Carla Grayson asked, "I'm looking for some information about sleepwalking. A question from one of my students: If sleeping is defined as being nonreactive to the environment, how are sleepwalkers able to engage in complex tasks (e.g., driving)?"
Where did you ever get the idea that sleeping involves "being nonreactive to the environment"? Mothers routinely react to the cries of their babies while being unreactive to other stimuli of similar intensity. They are clearly monitoring their environments while sleeping. Similarly, people routinely incorporate environmental stimuli into their dreams. They are clearly reacting to environmental stimuli. You might be able to say that sleep is accompanied by reduced sensitivity to environmental stimuli, or highly selective responsiveness. But to say it involves "nonreactivity" is just plain wrong. Ed Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D. Department of Psychology West Chester University of Pennsylvania Office hours: Mondays noon-2 & 3-4; Tuesdays & Thursdays 8-9:15 & 12:30-2 http://home.comcast.net/~epollak/home.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Husband, father, grandfather, biopsychologist, & bluegrass fiddler...... in approximate order of importance. --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=8640 or send a blank email to leave-8640-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
