AP Psychology: States of Consciousness Notes

Early psychologists like William James, author of the first psychology textbook, were very interested in consciousness. However, since no tools existed to examine it scientifically, the study of consciousness faded for a time. Currently, consciousness is becoming a more common research area due to more sophisticated brain-imaging tools and an increased emphasis on cognitive psychology. Use these AP Psychology study notes to review what you need to know about consciousness ahead of the AP exam.

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AP Psychology States of Consciousness: Key Takeaways

Review some key concepts related to the states of consciousness you should know for the AP Psychology exam.

1. The concept of consciousness consisting of different levels or layers is well established. Not all researchers agree about what the specific levels are. Some of the possible types offered by researchers are: the conscious level, the nonconscious level, the preconscious level, subconscious level, and the unconscious level.
2. Psychoactive drugs are chemicals that change the chemistry of the brain (and the rest of the body) and induce an altered state of consciousness. Some of the behavioral and cognitive changes caused by these drugs are due to physiological processes, but some are due to expectations about the drug.
3. To a psychologist, referring to being asleep as being unconscious is incorrect. Sleep is one of the states of consciousness.
4. Dreams are a difficult research area for psychologists because they rely almost entirely on self-reports. Researchers know that if people are awakened during or shortly after an REM episode, they often report they were dreaming.
5. Researchers theorize about the purposes and meanings of dreams. However, validating these theories is difficult with the limited access researchers currently have to dreams.

AP Psychology States of Consciousness: Key Terms

Review the following key terms related to AP Psychology’s States of Consciousness unit.

• Agonists: Drugs that occupy receptors and activate them.
• Antagonists: Drugs that occupy receptors but do not activate them. Antagonists block receptor activation by agonists.
• Stimulants: Caffeine, cocaine, amphetamines, and nicotine are common stimulants. Stimulants speed up body processes, including autonomic nervous system functions such as heart and respiration rates. This dramatic increase is accompanied by a sense of euphoria.
• Depressants: Depressants slow down the same body systems that stimulants speed up. Alcohol, barbiturates, and anxiolytics (also called tranquilizers or antianxiety drugs) like Valium are common depressants. Alcohol is by far the most commonly used depressant and psychoactive drug.
• Hallucinogens: Hallucinogens (also sometimes called psychedelics) do not necessarily speed up or slow down the body. These drugs cause changes in perceptions of reality, including sensory hallucinations, loss of identity, and vivid fantasies. Common hallucinogens include LSD, peyote, psilocybin mushrooms, and marijuana.
• Opiates: Opiates such as morphine, heroin, methadone, codeine, and fentanyl are all similar in chemical structure to opium, a drug derived from the poppy plant. The opiates all act as agonists for endorphins and thus are powerful painkillers and mood elevators. Opiates cause drowsiness and euphoria associated with elevated endorphin levels.
• Circadian rhythm: During a 24-hour day, our metabolic and thought processes follow a certain pattern. Some of us are more active in the morning than others, some of us get hungry or go to the bathroom at certain times of day, and so on. Part of our circadian rhythm is our sleep cycle. Our sleep cycle is our typical pattern of sleep.
• Insomnia: Insomnia is far and away the most common sleep disorder, affecting up to 10 percent of the population. An insomniac has persistent problems getting to sleep or staying asleep at night. Most people will experience occasional bouts of insomnia, but diagnosed insomniacs have problems getting to sleep more often than not.
• Activation-synthesis theory: The activation-synthesis theory of dreaming looks at dreams first as biological phenomena. Brain imaging proves that our brain is very active during REM sleep. This theory proposes that perhaps dreams are nothing more than the brain’s interpretations of what is happening physiologically during REM sleep.

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