Psychologists Focusing on Dreams - Research Paper Example

Psychology: Dreams November 13, Dreams are a normal part of sleeping for most individuals, but what they dream differs from one another due to the fact that dreams are messages about life from the subconscious. Peoples’ dreams are usually based on issues or events that are going on in their life or else is something that has been left unattended or unresolved. Sigmund Freud was one of the leading psychologists who spent a lot of time focusing on dreams. A lot of his discoveries and works are still very relevant to today, especially in a society where there are many problems being faced but so few being tended to. A study had been done to show how the lives of people can have a great effect on what and how they dream. After comparing what people go through and what they dream about, it has been determined that the events and situations that a person faces plays a big role in what they dream. Introduction What are dreams? A dream is a sequence of mental images, thoughts and feelings that involuntarily take place while an individual is sleeping. Sigmund Freud hypothesized the Dynamic Theory of Dream Formation to help explain what actually causes dreams to be formed. This theory states that dreams are constructed in the brain of a sleeping individual by unconscious impulses, or an incident or thought that had been silenced throughout the day that makes itself known as a underlying thought while the brain is resting. “Every dream is on the one hand the fulfillment of a wish on the part of the unconscious and on the other hand the fulfillment of the normal wish to sleep which sets the sleep going (Freud, 2003).” REM sleep Rapid eye movement (REM) is a vital aspect of both sleeping and dreaming. REM is the standard stage of sleep that is distinguished by rapid movements of the eyes. This cycle of rapid eye movement contains two other categories: tonic and phasic. The rapid eye movement cycle is also characterized by low muscle tone and a swift, low voltage electroencephalography (EEG). Dominating brain waves are not present during the rapid eye movement cycle as the brain is not at its complete functioning level. In a typical night, individuals go though four or five bouts of rapid eye movement sleep, all of which totals an hour and a half to two hours at the maximum. Dreams take place during the rapid eye movement cycle as this is when the person is in the deepest of sleep. The dreams that most people are able to remember after waking up are those that are done during the rapid eye movement cycle. This is mostly due in part to the fact that it is common for people to wake up after having a rapid eye movement cycle, which is to wake up after a dream. People usually remember dreams based on when they had them in comparison to when they wake up. Types of dreams Lucid dreams: When a person has a lucid dream, they are consciously aware that they are dreaming. The awareness of the dream takes place when the dream is in progress. Oftentimes, the person is able to control their dreams; they have complete control over their characters, environment, and situations. They can even allow their characters do to extraordinary things or make them go to places that would be impossible to go to in real life. Even though the dream is surreal, it appears realistic to the individual. A lucid dream is the only type of dream that does not require interpretation for understanding. There are two different categories of lucid dreams. Dream-initiated lucid dreaming is when the dream starts off as any normal dream would, but the individual discovers that a dream is taking place and that they can control it. Wake-initiated lucid dreaming is when the individual is capable of slipping straight unto a dream state while they are still awake without first becoming unconscious. Post-traumatic dreams: As the name suggests, post-traumatic dreams are associated with post-traumatic stress disorder and take place after a traumatic occurrence has happened in a person’s life. These dreams often recollect that traumatic event, though they usually end with different and unexpected outcomes that play on the guilt that the person feels in regard to the event, based on what the situation had been. These dreams find form in the stress and emotional trauma that a person faces with traumatic events. Post-traumatic dreams can be brought to an end if the individual comes to terms with what has happened to them. Reoccurring dreams: These dreams take place when a person thinks too often on a situation or a conflict that is going on in their life. If they spend a lot of time thinking about what is going on but not reaching any helpful conclusions, these thoughts can begin to invade their mind even as they sleep. The unconscious mind begins to take off where the conscious mind left off. These dreams can often go hand-in-hand with post-traumatic stress disorder and their connected dreams. Freud and the interpretation of dreams Psychologist Sigmund Freud was one of the most outspoken influences on psychology as we know it. The majority of his attributes to psychology dealt with the theories that he had formulated in regard to the unconscious mind and the defense mechanism of repression that the mind creates. As dreams are results of goings-on in the mind, many of Freud’s theories can be connected to dreams and the meanings of dreams. Freud focused a lot on interpreting dreams and understanding the meanings that could be found within dreams. Freud relied on symbolism to find these deeper meanings; he also depended greatly on the events that took place prior to specific dreams to determine what they meant. If an event had significant meaning to an individual or happened to be conflicting for them, Freud would look to these as the source of certain dreams. Freud also helped design some of the symbolism for dream interpretation. He interviewed people, taking in important aspects such as the goings-on in the individual’s life or pressing thoughts or concerns. “The symbols that Freud came up with were not just simple objects, but situations and arrangements that would come from just one small portion of the dream (Brians, 1998).” Function of dreams Many psychologists have come up with a plethora of hypotheses in regard to the function of dreams, but it had been Freud who determined that “nightmares allow the brain to begin controlling the emotions that accompany stressful experiences (“Dream psychology”, 2006).” Freud took this concept a little bit further and allowed it to also encompass dreams, believing that all dreams truly are are subconscious views of an individual’s life and how their unconscious mind sees these different scenarios playing out. Freud also stated that “dreams let the mind express things that would normally be suppressed in the waking world, thus keeping itself in harmony (Bulkeley, 2001).” Method Three people were randomly selected based on their age groups - one person between the ages of 10-13, one person between the ages of 16-19, and another person between the ages of 35-45. The only aspect in the selection that mattered was the age as people in different areas of their lives have different worries, concerns, and events going on in their lives. This would allow for a variety of dreams, thus a wider variety of interpretations. After each person had been assured that their information was anonymous, private and secure, and that they were allowed to deny answering at any time, they were given a brief survey that divulged into their social and private lives, including school, work and family. The survey focused on any conflicts that were going on in these aspects of the individuals’ lives. The survey was set up simply so that no complex answers were listed; divorce, finances, schoolwork, and other key terms were listed that the subjects could check off. The surveys then provided a section where the subject could write brief descriptions of some of the dreams that have been having. Results and discussion The conclusion of Freud’s studies in dreams was that many dreams do not need interpreting, that they are blunt enough in their messages that they do not need interpretation, which was the case for many of the dreams done in the aforementioned study. Be that as it may, there are still many other dreams that need a thorough analysis to understand what the in-depth meaning is. Freud said that “the best approach to interpreting and understanding dreams is by looking at each separate element and then combining the outcomes (Freud, 1980).” This process needs to be done by looking at each piece of the dream and then arriving at the bigger picture. The majority of the other dreams that were considered in the study could be interpreted based upon the goings-on in the lives of the individuals. One specific example involved the person between the age of 35-45 years. They kept having reoccurring dreams in which they are dating someone that is not their spouse; in their waking life, they are in the process of going through a divorce. The dreams may be abstract at times, but what is concluded can be quite obvious depending on what else the person is experiencing while they are awake. If people truly want to know what their dreams mean, they should keep a notebook by their beds and write down what they remember of their dreams as soon as they wake up. Many people can interpret their dreams on their own, going off of what they are experiencing during life; others can find dream interpretation throughout books, people, or Internet services to help them determine with their subconscious is trying to tell them. References Brians, P. (1998). “Sigmund Freud: The Interpretation of Dreams.” Retrieved from http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_2/freud.html. November 7, 2010. Bulkeley, K. (2001). Dreams. New York: Palgrave Macmillian. N.A. (2006). “Dream Psychology: Psychoanalysis for Beginners.” The Wish in Dreams. Retrieved from www.enotalone.com/article/12114.html. November 9, 2010. Freud, S. (2003). Beginner’s guide to dream analysis. Los Angeles: Standard Publications, Inc. Freud, S. (1980). Interpretation of dreams. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. Read More