensations, images, thoughts, and feelings

an individual's awareness of external events and internal sensations under a condition of arousal, including awareness of the self and thoughts about one's experiences

the most alert states of human consciousness, during which individuals actively focus their efforts toward a goal

states of consciousness that require little attention and do not interfere with other ongoing activities

according to freud, a reservoir of unacceptable wishes, feelings, and thoughts that are beyond conscious awareness; freud's interpretation viewed the unconscious as a storehouse for vile thoughts

a natural state of rest for the body and mind that involves reversible loss of consciousness

periodic physiological fluctuations in the body, such as the rise and fall of hormones and accelerated and decelerated cycles of brain activity, that can influence behavior

daily behavioral or physiological cycles. daily circadian rhythms involve the sleep/wake cycle, body temperature, blood pressure, and blood sugar level

a small brain structure that uses input from the retina to synchronize its own rhythm with the daily cycle of light and dark; the mechanism by which the body monitors the change from day to night

according to freud, the surface content of a dream, containing dream symbols that disguise the dream's true meaning

according to freud, a dream's hidden content; its unconscious and true meaning

theory proposing that we can understand dreaming by applying the same cognitive concepts we use in studying the waking mind; rests on the idea that dreams are essentially subconscious cognitive processing involving information and memory

theory that dreaming occurs when the cerebral cortex synthesizes neural signals generated from activity in the lower part of the brain and that dreams result from the brain's attempts to find logiv in random brain activity that occurs during sleep

drugs that act on the nervous system to alter consciousness, modify perception, and change mood

the need to take increasing amounts of a drug to get the same effect

the physiological need for a drug that causes unpleasant withdrawal symptoms such as physical pain and a craving for a drug when it is discontinued

the strong desire to repeat the use of a drug for emotional reasons, such as a feeling of well-being and reduction of stress

either a physical or psychological dependence, or both, on a drug

psychoactive drugs that slow down mental and physical activity

a disorder that involves long term, repeated, uncontrolled, compulsive, and excessive use of alcoholic beverages and that impairs the drinker's health and social relationships

deperssant drugs, such as nembutal and seconal, that decrease central nervous system activity

depressant drugs, such as valium and xanax, that reduce anxiety and induce relaxation

opium and its derivatives; narcotic drugs that depress activity in the central nervous system and eliminate pain

psychoactive drugs that increase the central nervous system's activity. the most widely used stimulants are caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines, and cocaine

alos called psychedelics, psychoactive drugs that modify a person's perceptual experiences and produce visual images that are not real

an altered state of consciousness or a psychological state of altered attention and expectation in which the individual is unusually receptive to suggestions

hilgard's view that hypnosis involves a splitting of consciousness into two separate components, one of which follows the hypnotist's commands and the other of which acts as a hidden observer

theory that hypnosis is a normal state in which the hypnotized person behaves the way he or she believes that a hypnotized person should behave