Tuesday, July 06, 2010


College Psychology 101 - 20 Questions about Consciousness

1. Question: Briefly explain the history of studying consciousness in psychology.
Answer: Psychology began as a study of consciousness, but as behaviorism emerged, consciousness was pushed out. Neuroscience with its advances brought consciousness back in focus after the 1960.

2. Question: Define consciousness
Answer: Awareness of our own selves and the environment in which we live
3. Question: Conscious awareness is focused on a certain stimulus through ___________.
Question: Selective attention

4. Question: When we focus our attention on something in particular, we may not notice something else in our sight. This is a result of ____________________.
Answer: Inattention blindness

5. Question: If a person giving directions to another, fails to notice that something importation is suddenly different about the person to whom they are speaking, they are experiencing what?
a) Choice blindness
b) Change blindness
c) Inattention blindness
d) Hallucinations
Answer: B

6. Question: The _____________ exists when out attention is drawn to a stimuli that stands out as different from others.
Answer: Pop-out phenomenon
7. Question: _____________ processing allows us to process some information simultaneous and even unconsciously.
a) Serial
b) Complete
c) Parallel
d) Subconscious
Answer: C

8. Question: This type of processing lets us solve new problems and requires more attention.
a) Serial
b) Parallel
c) Selective
d) Complete
Answer: A

9. Question: True or False. Dolphins can sleep with one eye open and with only half of their brain.
Answer: True

10. Question: Our biological clock is otherwise called our _________________, and is the way our bodies are synchronized with the night/day cycle of 24 hours.
Answer: Circadian rhythm

11. Question: Typically, as we get older, our high energy peaks change from __________ to _____________.
a) Late night to early mornings
b) Mid day to late night
c) Early morning to late night
d) They don’t change
Answer: A

12. Question: The control for our circadian clock is located in what part of the brain?
Answer: Hypothalamus (or suprachiasmatic nucleus)

13. Question: The production of melatonin, the sleep inducing hormone is __________ in the morning and _______ at night.
Answer: Low, high

14. What is the function of SCN – suprachiasmatic nucleus?
Answer: It controls the production of melatonin and our circadian clock.

15. Question: What is the effect of artificial light on sleep?
Answer: It disrupts and delays our sleep

16. Question: We pass through _________ stages of sleep, about every ________ minutes.
Answer: 5 stages, 90 minutes

17. Question: This sleep stage includes vivid dreams and eyes tend to move almost nonstop.
Answer: REM sleep

18. Question: Why might REM sleep also carry the name Paradoxical Sleep?
Answer: Because the muscles seem to be almost fully relaxed while other systems remain active, and brain activity is energetic.

19. Question: While relaxed, but still awake, our brain produces slow _____________.
Answer: Alpha waves

20. Question: True or False. If we pay close attention, we will be able to identify the exact moment we transition into sleep.
Answer: False. We cannot tell

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