Dreams, Hypnosis & Meditation A.P. Psychology 01/06/09

Drill Look at your sleep diary. Do you notice any patterns in your sleeping? Is there something in particular that you dream about? Summarize your sleep experience and what you learned from keeping this diary.

Dreaming What exactly is a dream? Are they really that bizarre? mental experiences during REM sleep that have a story-like quality, include visual imagery, are often bizarre, and are regarded as perceptually real by the dreamer. Are they really that bizarre? Is it possible that dreams are really ways to unconsciously work through our everyday problems?

Dreaming Recent research has shown that dreams DO NOT happen during REM Sleep only Non-REM dreams are less vivid, visual, and story-like than REM dreams Dreamers actually realize they are dreaming more than previously thought Very similar to waking thoughts Dreaming is constantly being researched

Content of Dreams Common Themes Falling Being attacked Trying repeatedly to do something School, teachers, studying Sexual experiences Arriving Late Eating Being frozen with fright Death of a loved one People are more likely to remember bizarre dreams, but overall, most are not that exciting

Content of Dreams Calvin Hall (1966) Concluded that most dreams are mundane and deal with family, friends, and colleagues Dreams tend to center on classic sources of internal conflict People dream very little about public affairs & current events We dream mostly about ourselves

Theories of Dreaming 1. Sigmund Freud ~ Wish Fulfillment People fulfill ungratified needs from waking hours with wishful thinking in dreams Ex. Someone who is sexually frustrated might have highly erotic dreams Ex. An unsuccessful person might dream about greater accomplishments Also believed that the true meaning of dreams might be disguised

Theories of Dreaming 2. Rosalind Cartwright ~ Cognitive Problem Solving View There is considerable continuity between waking and sleeping thought Dreams allow people to engage in creative thinking about problems because they are not restrained by logic or realism

Theories of Dreaming 3. J. Allen Hobson & Robert McCarley ~ Bursts in Brain activity Activation Synthesis Model Dreams are side-effects of the neural activation that produces “wide awake” brain waves during REM sleep The cortex synthesizes a dream to make sense out of these signals DOES NOT say that dreams are meaningless, but it does downplay the role of emotional factors

Content of Dreams Differences between Men & Women Strangers appear more in men’s dreams Acting out aggressively Having sexual liaisons with attractive female strangers Women Children Being the target of aggression Having sexual encounters with their boyfriends & husbands

Lucid Dreams A lucid dream is a dream in which the sleeper is aware that he or she is dreaming. When the dreamer is lucid, he or she can actively participate in and often manipulate the imaginary experiences in the dream environment. Lucid dreams can seem extremely real and vivid depending on a person's level of self-awareness during the lucid dream.

Hypnosis A systematic procedure that typically produces a heightened state of suggestibility Franz Mesmer (18th Century) Believed he could cure people of their illnesses through “mesmerism” James Braid (1843) Popularized the term hypnotism & thought that this “trance-like” state coulse serve as a general anesthetic ~ when medicine came around, it died out

Hypnotic Induction & Susceptibility Techniques for inducing hypnosis Swinging pendulum Suggestion of relaxation Repetition Speaking softly Vivid description of body sensations Hypnotic Susceptibility Not everyone can be hypnotized Stable, measurable trait measured by the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale About 10% of the population does not respond at all About 10% are exceptional subjects

SHSS a series of exercises performed with an experienced hypnotist who assesses your suggestibility to certain tasks while in state of hypnosis. There are 12 tasks ranging from pulling apart your interlocked fingers to hallucinating the presence of a buzzing fly. Item number 12 tests your susceptibility to post-hypnotic amnesia. The hypnotist would ask you to forget what has just happened during the session. The test is scored as follows: 0-4 is considered low hypnotizable. 5-7 is medium 8-12 is high

Hypnotic Phenomenon Effects produced through hypnosis Disinhibition Anesthesia Some physicians & dentists have used hypnosis as a substitute for drugs Sensory distortions & Hallucinations Subjects may see or hear things that are not there or even have their sensations distorted (sweet tastes sour, etc.) Disinhibition Hypnosis can sometimes lower inhibitions and cause subjects to act in ways that are not socially desireable Post-hypnotic suggestions & amnesia Suggestions made during hypnosis may influence later behavior

Theories of Hypnosis 1. Hypnotic Trance Special altered state where there are no special physiological changes & may just be “normal”

Theories on Hypnosis 2. Role-Playing Theodore Barber (1979) & Nicholas Spanos (1986) Subjects’ role expectations produce effects, rather than an altered state of consciousness Many amazing effects of hypnosis have been duplicated by nonhypnotized participants Martin Orne (1951) took hypnotized subjects back to their 6th birthday & found that many memories were inaccurate or invented ~ subjects seem to be playing a role

Theories on Hypnosis 3. Altered State of Consciousness Theorists doubt that all effects can be explained by the role-playing theory Even the most cooperative subjects are unlikely to endure surgery without anesthetic, just to please the doctor If it was all an act, why do subjects continue to “play a role” even when alone Brain-Imaging Studies Changes in brain activity while hypnotized

Dissociation Ernest Hilgard (1986) Theorized that hypnosis splits consciousness into two streams – one in communication with hypnotist & external world, and the other is difficult to detect Divided consciousness seems to be rather common Ex. Highway Hypnosis – many people drive a car for miles, responding to traffic signals and other cars without any recollection of having consciously done so

Meditation A family of practices that train attention to heighten awareness and bring mental processes under greater voluntary control

Approaches to Meditation Yoga a system of exercises practiced as part of the Hindu discipline to promote control of the body and mind Zen Zen emphasizes experiential wisdom in the attainment of enlightenment. As such, it de-emphasizes theoretical knowledge in favor of direct, experiential realization through meditation and religious practice. Transcendental Meditation A form of meditation that originated in the cultures of India and Tibet. It was exported to the West by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It involves training the mind on a single point of focus, such as a word or phrase (Mantra)

Religion & Meditation Meditation is rooted in Eastern Religions Hinduism Buddhism Taoism Meditation has been practiced throughout history in spiritual traditions, even in Judaism & Christianity

Physiology of Meditation Alpha & Theta waves become more prominent Heart rate, skin conductance, respiration rate, oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide elimination decline High activity in the prefrontal cortex Consistent with focused attention Unusually low activity in the parietal lobe Processes body’s location in space Experienced meditators report their “oneness” with the world

Long-Term Benefits Effective in reducing stress Can improve mental health Positive effects on blood pressure, mood and one’s sense of control Possible increase in creativity & intelligence