Chapter 4: States of Consciousness We have only a limited amount of attention. Controlled processes require a lot of attention: they are slow but flexible. With practice, actions require less attention => automatic processing: fast but inflexible. Chocking under pressure: when pay attention to irrelevant things it is harder to perform the task. Hypnosis: focusing attention on things suggested by the hypnotist => leaves little resources to process other information. Functions of sleep:      Low-wave sleep: the brain rests while the body can still move to maintain muscle tone.      Rapid Eye Movement sleep: the brain is very active, as it probably consolidates learning and memories. Our body is paralyzed to prevent acting out of dreams.