Psychology Ch. 4 States of Consciousness Dreams

Psychologists define dreams as visual and auditory experiences that our minds create during sleep. The average person has four or five dreams a night, accounting for about 1 to 2 hours of the total time spent sleeping.

People awakened during REM sleep report graphic dreams about 80 to 85 percent of the time. Less striking dreamlike experiences that resemble normal wakeful consciousness are reported about 50% of the time during NREM sleep. -1951 study at the University of Chicago: eye movements in sleeping infants

Dreams Most dreams last about as long as the events would in real life; they do not flash on your mental screen just before waking, as we once believed. Generally, dreams consist of a sequential story or a series of stories.

Dreams Stimuli, both external and internal may modify an ongoing dream, but they do not initiate dreams. - Biological need to dream: 1959 study- volunteers were woken up once they reached REM sleep

What do we dream? Individuals vary widely in what they dream about, the feelings associated with their dreams, and how often they remember dreams.

Dreams Dream content is related to where you are in your sleep cycle: Early stages VS. REM Sleep Dreams are influenced by what you were doing before you go to sleep: example- reading or scary movies.

(write this on the front page) Dreams are affected by: Your gender (subject list on pg. 161) Your socioeconomic status Your age:(broken down into 4 age groups- next few slides)

Dreams Young children: ages 2-5, have brief dreams, often involving animals, but the images are unrelated and have no story line.

Ages 5-7: dreams become longer and more story like Ages 5-7: dreams become longer and more story like. Ages 7-9: dreams have a narrative format- they are sequential (beginning- middle and end), feelings and emotions are involved. The child is a character in the dream. Ages 9-15: dreams become more mature in content.

Dreams and information processing: -In our dreams we reprocess information gathered during the day as a way of strengthening memory- especially important information.

During our waking hours, our brains are bombarded with sensory data During our waking hours, our brains are bombarded with sensory data. We need a “time out” to decide what information is valuable: - What goes to long term memory and what do we delete. -Research shows you spend more time in REM sleep after learning difficult content.

Dreams Brain-imaging studies: Studies show a correlation between the area of the brain used while learning new material is also active during REM sleep.

People often solve problems or have flashes of insight: -“Aha” moments -Famous examples in text pg. 162 -Dreams refer to past-present and future tasks to do.

Psychologists see dreams as a form of emotional processing: -emotionally significant events may be integrated with previous experiences. -we work through problems in our dreams Physical processing: -studies indicate while we dream, the nervous system repairs worn-out brain tissue (neurons and synapses).

Dreams Why do we dream? Sigmund Freud! -Freud believed dreams are repressed desires. Example: -You are unaware of hostile feelings toward a friend and you dream you hurt them.

According to Freud, this process of censorship and symbolic transformation accounts for the highly illogical nature of many dreams. -Dreams can flood our minds with buried memories, fears and impulses.

Dreams and Waking Life Another theory- dreams are an extension of the conscious concerns of daily life in altered (but not disguised) form. -Research has shown that what people dream is generally similar to what they think about and do while awake. * Your dreams reflect your interests and concerns.

What would this image mean in a dream What would this image mean in a dream? Feeding a Swan Losing a Key Playing the Lotto Watering a Cactus Burning Pancakes Worshipping a Cow Growing Cauliflower