TITLE:
The Many Faces of Consciousness
AUTHORS:
Shulamith Kreitler
KEYWORDS:
Consciousness, Awareness, Concrete Thinking, Abstract Thinking, Cognition, Meaning, Self-Image, Logic
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.8 No.1,
January
13,
2017
ABSTRACT: The paper presents a new approach to the definition of consciousness in terms of an innovative theory of meaning (Kreitler & Kreitler). Most of the existing approaches to consciousness assume that differences in consciousness consist mainly in degrees of awareness. However, analyzing states of consciousness reveals that they differ in several major dimensions, e.g., status of the ego or sense of control. The presented approach is cognitive and is based on the theory of meaning which deals with the contents and processes underlying cognitive functioning. The main thesis is that cognition is a meaning-processed and meaning-processing system. Accordingly, it is suggested that states of consciousness are the product of meaning-prompted encompassing organizational transformations of cognition that affect the cognitive system and may result also in changes in other systems, mainly, emotional, personality and behavior. A study with 82 undergraduates is presented in which one group underwent experimental manipulations of meaning variables designed to enhance a concrete mode of approach and another—an abstract mode. They were all administered tasks of sorting, logical reasoning, provision of labels to photos, verbal memory, visual memory and self-image. The results confirmed the hypotheses in regard to most variables except verbal memory. The findings support the assumption that the concrete and abstract modes correspond to states of consciousness.