Deck 5: B: Consciousness

Question 1

Identify the six misconceptions about hypnosis and briefly discuss each.

Answer 1

Answers will vary but should contain the following information for full credit.Answers should briefly mention how each myth is contrary to research findings.
Myth 1: Hypnosis Produces a Trance in Which "Amazing" Things Happen.
Myth 2: Hypnotic Phenomena Are Unique.
Myth 3: Hypnosis Is a Sleeplike State.
Myth 4: Hypnotized People Are Unaware of Their Surroundings.
Myth 5: Hypnotized People Forget What Happened during Hypnosis.
Myth 6: Hypnosis Enhances Memory.

Question 2

Describe the sleep disorders of sleepwalking and REM behaviour disorder,and discuss how these disorders differ.

Answer 2

Answers will vary but should contain the following information for full credit.
--Sleepwalking (walking while fully asleep)often involves relatively little activity,but sleepwalkers have been known to drive cars,turn on computers,or fire guns.In actuality,a sleepwalking person often acts like any fully awake person,although a sleepwalker may be somewhat clumsier.For most people,sleepwalking is harmless,and sleepwalkers rarely remember their actions on awakening.Sleepwalking isn't associated with deep-seated psychological problems,although episodes of sleepwalking can be triggered by stress.And,contrary to another common myth,most sleepwalkers aren't dreaming,because sleepwalking almost always occurs during non-REM (especially stage 3 or 4)sleep.It is most common in children.
--REM behaviour disorder normally occurs during REM sleep.Our supercharged brains are creating dreams,but our bodies are relaxed and,for all practical purposes,paralyzed.If we weren't paralysed by REM,we'd act out our dreams.In fact,people with the strange condition called REM behaviour disorder (RBD)do just that.In this condition,the brain stem structures that ordinarily prevent us from moving during REM sleep don't function properly.Only about 1 person in 200 has symptoms of RBD,which occurs most frequently in men over the age of 50.

Question 3

Discuss how one's expectations of the influence of a drug affect one's subsequent behaviour after using that drug.

Answer 3

Answers will vary but should include the following information,along with supporting discussion,for full credit.
--The authors mention the importance of mental sets-that is,one's beliefs and expectations-as an important influence on their behaviour after taking that drug.
--The authors mentioned the importance of culturally learned expectancies that are most influential at low alcohol dose levels.People "act" as if they are more inebriated than they really,physiologically speaking,are.

Question 4

Discuss how several of the principles of critical thinking apply to a discussion of altered states of consciousness such as out-of-body experiences,near-death experiences,or hypnosis.

Question 5

Pretend that you are a researcher who wants to study the effects of alcohol on flirting behaviour.Using a balanced placebo design,discuss what conditions you would have and how you would conduct your study.

Question 6

Compare and contrast Freud's wish fulfillment theory of dreaming with Hobson and McCarley's activation-synthesis theory of dreaming.

Question 7

Discuss why critical thinkers are likely to be skeptical about claims of age regression and past life regression.

Question 8

Briefly describe the major drug types,their effects on our bodies and consciousness,and provide one example of each drug category.

Question 9

Describe the typical night's sleep cycle,including the defining characteristics of each stage of sleep.

Question 10

Describe the characteristics of insomnia and at least four different types of treatments/tips for helping to overcome insomnia.