Common dreams and Common dreams and interpretations interpretations By Skyla Bradley Intro to Psychology A3
Transcript
Slide 1
Common dreams and interpretations By Skyla Bradley Intro to
Psychology A3
Slide 2
Various theories about dreams Sigmund Freud- o One of the most
famous psychologists who believed that dreams occur from repressed
emotions that people cannot express in a normal society o The
unconscious mind acts out the unacceptable behaviors, ideas, and
desires that, in the waking life, are stifled o He believed that
dreams were most often based on symbolism for sexual desires Carl
Jung- o Carl Jung believed that dreams served as time to reflect on
ones self in the waking world o Dreams could also help solve
problems and are used to think about particularly difficult issues
Allan Hobson and Robert McCarley- o In 1973, these two researchers
proposed an entirely new theory about the origin and purpose of
dreams o When sleeping, the brain pulls experiences and imagery
from the dreamers memory through random electrical brain impulses
that form together as dreams o The researchers also felt that the
images pulled from ones brain do not actually form a story, but the
dreamers conscious mind creates a story in order to try and
decipher what happened in the unconscious mind, and this theory is
known as the activation-synthesis hypothesis After many books were
published about dreams and their meanings since the 1970s, many
popular theories arose about the reasons why we dream and how we
can understand the hidden meanings within them
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Various theories about dreams Calvin S. Hall- o Calvin believed
that dreams are formed from certain elements in a dreamers personal
life o After studying over 50,000 dream journals to find various
patterns and themes, Hall devised a system that categorized the
content of a dream o He believed that in order to understand a
specific dream, there are certain aspects that are needed to do so:
the actions of the dreamer, the various objects and people, the
interaction between the characters, and how the dream transitions
as well as where the setting is are all necessary when defining a
dream o His cognitive theory of dreams is based on the thought that
ideas of ones self, family, friends, and environment are expressed
through dreams o Through his many years of research, Calvin
discovered that dreams of people from all across the world are
generally more similar than they are different o With sleep
journals that spanned through generations, he concluded that dreams
remain pretty consistent, although the changes corresponded with
the changes in waking life G. William Domhoff- o A colleague of
Calvin Hall who studied at the University of Miami o Through
extensive research, Domhoff theorized that dreams were manifested
based on the concerns, thoughts, and emotions that a dreamer dealt
with when his brain was conscious o He believed that dreams served
as a great psychological portrait of an individual o Give us 1000
dreams over a couple of decades and we can give you a profile of
the person's mind that is almost as individualized and accurate as
her or his fingerprints. G. William Domhoff (the Purpose of
Dreams)
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Top 10 common dreams The Association for the Study of Dreams
has done extensive research finding dreams that many people of all
ages and around the world have shared, and has studied the meaning
and the feelings behind the creation of those common dreams. 10. A
car driving off a cliff or crashing People of all ages can have
this dream, not just people who can drive This common dream
includes the dreamer either being the passenger of the car or the
driver A few different scenarios could be involved in this dream:
while driving, your breaks may fail, you lose control of the
steering, or you head over a cliff Interpretation: The dreamer is
feeling completely powerless over some situation in his life 9.
Faulty machinery In dreams, many types of technology can show up,
including telephones that dont dial, lose connection, or call the
wrong number, lost internet connection, or general broken machinery
that does not function as it should Interpretation: The dreamer is
losing touch with reality or part of his body is not properly
functioning. Alternatively, the dream could mean that he is worried
about connecting with certain people in real life
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10 top dreams continued 8. Lost or trapped When a dreamer is
lost, he is most commonly lost in a forest, a large city, or a
building that feels and looks like a maze Being trapped in a dream
usually creates terror when you are unable to move, you are buried
alive, caught in a web, or trapped in some sort of scary situation
Interpretation: When the lost dream occurs, the feelings of trying
to make a decision or react in a situation are usually prominent
within the dreamer, and when the trapped dream occurs, the person
may actually feel trapped in some way when theyre awake, or they
cant seem to make the right choice 7. Missing public transportation
A common dream is running to catch some form of public
transportation such as a train, bus, or plane, but it leaves right
before the dreamer reaches it Another variation of this type of
dream is when an event is occurring, and the person has to
participate in it but he comes late and the event has already begun
without him Interpretation: In real life, a missed opportunity or
an emotionally taxing decision can cause this dream to
manifest
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Top 10 dreams continued 6. Failing a test o This type of dream
is most common in people who have been out of school for a long
period of time o A test is failed in this type of dream when the
person is late to the test, he becomes lost while trying to find
the testing place, he did not prepare for the material, or he does
not have the proper equipment o Interpretation: A dreamer could
feel that he is being tested in some way in his life, or he is
unprepared or is not playing the proper and correct part in his
life 5. Ill or dying This is a dream that includes seeing a loved
one become ill or die, or experiencing it yourself Interpretation:
The person has been emotionally hurt recently or he is afraid
something will hurt him o If someone else is dying or is hurt in
the dream, the dreamer is representing a part of himself in that
other person, and therefore he is watching a part of himself die or
a part that he fears losing 4. Being chased The chaser in these
dreams are monsters, a particularly frightening person, or an
animal This has been considered the most common nightmare theme
experienced in people Interpretation: Something in the dreamers
life, whether it is a person or even an emotion, makes the dreamer
feel threatened
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Top 10 dreams continued 3. Missing or unhealthy teeth In this
dream, when the dreamer opens his mouth, his teeth will be decayed
and unhealthy or they will begin to drop out of his mouth
Interpretation: In a basic sense, dreaming about missing teeth can
represent fear of becoming unattractive or being found as ugly, but
in a deeper sense, this dream could be manifested from
embarrassment or when the dreamer loses power 2. Dream nudity
Despite what this type of dream is called, the dreamer is not
always completed naked in them; instead he can find himself
partially undressed or wearing clothes that are inappropriate for
his surroundings, such as wearing a bathing suit to school The most
common feelings described with this dream are embarrassment or a
sense freedom Interpretation: The person feels extremely vulnerable
or awkward in his life, and he stays in a shell instead of
revealing who he is 1.Falling or sinking This is the most common
type of dream that almost everyone has at some point in their life
The scenario is usually falling through the air, but it can also be
seen as drowning in water Interpretation: The person is insecure
and does not receive the support he needs, or the dreamer feels
overwhelmed and almost wants to give up
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Differences between men and women Research about the different
types of dreams that people have has led to the discovery of how
men and women dream differently Men- o In one study, men were seen
to have more aggression occurring in their dreams o Men appear in a
mans dream twice as much as women do o Men are more likely to dream
about sex (85% of a male study claim to dream about sex
occasionally) o The dreams are more frequently located in an
outside setting Women- o William Donhoff concluded that womens
dreams feature more details and characters than mens, and they
usually last longer o Women seem to dream about both men and and
women equally o Seem to have more nightmares than men, which can be
broken down into three categories: being chased, losing a loved
one, or confusion o 83% of women dream about being chased o More
likely to have a family member as a character
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Why study dreams? Although many people believe that studying
dreams is pointless because dreams dont mean anything, by carefully
observing someones dreams, a lot about the individual person as
well as the brain as a whole becomes clear Freud believed that
studying dreams can allow us to possibly understand neurotic
disorders more, and by using dreams, we open the door into the
mystery of the unconscious mind. o If many dreams from one person
are analyzed, we can use them to understand what is causing
abnormal behavior as well as what is altering the persons behavior
o The interpretation of dreams is the royal road to a knowledge of
the unconscious Sigmund Freud Some people believe that if someone
experiences a recurring dream, then the unconscious mind is trying
to warn the dreamer that he is continually making the same mistake
in his life Overall, by understanding dreams, people can learn the
mysterious signals that their bodies and minds are sending to them
about their wishes, desires, and emotions
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