Flashcards
DD303 Consciousness
Cards in this deck (23)
- 1Main points of Access consciousness?Part of Block's types of consciousness
How we name something & remember it
Making content available to other cognitive processes
Block - Cognitive Psychology only explores this part of consciousness
Chalmers - "easy" & "hard" problems
Levine - "explanatory gap" ie cognitive explanation of phenomenology - 2Block's types of consciousness?Phenomenal (P-consciousness) - life's rich tapestry of internal & external experience
Access (A-consciousness) - reportability & action driving
Monitoring (M-consciousness) - being aware of being aware; "higher order thought"
Self (S-consciousness) - an awareness of oneself independently of sensory input - 3Dualism?Descartes - mind & brain are separate
Issue - How can mind & brain interaction be separate? Unless though has physical aspect - 4Monism?Materialists
Eliminative
Explanatory gap due to use of non-scientific terms eg desire, belief - 5Functionalists?Subset of Monism
Mental states functional or causal states - defined by how they convert input into output
Suggest conscious state is not just by-product of brain state BUT cause our behaviour - 6Implicit Memory - experiments & evidence?No sensation of remembering
Eich - homophone word pairs (window - PANE; taxi - FARE); when Ps spell homophones bias to homophone primed in word pair
Jacoby et al - "False Fame Effect" Ps exposed to non-famous names; divided attention condition = Ps judge non-famous names as famous; familiarity? No explicit recognition of names
Squire & McKee - replicated results w/ amnesiacs. Implies potential to learn even if explicit memory damage
'Error-less Learning' - 7How is Implicit Memory like priming?Words - Meyer & Schvaneveldt: Decision time for words faster when related to prime; preserved in amnesiacs
Behaviour - Bargh: 'elderly' words prime Ps to act 'older' - 8Implicit Learning - experiments and evidence?MARCEL - subliminal primes: 'doctor' id as real word faster w/ prime
Criticism: what is subliminal? Issue with refresh rate of PC screens
REBER - supraliminal primes: artificial grammar; sequence conforming to grammar learned quicker
DEEPROSE et al - unconscious patients: word stem tasks; some implicit learning & memory - 9Implicit Learning - Criticisms?1) No way to determine Ps actual awareness of stimuli
2) Re REBER - knowing how some grammar works improves guesses above chance?
>SHANKS & St John - information criterion (ensure what we are looking for in the awareness test is what's influencing behaviour)
sensitivity criterion (demonstrate DV is sensitive to all possible levels of relevant conscious knowledge)
both req'd to demonstrate learning occurred - ie defend the idea that something is happening that is truly unconscious - 10Implicit Learning - Controlled vs Automatic processing: evidence & experiments?SCHNEIDER & SHIFFRIN
Auto processes = LTM (activation of sequence of nodes in LTM via related permanent connections; difficult to stop)
Controlled processes = STM (activation of novel sequence of nodes requiring attention; limited to 1 task @ once; have control)
Target search tasks:
consistent mapping = RTs faster
varied mapping = RTs slower
Question - Is consciousness what we use to control behaviour, or is it that we become conscious of our behaviour when we try to control it? - 11Implicit Learning & Memory - Neuropsychological perspective?Studies imply consciousness is modular
ZEKI & FFYTCHE - patient GY (blindsight)
fMRI w/ & w/o slow & fast moving stimuli
Activity in motion cortex - more for faster stimuli (GY usually more aware of faster)
Suggests specialised brain area rather than general 'consciousness centre' - 12What is Consciousness for? Behavioural control?ZAJONC - Affective priming: conscious processes help make rationale not emotional decisions
BADDELEY et al - Rnd # generation task: Ps lapse into stereotypical responses if performed w/ concurrent tasks
BADDELEY & WILSON - explicit memory used to help us learn from mistakes; w/o awareness - past mistakes prime future errors - 13What is Consciousness for? Crosstalk?Crosstalk between cognitive modules?
Consciousness can break modularity? eg blindsight & glass of water
Research doesn't explain why this behaviour associated with consciousness - 14What is Consciousness for? Altered states?Hypnosis - reduce tendency to check mental contents vs o/s world = less reality monitoring?
Drugs (eg ketamine & LSD) - flood sensory system = break modularity? Leads to hallucinations & synaesthesia
Alcohol - loss of inhibition
suggests: consciousness may involve monitoring & control of behaviour? - 15Cognitive theories of Consciousness - BADDELEY?Working Memory theory/model
conduit to consciousness
combines info from modalities (eg perception & LTM enable imagination of novel solutions)
WM = solution to 'binding problem': unified experience of many inputs
Episodic Buffer
store bound info
interface WM, LTM & consciousness
Evidence - WM = cognitive correlate of consciousness
Criticism - Doesn't make explicit if info becomes conscious as it's in buffer or only if acted on by central executive
Also implies "Homunculus" directing activity - 16Cognitive theories of Consciousness - DENNETT?Multiple drafts theory
Stimulus just processed - not sent to "consciousness module"
Parallel streams of processing - awareness only when particular area probed - 17Cognitive theories of Consciousness - BAARS?Consciousness necessary for WM
Global Workspace
collecting of processing products
necessary for WM to function
"like a theatre" see 1 actor in spotlight, but others present: WM = stage of consciousness; director chooses which actor (WM content) is on (becomes conscious)
Evidence - DEHAENE et al: fMRI
unconscious processing of stimuli activate is single areas, but conscious processing activates many areas
BUT ZEKI & FFYTCHE - increased/localised activity in conscious perception contrary to DEHAENE - 18Emotions & Consciousness?>Feeling component of emotion inextricably linked to conscious awareness
>But, cognitive psychologists concentrated less on feeling states than on exploration of cognitive processing associated w/ emotion
>Explanations of consciousness don't explain necessity to feel emotions
Further research re possible function of feelings associated w/ emotion - 19Regularly acknowledged facet of consciousness? Linked w/ emotions>It's necessary for performing new tasks or trying to override habits w/o relying on mechanics of conditioning
>Learning new responses to an emotional situation
>eg when soldiers advance into battle despite urge to flee
>eg suppressing tendency to respond in anger at a socially inappropriate moment - 20Time, Hypnosis & Consciousness - Naish>Most hypnosis participants report duration less than the actual duration
>Link to Gray ('95) consciousness theory - we maintain content of conscious awareness by registering repeated snapshots of our environment
>Sense of time may be linked to rate which environment sampled
>Hypnosis doesn't involve fast-changing stimuli - suggests less frequent snapshots = less aware of duration
>Those who are more immersed in hypnosis make larger underestimates of duration (Naish '03) - 21Main points of Atkinson et al (extra paper)?>Proposes model for integrating research findings w/ variety of current theories
>'vehicle' (representation-based) or 'process' theories
>Considers use of behavioural markers (eg verbal report) in different tasks - implicit learning, subliminal perception etc
>Outlines conceptual framework dimensions (representations vs processing) - plots models on it
>Reviews neural correlates of consciousness research & how it can fit w/ ideas of synchrony & binding problem
>Understanding req's interpretation of neural correlates in terms of representations & computational processes - 22Issues with participant reporting in consciousness experiments & some possible word arounds?>P has to say how aware they are
>Report is a subjective measure
>Workarounds:
>Confidence ratings (eg Bernstein & Eriksen '65) - issues: different criteria re rating; bias in rating
>Perceptual Awareness Scale (Ramsoy & Overgaard '04) - Ps describe quality of experience using self created scale; issues - rely on Ps accurately & happily disclosing info
>Post-decision Wagering (Persaud et al '07) - Ps bet on whether their response correct, avoids personal experience; issues - limited by criteria P uses to wager? (Clifford et al '08) - 23Advantages of working with blindsight patients?>Experiments need some way to manipulate consciousness (eg aware vs unaware) while keeping everything else constant
>Suggests need someone who's aware & unaware @ same time
>Patients w/ blindsight = excellent candidates
>Blindsight = P reports no awareness of vision in specific part of visual field but can perform tasks involving that area correctly at levels above chance