1. Dreams
Unit 4

2. Reasons why we dream
1. Psychoanalytic: problem solving and psychological adjustment in “safe” unconscious state 2. Biological: repair of neurons through increased levels of protein synthesis 3. Cognitive: information processing, and the consolidation of memories

3. Dreams frequently occur in REM Cycle
REM = a kind of sleep that occurs at intervals during the night
-Characterized by rapid eye movements
and faster pulse & breathing
15% REM awakenings fail
to report dream
20% Non-REM do report
dreaming at all
Infants: unable to tell if they’re dreaming
First dreams possibly occur at 2-3 years

5. Dream Recall
On average we have slightly less than one dream per night recalled
Some people recall 2-3 each night
Some recall a dream every 4-6 months
B. Experiments show
visual memory
correlates with dream
recall

6. Discuss a dream that you remember having last night?
Table Talk
Discuss a dream that you remember having last night?
A dream from last week?
A dream from last month?
What do you think the dream(s) meant?

7. Dream Recall… C. Freud: Repression Hypothesis
Forgetting results of taboo content which is potentially threatening to ego
Even remembered (manifest) content disguises unacceptable (latent/taboo) content

8. Dream Recall..
D. Salience hypothesis: emotional dreams are more easily recalled / remembered E. Interference hypothesis: events on awakening focus the attention away from the dream

9. Dream content Activation, synthesis, & hypothesis:
- Neurological activity in sleep is accounted for by the dream, which is the brain’s way of explaining neural activity
Does not explain coherence, detail, and purposefulness which is common of many dreams

10. Lucid Dreaming
A dream in which the dreamer is aware that they are dreaming
15-28% of people can consciously alter the dreams content (change it mid dream)
Physiological activity is significantly higher during lucid dreams

11. Dream Interpretation Theories range:
“Royal Road to the Unconscious” = Freud
Randomly generated from memory store
Middle of the road view: dreams have meaning for dreamer, who may interpret them in personal ways
No universal symbolism of dreams
Meaningful to some, meaningless to others

12. Dream Interpretation…
C. Meaning not necessarily hidden D. Dream journal may allow patterns to emerge E. Simple interpretations are usually the most helpful to determine a dreams meaning

13. Night Terrors Night terrors are most common in children (3-5 years)
Children awaken in fear and disorientation that lasts 5+ minutes
Child recalls little if any content the next day
Occurs in stage 4 of sleep

14. Nightmares B. Nightmares Peak at 7-10 yrs
- Common in adolescence, esp. in students with high stress
Infrequent in adults, more associated with high stress
Frequently occurs later in the night
- During longer REM

15. Table Talk What are some of your worst nightmares?
As a child or more recently.
What are you most afraid of?
How do you wake up feeling after you’ve experienced a nightmare?
What makes you feel better / help you go back to sleep?