 | Term | Definition |
| |
consciousness |
awareness of one's surroundings; cognition, ability to perceive |
| |
selective attention |
focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulus (behaviour) screen over unpleasant stimuli |
| |
cocktail party effect |
the ability to focus one's listening attention on a single talker among a mixture of conversations and background noises |
| |
fantasy-prone personalities |
small percentage of the population that retains a great deal of their ability to "live" their fantasies |
| |
Circadian Rhythm |
A daily rhythmic activity cycle, based on 24-hour intervals, that is exhibited by many organisms |
| |
REM Sleep |
a recurrent period of sleep, typically totaling about two hours a night, during which most dreaming occurs as the eyes move under closed lids and the skeletal muscles are deeply relaxed |
| |
alpha waves |
a pattern of slow brain waves in normal persons at rest with closed eyes, thought by some to be associated with an alert but daydreaming mind |
| |
delta waves |
The large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep |
| |
hallucinations |
False sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus |
| |
Insomnia |
A sleep disorder involving recurring problems in falling or staying asleep |
| |
Narcolepsy |
A sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks. The sufferer my lapse direcly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times |
| |
sleep apnea |
A sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and constent momentary reawakenings |
| |
night terrors |
A sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified; unlike nightmares, ___ ____ occur during Stage 4 sleep, within 2 or 3 hous of falling asleep, and are seldom remembered |
| |
manifest content (dreams) |
According to Freud, the remembered story line of a dream (as distinct from its latent content) |
| |
latent content (dreams) |
According to Freud, the underlying but censored meaning of a dream (as distinct from its manifest content). Freud believed that a dream's ___ ___ functions as a safety valve |
| |
REM rebound |
The tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation (created by repeated awakenings during REM sleep) |
| |
hypnosis |
A social interaction in which one person (the hypnotist) suggests to another (the subject) that certain perceptions, feelings thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur |
| |
posthypnotic amnesia |
Supposed inability to recall what one experienced during hypnosis; induced by the hypnotist's suggestion |
| |
dissociation |
A split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others |
| |
hidden observer |
Hilgard's term describing a hypnotized subject's awareness of experiences, such as pain, that go unreported during hypnosis |
| |
tolerance |
The diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug, requiring the user to take larger and larger doses before experiencing the drug's effect |
| |
withdrawal |
The discomfort and distress that follow discontinuing the use of an addictive drug |
| |
physical dependence |
A physiological need for a drug, marked by unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the drug is discontinued |
| |
psychological dependence |
A psychological need to use a drug, such as to relieve negative emotions |
| |
depressants |
Drugs (such as alcohol, barbiurates, and opiates) that reduce neural activity and slow body functions |
| |
stimulants |
Drugs (such as caffeine, nicotine, and the more powerful amphtamines and cocaine) that excite neural activity and speed up body functions |
| |
hallucinogens |
Psychedelic ("mind-manifesting") drugs, such as LSD, that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input |
| |
barbiturate |
Drugs that depress the activity of the CNS, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgement |
| |
opiates |
Opium and its derivatives, such as morphine and heroin; they depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety |
| |
amphetamines |
drugs that stimulate neural activity, causing speeded-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes |
| |
LSD |
A powerful hallucinogenic drug; also known as acid (lysergic acid diethylamide) |
| |
near-death experiences |
An altered state of consciousness reported after a close brush with death (such as cardiac arrest); Often similar to drug-induced hallucinations |
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