“Dreaming and their subsequent emotional interpretation have been investigated and recorded since the beginning of recorded history”. (as cited in Palagini; Rodenlicht, 2010). Recent experimental investigations applied to neurobiological and psychological perspectives of sleep identify a greatly dynamic arousal state, which in turn predicts a variety of physiological responses. One of the key stages associated within sleep is known as REM (rapid eye movement) sleep; REM sleep at one stage was thought to be the primary dream period. However recent research and empirical evidence has shown that REM sleep does not have a direct relationship with dreaming, it is however purely and simply the stage of sleep which allows better recall of dreams. This is supported by Nielson (2000) who presented empirical evidence that dream recall during REM sleep in adults was as high as 60-90% after waking, whereas when individuals passed through into NREM sleep, this recall lowered substantially to 25-50%. Throughout this report, it will become clear of the relevance REM sleep has in the analysis period of these hallucinatory events. It is also important to clarify the different concepts and approaches attempting to explain dream phenomenon, such as psychoanalytical, neurobiological and finally to be discussed evolutionary explanations.
Sigmund Freud (1922) “Dreaming is the royal road to knowledge of the unconscious in mental life” (as cited in Arnold; Vogal, 2007, p20-21). Freud became adamant that dream symbols and interpretation with regards to psychoanalytical perspectives will always be prevalent and never disproven. The methodology of psychoanalysis’s enforces the notion that analysis of dream content is a vital necessity for the individual a...
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...inel, P, J. J. (2009) Biopsychology. United States: Pearsons Education Inc.
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Sue, L. (2011). If waking and dreaming consciousness became de-differentiated, would schizophrenia result? Consciousness and Cognition, 20(4), 1059-1083.
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Valli, K., Revonsuo, A., Pälkäs, O., Ismail, K. H., Ali, K. J., & Punamäki, R. (2005). The threat simulation theory of the evolutionary function of dreaming: Evidence from dreams of traumatized children. Consciousness and Cognition, 14(1), 188-218.
Vedfelt O. (1999). The Dimensions of Dreaming: New York: Fromm International Publishing Corporation.
Wegner D. M., Wenzlaff R. M., Kozak. M. (2004) Dream Rebound: The Return of Suppressed Thoughts in Dreams. Psychological Science 15 (4), pp. 232-236.
In 1977, Drs. Allen Hobson and Robert McCarley of Harvard University presented a neurophysiological model of the dream process called: The Activation- synthesis Model of Dreaming. This paper published in the American Journal of Psychiatry suggested that the occurrence of dreaming sleep is physiologically determined by a "dream state generator" located in the brain stem. The main emphasis of the Activation-synthesis theory is dreaming is not psychological but physiological. This totally contradicts all that Freud preached, however he was absolutely correct about one aspect of dreaming, which is every stage involves sexual arousal. Hobson/ McCarley's extensive research proves dreaming to be physiological on the basis of the predictability of dreaming sleep. The duration of dreaming sleep is also constant, which suggests the dreaming process as not only automatic and periodic but metabolically determined. This find contradicts the classic Freudian theory of a driving force behind all dreams. Hobson and McCarley see our poor ability to recall our dreams as reflecting "a state-dependent amnesia, since a carefully effected state change, to waking, may produce abundant recall even of highly charged dream material." So with that logic in mind if you are rapidly awakened out of REM sleep, you are likely to remember dreams that you would otherwise forget.
Fisher, C.J., Byrne, A., Edwards, and Kahn, E. (1970) REM and NREM nightmares. In E. Hartman (ed), Sleep and Dreaming. Boston : Little Brown
The relationship between dreaming and repression is complex and requires thorough understanding of Freud’s theory thus it is better to get to know some of the terms and concepts Freud raises in study of dreams. As all the information is gathered, it is believed that the wish as fulfilled is shown only in a state of repression during sleep.
However this theory does not provide a convincing argument of the fact that some dreams possess clear meaning and coherence. This theory has little value in explaining why some time dreams are repetitive. Describe and evaluate one psychological theory of dreaming?
The human psyche has a vital role in psychology, including the way humans interpret dreams and their sequence. Humans do not want to remember the truth of reality so we try and hide it in order to forget about it through the process of dreaming. Except, while trying to forget about the past, it leads to
During prescientific days, dreams were interpreted as ‘manifestations’ of a ‘higher power’. Since the introduction of psychology, dreams have had 4 distinct interpretations. The first interprets dreams as a “liberation of the spirit from the pressure of external nature”. The second interprets dreams as “accidental disturbances from ‘internal organs’. The third interprets dreams as a foretelling of the future. The last interpretation is Freud’s. He interprets dream as an expression of subconscious desires.
All over the world different people, scientists, and civilizations have different dream theories. For instance, the Senoi tribe in Malaysia has a fascinating tradition of dream telling. Every morning the people of the tribe begin their day by discussing and interpreting their dreams with each other. The children, as they grow older, actually learn to control their dreams by simply wishing bad dreams into positive ones. It is observed that, by paying tribute their dreams, the people of the Senoi tribe learn to have faith in themselves. Also, they have very few, if any, mental problems “could working constructively with dreams be part of the answer” to mental issues? (Peirce)
Anxiety dreams help reveal a person’s worries or fears in ways that they may need to examine to fully understand. While Freud’s theories cannot be taken as true in total, and dreams may serve more practical, evolutionary purposes, it is still useful to analyze dreams so that unconscious worries, fears, wishes, do not hold back people from getting what they consciously want or from becoming who they can.
During Freud’s time, society typically viewed dreams as an intervention of a higher being or entity (Freud, 1900, p.4). However, Freud made the claim that dreams are the product of the dreamer and also that it serves two purposes. First, dreams form to keep a person asleep at night by blocking out external stimuli, much in the same way a person consciously does when turning off the light and minimizing noise before going to bed (“Freud’s Approach,” 2000). Next, Freud (1900) viewed humans as having grotesque sexual urges that “are suppressed before they are perceived” (p.37) in order to protect the person and allow him or her to get along in society; however, dreams serve the purpose of releasing these repressed desires as wishes which are disguised in the dream. Because a person cannot readily be aware of the unconscious wish, the dream is divided into two ...
Dreams have been thought to contain significant messages throughout many cultures. A dream is an unfolding sequence of perceptions, thoughts, and emotions that is experienced as a series of real-life events during sleep. The definitions of dreams are different among studies, which can also lead to quite different results. Perhaps, the dream interpretation has becoming increasingly popular. In this paper, I will talk about what I have learned about three different views of dream interpretations. One theory made by Sigmund Freud who believed that dreams are triggered by unacceptable repressed wishes, often of a sexual nature. He argued that because dreams we experience are merely disguised versions of people real dreams. The other theory called activation–synthesis theory, made by Allan Hobson and Robert McCarley, based on the observation that during REM sleep, many brain-stem circuits become active and bombard the cerebral cortex with neural signals. The last theory, proposed by William Domhoff, is called the neurocognitive theory of dreaming, which demonstrates that dream content in general is continuous with waking conceptions and emotional preoccupations. Thus, dreaming is best understood as a developmental cognitive achievement that depends upon the maintenance of a specific network of forebrain structures. While each theory has different belief system and approach method, it is a great opportunity to know how former psychologists contributed to the field of dream interpretation.
Porter, Laurence M. The Interpretation of Dreams: Freud's Theories Revisited. Boston, Mass.: Twayne, 1987. Print.
In 2004–2005, the Penn Humanities Forum will focus on the topic of “Sleep and Dreams.” Proposals are invited from researchers in all humanistic fields concerned with representations of sleep, metaphors used to describe sleep, and sleep as a metaphor in itself. In addition, we solicit applications from those who study dreams, visions, and nightmares in art or in life, and the approaches taken to their interpretation. We also welcome proposals about the effects of dreaming on the dreamer, and the resulting emotions, behaviors, and actions taken or foregone in response to dreams. In this Forum on Sleep and Dreams, we will see how the diversity of academic disciplines can help answer important questions about sleep and dreaming—questions that may touch the basis of human intellect.
Psychology, neuroscience try to explain them, 2012). He studied dreams to better understand aspects of personality as they relate to pathology. Freud believed that every action is motivated by the unconscious at a certain level. In order to be successful in a civilized society, the urges and desires of the unconscious mind must be repressed. Freud believed that dreams are manifestations of urges and desires that are suppressed in the unconscious. Freud categorized the mind into three parts: the id, the ego, and the superego. When one is awake, the impulses if the id are suppressed by the superego, but during dreams, one may get a glimpse into the unconscious mind, or the id. The unconscious has the opportunity to express hidden desires of the id during dreaming. Freud believed that the id can be so disturbing at times that the id’s content can be translated into a more acceptable form. This censor leads to a sometimes confusing and strange dream image. According to Freud, the reason one may struggle to remember a dream is because the superego protects the conscious mind from the disturbance of the unconscious mind (Dream Theories,
As long as humans have existed, sleeping (and everything that comes with that) has held a certain fascination with aspects simply too complex to fully comprehend. The interest goes way beyond the conclusions that comes from modern technology. Research is being conducted on a global scale to answer some of the most basic questions about our subconscious. There are topics that stretch from physical science, sleep stages, types of dreams, lucidity, effects of sleep deprivation to ancient theories and relic Egyptian dream books. All of these subjects come with some controversy, since clearly all human beings do not have the same brain.
“Nightmares are the most common form of disturbed dreaming” (Levin and Nielsen, “Disturbed Dreaming…” 482). Even though each person is made up of unique experiences, DNA, and come from different backgrounds, research shows that people’s dreams tend to share much of the same subject content (Osmun). Nightmares are unpleasant dreams with disturbing content, usually going hand in hand with negative emotional responses (How Sleep Works). These dreams can affect people in ways that make them feel uncomfortable, uneasy, and trapped. These are dreams that can be thought of as bizarre and an event that would not commonly occur. Many people regularly struggle with nightmares. They can occur due to many different reasons. Nightmares are disturbances in a person’s sleep