1.Consciousness has several different meanings. Provide two definitions and give
ID: 3487950 • Letter: 1
Question
1.Consciousness has several different meanings. Provide two definitions and give an example of each. (4 pts)
2.Do you consider hypnosis and meditation to be altered states of consciousness? State your reasons why or why not and cite your supporting information. (5 pts)
3.Choose ONE of the three following scenarios and decide whether or not you believe it is an example of an altered state of consciousness. State your reasons why or why not. (5 pts)
Scenario 1: Alice was driving home from work one day consumed with thoughts about the dinner party she was planning for that night. Suddenly, she realized that she had already reached her destination and she could not remember much about the drive—which route she had taken, etc.
Scenario 2: In what he thought was a dream, Brian answered a phone call from his friend about attending band rehearsal in the morning. The next afternoon, Brian saw his friend at school and his friend asked him, “Where were you today? I called you about rehearsal last night.” Brian realized that it wasn’t just a dream and that he had actually answered the phone.
Scenario 3: One day, Marcus was rushed to the emergency room. While being treated, he suddenly felt as if he had left his body and was flying upward. When he stopped in midair, he saw ten angels singing. In an instant, he was flying back down towards the hospital room into his body sitting bolt upright in bed.
4. Give three examples of how an understanding of consciousness and altered states of consciousness can be used to help psychologists to treat patients. (6 pts)
Explanation / Answer
1. Consciousness is defined as “the state of being aware of and responsive to one's surroundings” and also as ” a person's awareness or perception of something”. Both the definitions entail that a person is fully in sync with the surroundings. The consciousness is said to be an state where a person knows and can verbally define his her surroundings using language. All the things which are in awareness and can be attended to is said to be a conscious state. The example of first definition of consciousness may be when an individual makes a response to an environmental stimulus. The example for second definition may be that an individual is aware of the feeling of shoes in his/ her feet.
2. Hypnosis and meditation are, yes, altered state of consciousness. A person is said to be either in a state of consciousness, or in a state of being sub-conscious or unconscious. During a conscious state an individual is said to be making responses to environmental stimuli. In other words, actively participating in an exchange with the environment is a key feature of being conscious. During the states of hypnosis or meditation, the individual is not actively involved with an interaction with the external environment. The state which best describes hypnosis or meditation is a state of being in the subconscious. The individual is well aware of the surroundings, but is not attending to the environmental stimulus, the individual in such a state is more internally oriented. That is, the individual focuses more on the internal state of being in sync with oneself, rather than being in sync with the environment. The person is said to be conscious but with the focus on thoughts and feelings. That is why these are said to be a state of altered consciousness.
3. In scenario 3, Marcus will be said to be in a hypnotic state or in a state of trance. This is said to be an example of an out of the body experience, which is a key feature of being in a hypnotic state. This is experienced by many individuals.
4. During the altered state of consciousness, of hypnosis, a patient may be given post-hypnotic suggestions to deal with his her problems. Secondly these states may be used to calm down the anxious thoughts within an individual. These states also help a patient to identify the rush of automatic negative thoughts. Altered states of consciousness may be used to identify the though-process of one’s own self and to get a deeper understanding of ones’ own self. At times problems whose solutions one is not being able to identify can be figured out during such a state of consciousness.
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