CONSCIOUSNESS

I. Introduction
A. Rough definition of consciousness, mindfulness, and self-consciousness
B. Automatic and controlled processing
C. What happens when we try to suppress unwanted thoughts?

II. Sleep
A. Circadian rhythms—what happens if you live in a cave without sun or clocks?
B. Why do we sleep?
1. Evolutionarily adaptive
2. Sleeping restores us physically, helps consolidate memories, etc.
C. Stages of sleep
a. Four stages plus REM sleep (also called paradoxical sleep)
b. More deep sleep (stages 3-4) early; more REM (and dreaming) later
D. Dreaming
1. Content
2. Meaning
a. Freud: manifest and latent content, and the expression of unconscious wishes
b. Cartwright: problem-focused approach (or “dreams for survival”)
c. Activation-synthesis Model
i. Cortex makes sense of random electrical activity from brain stem
ii. Dreams are therefore “side effects” to some extent?
d. Conclusion: resolution might incorporate elements from different theories

III. Hypnosis
A. How does it happen?
B. Who can be hypnotized?
C. Effects of hypnosis
1. Enhanced memory for long-forgotten events?
2. Hallucinations (positive and negative)
3. Greater suggestibility—but how far can it go?
4. Post-hypnotic suggestions and amnesia
D. Theories of hypnosis
1. Neodissociation theory
a. Splitting of consciousness into two parts
b. The “hidden observer” that is more aware and more rational
c. Other, normal examples of dissociation of consciousness (e.g., driving a car)
2. Sociocognitive theory—normal social forces operate and the actor “becomes” the part

IV. Extra Sensory Perception (Psi phenomena)—if time

A. Who believes in it?
B. How should scientists approach it?
C. Definitions: telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, and psychokinesis
D. Anecdotal evidence and the nature of coincidences
E. Some experimental evidence for Psi: The Ganzfeld procedure