REFERS TO the awareness of an individuals own
exsistense and mental activities (inc. thoughts,
sensations and feelings) and of objects and
events in the external world.
hypothetical & cannot be measured directly
- continuous & changing (never stops,
contents blend in to one another) -
subjective and personal (our
perceptions of internal thoughts and
incorporates our external
enviro) -selective (choose to focus on
some things)
NWC
we are aware of the variety of sensory
inputs from the outside world & internal
thoughts etc.
when awake
LEVELS OF CONSCIOUSNESS
state of focused attention
ordinary waking state
day dreaming
meditative
hypnotic
sleep
aneathetised
unconscious (coma)
DIFFERENCES/EFFECTS
AWARENESS
aware of internal
thoughts/processes &
external stimuli
NWC
clear - individual can
process sensory
output to form an
awareness or interna
state and external
stimuli
aware of thoughts - clear &
meaningful, structured
capable of analytical thinking
activly stores and retrieves info
aware, normal range
of appropriate emotion
average sense of time
less aware of
sensations and/or
external stimuli
ASC
perceptual
distortions may
occur, senses,
feelings & emotions
can be stronger and
more vivid. PAIN
loose touch with reality,
information processing is
distorted. illogical, non sequential
and unable problem solving
continuity distrupted,
gaps info hasnt been
processed due to
cognitive disruptions
heightened or lowered.
emotionless, unpredictable
may over or under
estimate / no sense
(sleep) distorted
PERCEPTIONS
COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS
MEMORY
EMOTIONS
TIME
ATTENTION
enables us to focus on and be aware of
some stimuli and ignore others
selective attention- focusing
on certain stimuli to the
exclusion of other stimuli
divided attention:
simultaneously focusing on
and/or shifting attention between
two sets of stimuli
ASC
A state that is distinctly different in
experience from NWC.
PROCESSES
the higher the level of awareness, the
more likely an activity will require or
involve a controlled process; the lower
the level of awareness, the more likely
an activity will require or involve an
automatic process
CONTROLLED
use of a high level of
conscious awreness and
mental effort in an activity
requires selective "focused" attention
can interfere with
performance of other
ongoing activities
can become automatic with practise
AUTOMATIC
Use of low level of conscious
awareness and mental effort
divided attention is possible
minimally
interferes with
performance of
other ongoing
activities