1. Dreams

2. Agenda 1. Crash Course Sleep and Dreams (10) 2. Dreams Lecture (20)
3. What do we dream Survey? (10)
4. Dreams vs. Nightmares? Is there a difference? The stats and Discuss
5. What do Dreams Mean? Discussion (10)
6. Dream Rubric (5)
7. Questions, Review?

3. Why do you think we dream?

4. Definition of Dreams
A sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person’s mind.

5. Nature of Dreams 8 of 10 dreams have negative emotional content
People commonly dream about failure, being attacked, pursued, rejected, or struck with misfortune.
Contrary to what we think sexual dreams are sparse. Sexual dreams in men are 1 in 10 and women are 1 in 30.

6. Awakened and questioned during REM, recall of dreams is enhanced.
Many are mundane.

7. Sigmund Freud and Dreams
Known for this theory of dreaming
Freud said dreams allow us to express our unconscious wishes in a disguised way

8. The Interpretation of Dreams (1900)
Psychoanalytic perspective
Dreams help understand inner conflicts and provide a psychic safety valve to discharge unacceptable feelings.

9. There are two types of content in dreams
Manifest Content – remembered story line
Latent Content – underlying message or symbolic meanings

10. Why Do We Dream? Freud’s wish fulfillment
Information processing – help us sift, sort, and fix the day’s experiences in our memory

11. 3. Physiological function – provides sleeping brain w/ periodic stimulation to develop and preserve neural pathways. Neural networks are quickly developing in newborns. Therefore, they need more sleep.

12. Activation synthesis – brain engages in a lot of random neural activity and dreams make sense of this activity
Cognitive development – we dream as a part of brain maturation and cognitive development; Crick & McCarley – “housekeeping” time

13. Critics of dream theories:
1) Freud’s theory lacks scientific support; can interpret dreams in different ways.
2) Information processing doesn’t explain why we dream about things we have not experienced.

14. REM Rebound – when get little sleep one night you spend more time next night in REM sleep; proves that REM sleep is needed
REM sleep is when dreams occur

15. Five Characteristic Features of Dreaming by Hobson
Emotion so intense may end the dream.
Content of dream is illogical or unorganized.
Contains complex sensory impressions

16. Five Characteristic Features of Dreaming by Hobson
4. Accept dreams uncritically as they were everyday experiences
5. Most have difficulty remembering dreams when over

19. Theories on daydreaming
Freud believes only unhappy people daydream
Jerome Singer – occasional daydreaming is universal

20. Research on Daydreaming
Begin in early childhood
Provides escape from stress or boredom
Alter our moods and enhance sexual excitement
A mental rehearsal to important events
May be motivational

21. Closure
Tell your partner about a weird dream you have had and what do you think it meant?