Selective attention

Conscious awareness is focused on a particular stimulus while ignoring others

priming

recent exposure causes a temporary and passive activation of information and associations stored in memory

So “primed” means “familiar”

n   information you know so well that it is always slightly activated OR

n   information that is activated because you have recently encountered it

Adaptive theory 

animals and humans evolved sleep patterns to avoid predators by sleeping when the predators are most active.

Restorative theory 

the body repairs and maintains itself during sleep

n  replenishes chemicals and repairs cellular damage.

Memory consolidation & learning theory

neural pathways for new information are reinforced during sleep

n People who get enough sleep are better at remembering what they learned that day!

suprachiasmatic nucleus 

 “biological sleep clock” hypothalamus structure that tells your body when to wake up and when to fall asleep

Tells pineal gland when to secrete melatonin, which makes a person feel sleepy

n    Artificial light delays sleepiness

Pre - Sleep

 Beta waves (small & fast) – person is wide awake and mentally active

n     Alpha waves (larger & slower) – person is very relaxed and drowsy

nTransition stage

nperson may claim to still be awake

nHypnogogic sensations may occur (floating, falling) and can be incorporated into real memories

nHypnic jerk – knees, legs, or whole body jerks

nCognitive processing is suppressed to promote tranquility

ntemperature, breathing and heart rate decrease

nmay respond to things like a ringing phone

Stages 3 and 4 (delta waves) – deep sleep

ngrowth hormones released, hard to wake up

nAuditory cortex still responds to certain stimuli (e.g., baby crying)

nAfter a physically exhausting day, we spend more time in deep sleep

Stage 5 Sleep: REM

n     Rapid eye movement (REM) – dreaming

n    consciousness rises from deep sleep to a nearly awake state

n    Reduced frontal lobe activity

n    After an emotionally exhausting day, we spend more time in REM

n    paradoxical sleep

     Activation-information-mode model (AIM)

real-life experiences influence dream synthesis

n    evolutionary survival mechanism

n    CNS pathways practice information and form strategies

n  Unsuccessful strategies are discarded

Hypnosis can

Alter sensory perceptions (smell, hearing, vision, time sense, ability to see visual illusions)

n    Reduce frequency of learned behaviors (e.g., smoking)

n    Reduce anxiety and pain

Hypnosis cannot:

Give people superhuman strength or change their nature

n    Erase memories

n    Enhance memory or “recover” lost memories

n    Regress people to childhood or “past lives”