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Psychology essays about dreams
Psychology essays about dreams
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Attempting to Explain the Origing of Dreams through Theories Theories attempting to explain the origin of dreams range from providing stimulation for the development of the brain to enhancing storage and reorganization. Contrary to popular belief, dreaming is not caused by eating certain foods before bedtime, nor by environmental stimuli during sleeping. Dreaming is caused by internal biological processes. Now, as in the past, the most significant controversy centers on the question of whether dreams have intentional or actual personal meaning. Many psychotherapists maintain that while the neurological impulses from the brain stem may activate the dreaming process, the content or meaningful representations in dreams are caused by nonconscious needs, wishes, desires, and everyday concerns of the dreamer. Recent research indicates that dream content reflects problems that the dreamer experiences in life, and the function of such dreams is to facilitate the emotional resolution of the problems. The most recent method was developed for use with adult populations, and involves simply asking subjects to write down the last dream they can remember having, "whether it was last night, last week, or last month"(Domhoff, 1996, p.310; Domhoff & Schneider, 1995). The subjects are also asked to write down the date and times that they recall the dreams. The survey included many sub-samples ranging from 25 all the way to 250 dreams from Hall and Van de Castle's(1966) normative sample of 500 dreams. These dreams were provided by 100 college men between the ages of 18 and 22. Samples of 100 to 125 single dreams from each subject came close to duplicating the norms. Another study of 100 most recent dreams written down by college women between the ages of 18 and 25 at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in the early 1990's showed the findings did not differ from the Hall and Van de Castle(1966) female norms based on 500 dream reports provided by 100 college women between 18 and 22. The methods used for the survey kept the students in a natural environment allowing the students to feel comfortable and at ease. The teacher would introduce the sample taker to the students. The sample taker would then explain what they were doing and would come back and explain the results to the students once the survey was completed. The students reacted positively by asking questions which she(surveyor) answered. After the students had asked all of their questions she passed out the Most Recent Dream Form and read the instructions to the students.
My ideas resemble a mixture of Rosalind Cartwright and Sigmund Freud’s theories on dreams. Freud believed that the purpose of our dreams is to attain a
This book is a collection of information about dreams, ranging from folklore and ancient beliefs to current scientific research. The thoughts of dozens, perhaps even hundreds of philosophers, researchers, and other dreamers are briefly summarized in chronological order, from Plato to Artemidorus, from Erik Erikson to Calvin
Dreams are states of consciousness, known as the stories and mental images our brains create during certain stages of sleep. Even though these are a common feature of humankind, they continue to remain a mystery. For many years, psychologists have come up with different theories as an attempt to explain why this phenomenon, we have not been able to understand, takes place. While some researchers believe dreams have no purpose nor greater meaning, others believe dreams are imperative for mental and emotional health. Nonetheless, although there are numerous theories, these are all primarily based on speculations rather than actual research, which gives anyone the opportunity to form a theory as to why dreams occur. Consequently, since dreams are open to wide arrays of interpretations, individuals can create their own dream theory to understand more about who they are. For me, dreams are reflections of inner problems and fears in our lives, as well as demonstrations of the events that take place in a day and those that are to come.
Exploringn a Neurobiological Theory of Dreaming Neurobiological theory of dreaming focuses on the brain and the nervous system. The activation synthesis theory which is one of the theories put forward by Hobson and Mcarley (1998) said sleep is controlled by mechanism in the brainstem. When activated this inhibits activity in the skeletal muscles and increases activity in the forebrain. This theory seems dreaming as an automatic part of the sleep process that may have no significance beyond the need to organize the material into coherent forms. Hobson points out that injection of a drug that increases the action of acetylcholine both increases REM sleep and dreaming.
Dreams are very peculiar often times and are paid no attention because of their insignificance. This is the attitude of a majority of people. When people discuss dreams with peers it is discovered that most people have similar dreams and share common themes, motifs, and symbols. Of course, each dream is unique to its’ own dreamer but dreams are not random or meaningless. Dreams contain wisdom, insight to emotions, and ultimately help one to find their meaning of life. It is not to say that dreams are the one and only thing that lead to finding the meaning of living but they certainly are beneficial and helpful. Life without meaning is life without happiness or fulfillment. To truly get the meaning of life, insight, and wisdom, from dreams it is important to know the scientific history of dreams, how dreams are beneficial in solving problems, facing fears, and validating intuition, how to interpret dreams personally with dream guides and dictionaries, the possible effects on dreams, and lastly, simply make a commitment to listen to dreams and use their message for the betterment of health and living.
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.
Dreams are series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person’s mind during sleep. Dreams occur during a certain stage of sleep known as REM. Several different psychologists, including Freud and Hobson, have studied dreams. Psychologists have provided many theories as to what dreams are and the meanings behind them.
In this paper I hope to open a window to the vast and mysterious world of dreaming. To most people, information about dreams isn’t common knowledge. In researching this subject though, I found that everybody has and reacts to dreams, which are vital to your mental health. You will also find how you can affect your dreams and how they affect you.
Dreams have been a mystery that has intrigued the human race for hundreds of years. The fact that our brains have the ability to project images of our subconscious, yet the source of the images are still unknown, has caused thousands of psychologists to devote themselves to the study of the phenomenon. After spending two weeks tracking my sleep and dreams, I am of the belief that dreams are our brain’s way of conceptualizing reality while finding a way to solve the problems in our daily lives.
In the novel, Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M Coetzee, the magistrate’s progressive, non-linear dreams are a parallel to his growing involvement with the barbarians and his growing distaste for the empire. The great psychoanalyst, Sigmund Freud said, “The interpretation of dreams is the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious.” In every dream there is a hidden meaning and when the reader starts analyzing the magistrate’s dreams he reveals that he is oddly attracted to the barbarians and knows he should not get involved and it will be a trial to get close to them.
Where do dreams come from? What actually are dreams? Do they mean something that is related in our real lives? All these questions can be answered by learning about the history of dreams in various cultures throughout time.
What is a dream? Why do we have dreams? Do dreams have deeper meaning in our lives? The answers to these questions have eluded and intrigued many psychologists throughout history and have sparked my interest as well. As an avid and vivid dreamer I have often found myself wondering what the true meanings to my dreams were. So what are dreams? “Strictly speaking, dreams are images and imagery, thoughts, sounds and voices, and subjective sensations experienced when we sleep.”1 Even after thousands of years of research, psychologists have still not come to an agreed answer on why we dream. There are as many opinions out there as there are individual dreams. Some psychologists believe dreaming is simply the minds way of distracting itself from outside information during sleep to allow people to get deep rest. Others such as Dr. Eric Hartman suggest dreams serve almost as a psychotherapy in which the brain can make connections between different emotions and thoughts in a safe protected environment. Do dreams have any direct correlation to everyday events and experiences? Are they meant to aid individuals in understanding and interpreting their world around them?
The Psychodynamic view of dreaming suggests that the content in our dream is symbolic of something. Also, that the content in our dreams are based on unconscious desires as well as internal conflict.
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.
Ever since I was a child, dreams have had a huge influence on me. I’ve always found them fascinating in how they can hold so many different ideas or creations. Especially since they occur while you’re asleep. Throughout the years I’ve slowly been able to remember more and more details about my dreams, I even experience lucid dreaming every now and then. Which is why I have chosen to write my paper on dreams and sleeping. How sleeping works, how sleeping and dreams relate to someone psychologically, and the different types of dreams.