Psychological Construct
A psychological construct refers to a concept that is constructed to described a specific psychological activity that is believed to exist but cannot be directly observed.

Our consciousness is:
Selective
Personal
Continuous
Changing

Normal Waking Consiousness
States associated with being awake and aware of objects and events in the external world

Altered State of Consiousness
Any state other than NWC in terms of awareness & attention.
Naturally occurring – normal part of our daily life & are not under our control (such as sleep)
Induced – intentionally achieved by using an aid (such as a narcotic) # #

Divided – Focus on two or more activities at the one time.

Selective – choosing and attending to a specific stimulus and ignore others.

Controlled processes – involve conscious, alert awareness and mental effort in which the individual actively focuses their attention on achieving a particular goal. For this reason, it is most commonly excercised during NWC.

Required when an activity is difficult or unfamiliar

Automatic processes – require little conscious awareness and mental effort, minimal attention and does not interfere with the performance of other activities.
Automatic processes are used when an activity is easy or familiar.
Tend to be parallel- we can handle two activities that require automatic processes simultaneously.
Talking on the phone whilst cooking a familiar recipe.

Physiological:
Heart rate
Body temperature
Galvanic skin response (GSR) – electrical conductivity of the skin.
Eye movement
Muscle movement
Brainwaves

Content Limitations
The content, or type of information held in our NWC is more restricted, or limited, than the content of consciousness during an ASC.
We are able to exercise some control over what we allow into our NWC (for instance, through selective attention).
We can block out unwanted thoughts, focus on things we want to etc... This is harder to do during an ASC.
The content of NWC also seems to be more organised and logical than that in an ASC.

Ethyl alcohol – Requires no digestion. After entering the stomach, it passes through the gastrointestinal tract, entering the bloodstream via porous capillary walls.

Alcohol is considered to be a psychoactive drug: that is, it is a chemical that changes conscious awareness, perception or mood.

Alcohol is also classified as a depressant (not a stimulant as most people tend to believe!)- this is because of the depressive effect it has on the brain centres responsible for judgment and self-control.

Benzodiazepines (Tranquillizers) and Barbiturates (Sedatives): Both are used to slow down brain function and produce muscle relaxation. They are both administered orally (pill form), and are digested in the same way as ethyl (through gastrointestinal tract). If taken on an empty stomach, uptake will be faster.

Caffeine, cocaine, amphetamines (‘speed’)
When using stimulants, more than often there is an unnatural maintenance and heightening of beta brain waves (which indicate normal wakefulness and alertness). This means that the NS experiences increased and prolonged arousal, which can in turn result in significant wear and tear. This is often manifested as stress, hyper-alertness and hyper-arousal.