Type of psychology: Consciousness

Consciousness

Type of psychology: Consciousness
Fields of study: Cognitive processes; sleep; thought
Consciousness refers to a number of phenomena, including the waking state; experience;
and the possession of any mental state. The phenomena of self-consciousness include
proneness to embarrassment in social settings; the ability to detect one’s own sensations
and recall one’s recent actions; self-recognition; awareness of awareness; and
self-knowledge in the broadest sense.

Key concepts
• awareness
• alternate state of consciousness
• developmental aspects of consciousness
• evolution of consciousness
• history of consciousness study

Many scientists have ignored the phenomena associated with consciousness
because they deem it inappropriate for empirical investigation. However,
there is clear evidence that this position is changing. Researchers in the
fields of psychology, neurobiology, philosophy, cognitive science, physics,
medicine, anthropology, mathematics, molecular biology, and art are now
addressing major issues relating to consciousness. These researchers are asking
such questions as what constitutes consciousness, whether it is possible
to explain subjective experience in physical terms, how scientific methods
can best be applied to the study of consciousness, and the neural correlates
of consciousness.

Moreover, new methods of brain imaging have helped clarify the nature
and mechanisms of consciousness, leading to better understanding of the
relationship between conscious and unconscious processes in perception,
memory, learning, and other domains. These and other questions have led
to a growing interest in consciousness studies, including investigations of
properties of conscious experience in specific domains (such as vision, emotion,
and metacognition) and a better understanding of disorders and unusual
forms of consciousness, as found in blindsight, synesthesia, and other
syndromes.