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Consciousness and its altered states

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Introductory Psychology
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Abstract

In 1890, William James wrote ‘The explanation of consciousness is the ultimate question for psychology.’ His words remain true to this day and psychologists are still perplexed by a number of related questions. What is consciousness? Where is it to be found? What are its functions? Do we have an unconscious mind? Is consciousness just one thing or several? What happens to it when we die?

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Futher reading

  • Farthing, G.W. (1992). The Psychology of Consciousness. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. An interesting and readable overview of the problems of consciousness and its altered states.

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  • Hilgard, E. (1979). Personality and Hypnosis: A Study of Imaginative Involvement, 2nd edn, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. A ‘classic’ text on hypnosis which offers accounts of methods, theories and experimental results.

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© 1998 Tony Malim and Ann Birch

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Malim, T., Birch, A. (1998). Consciousness and its altered states. In: Introductory Psychology. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-14186-9_12

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