Brianna Kelly 11/27/13 The Mind, Awake and Asleep The video, The Mind, Awake and Asleep

was a good video. They gave a lot of information very quickly. It talked about the circadian rhythm which comes from the Latin word circa diem (Page 71). It then went on to talk about blue prints of the environment and about the conscious mind and the unconscious mind. The video also talks about day dreaming and dreaming. Throughout the whole video it talks about the brain and how it has been studied with conscious, unconsciousness, and different kinds of dreaming. The book and the video are somewhat consistent but they do have their differences. The book and the video both relate the circadian rhythm to the biological clock (Chapter 3, Page 71). It is based on our 24 hour clock and senses to light and dark. Circadian Rhythm is needed for all living mammals. The video doesn't explain this but the book talks about how the circadian rhythm releases melatonin in the morning and increases the releases at night (Page 71). This affects our body regularity and consciousness throughout the day. This is what also wakes some people up automatically without an alarm clock. I am not one of those people. Our brain has an ability to be conscious and unconscious. Being Conscious helps us to recognize our own morality. Consciousness helps compare, analyze, and interpret the environment around us. It compares what is going through our brain with what we have learned from experience. We are in a state of consciousness when waking up from sleeping and various altered states. We know from the past, preserve in the present, and anticipate for the future. For instance, when I get put in a situation where I don't know how to react, I compare the situation to

a similar experience in the past. I then can predict how to react. This part is not consistent with the book. The book relates consciousness with dual processing. When we sleep, we are unconscious. When you sleep, you dream. Research shows that dreaming is a state the occurs spontaneously (Page 66). Not everyone can remember what they dream about (page 70), but I can . Depending on what state of sleep you are in, controls your dreams. If you are in a stage two of sleep, your dreams are not going to be detailed. If you are in REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, your dreams are going to be very detailed. These dreams are also known as "hallucinations of the sleeping mind" (Page 81). I disagree with what research shows because most of my dreams are very detailed and some of them are very weird but creative. They say REM sleep doesn't last long (page 73), but I think that it can last longer for some people. I believe that the dreaming state is different for everyone because all of our minds are full of different information and some people have an easier time falling asleep and dreaming compared to others. The book and the video are consistent about dreaming. Day dreaming is also a state that occurs spontaneously(Page 66) . It happens when a thought floats through the head that has nothing to do with what is happening in the present. This is a unique ability of the mind and it has its private realities unconnected to the world around us. This is also known to be good for us. It is suppose to help us overcome boredom, cope with problems, and be more creative. The mind stays active and works efficiently when it would otherwise be under stimulated. In my opinion, I do not believe that day dreaming is good for us. It might be good for us once in a while, but I think that it is a distraction and can be dangerous. The reason why I believe that is because one time I was driving with my cousin, who spaces out all the time, and she almost hit a car. Day dreaming is something that isn't consistent between the book and the video.

Why do we dream? People back then thought that dreams analyzed their future. Sigmund Freud thought we dreamed because it was a significant way to reveal the presence of deep secrets that the unconscious part of the mind was trying to hide from its conscious awareness. Dreams provide a psychic safety valve that discharges otherwise unacceptable feelings (Page 81). The real reason for us to dream is to file away memories (information processing), to develop and preserve neural pathways, to make sense of neural static, and to reflect cognitive development (Pages 82 and 83). I know that this is true because when I wake up the next day, I remember everything I learned the day before almost better than I did. I even dream about what I have learned. The video and the book are consistent about this. Robin McCarly and J. Allen Hobson proposed a the activation synthesis theory. This happens while you are dreaming. The brain stem automatic activation system turns on every night. For thirty minutes or so it produces a structured series of activations for the dreamer. This is the activation part of the theory. The mind then tries to make sense of the dream by making a storyline of the chaos when there is no meaning to be made. This is the synthesis part of the theory. I know that this is true because in my dreams I try to make an order of what's going on so that I can make sense of it. This is inconsistent with the book. It only talks about this in the video. I learned a lot from this video. It went very fast, so I had to watch it twice just to get an understanding of it. It had a lot of good facts about sleeping, dreaming, and being conscious and unconscious. I liked this video because it showed really good and simple examples of what they were teaching. This gave me a much better understanding about the mind. I can imply this into my life by knowing to study during the day and periodically take breaks and then get a full nights rest and this will help me to be able to processes this into long term memory.

Brianna Kelly 11/27/13 e Portfolio Reflection Before I took the Psychology 1010 course, I didn't really know what it was all about. When I took the class I was surprised on what it really was. I never realized how much people wondered about human behavior. I was surprised on the kind of studies that have been done on humans and the outcomes and evidence that have been discovered. It is surprising how humans behave and react in certain situations. Now that I have learned what psychology is, I still think that it is a strange subject and it is something that I would never think of studying. In a way though, it is a good that we have psychologist to help diagnose people that are mentally unstable. It also helps to figure out cycles to diagnose problems that can be recognized and dealt with professionally. Psychology helps us understand each other and ourselves mentally, socially, and genetically. My understanding of humans has changed. I have learned a lot of what human behaviors and thoughts are done unconsciously. I learned that through the nature and nurture controversy that we are influenced by our biological disputations and our environmental influences. This theory has helped us understand how we develop morals, cultural norms, and personalities. An assignment that was influential activity we did was an activity that was done in class. It was an activity on authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive. It showed us that the different parent styles that help predict how it affects the children and what the kids are more likely to

become mentally. It helps me have a better outlook on what kind of parent I would like to be in the future.