Psychologymr. Rother

PsychologyMr. Rother

Introduction to Dreams

Dreams. They have been a part of the human psyche since before recorded time. They have been said to have different purposes at different times throughout the ages. Some divined messages from omnipotent beings in dreams, others later saw them as a window to the unconscious. Some dismiss them as nothing more than a biochemical reaction occurring as the brain rests, recovers, and resets itself from day to day. What do you think they mean? Should psychologists study dreams to see if they tell us something about human behavior? Do you take the behaviorists standpoint that since we can not directly study the contents of dreams, then they are not something that the SCIENCE of psychology should be concerned with. (Note: the behaviorists, therefore, are not mentioned anywhere else in this workbook.) In this "meta-theoretical approach", you will begin to answer some of these questions, and develop your beliefs.

What should you take from this exercise then? Well, you will note some "themes" in psychology that we have discussed before in class. First, psychology is theoretically diverse. We will see that as you learn about the different orientations (approaches) in dealing with dreams. Second, you will see psychology evolved (and still evolves) in a socio-historic context. It is with this second theme that we take a look at how dreams have been used in human history. Finally the "types" of dreams according to "pop" culture will be considered, before we begin to look at the major theoreticians in the field of psychology, mainly, Freud and his followers.

Dream Lore

Sigmund Freud is considered by many to be the impetus for studying dreams and the unconscious in psychology. His work with the neurotic of Vienna, however, provided a venue for others with similar ideas to express their beliefs. Closer examination of the human race reveals that there have always been dreams, and "analysts" for those dreams.

Freud was classically educated. He was probably aware of much of the following Dream Lore, and many biographers cite examples from Freud's own theories of "borrowing" from these early civilizations. His use of the Greek civilization is very apparent, as in his Oedipal and Oedipus complexes. It is therefore appropriate the we look at the early civilizations, and what they believed dreams signified, to get a firm grasp of where we are today, and where your dream theory may be going.

Culture and Dreams

Babylonians -saw dreams as messages from the supernatural beings (good dreams came from the gods, bad dreams came from demons)

Assyrians -saw dreams as omens. Bad dreams demanded action, i.e. exorcisms. Other dreams were seen as "advice"

Egyptians -believed that the gods revealed themselves in dreams, demanding pious acts, or warning of impending doom

Greeks -dreams were good or bad. Sometimes, a treatment, or sleep ritual would be worked up to help incubate good dreams. This "treatment" would include abstaining from sex, meat, and drink. Dreams often told a prophecy. Aristotle postulated that dreams may be premonitions of an illness coming from within the body, where some "unconscious" mind recognized early symptoms, but the absolute sensation threshold had not been crossed to alert the "waking self". (Sounds like he was way ahead of his time, huh?) The Romans had similar beliefs.

Hebrews -dreams were a vision or prophecy from a god (keep in mind that we see monotheism emerging here)

Hindus -dreams are prophetic, and the timing of the dream will indicate how soon the prophecy will come to pass

Japanese -dreams are sought as visions to help answer questions that are plaguing the waking self. Usually the answers come from ancestral spirits.

Muslims -dreams and astrology are closely related in this culture. True dreams come from god, false ones from the devil.

Australian Aborigines -the spirits from underground rise and wander in the land of the living, and when they pass through a mortal being, a "greater vision" is momentarily acquired.. this would be what we call a dream

North American Indians -hidden wishes of the soul are addressed and fulfilled in dreams. Visions can also be sought after in the hopes of answering a question or resolving a conflict.

Psychoanalytic (Freud's) Theory of Dreams

Dreams and Meanings

Dream interpretation requires that you ask the dreamer what he/she thinks the dream means. The first words out of their mouths are usually the most telling (significant, or important). There is no "quick reference" book available that can identify what objects in dreams symbolize. The objects undergo changes that only the individual can gain an understanding of, and the psychoanalyst can learn of through the "talking" cure.

Interpretation

There are obstacles that the patient's own unconscious throws up to keep the meanings of dreams hidden (remember, this is the function of dreams according to Freud). These obstacles can be in the form of forgetting the content of a dream, being uncooperative in analysis, censorship in what they do say about the dream, and other forms of resistance.

It is also important to realize that there are two levels to every dream. The MANIFEST and the LATENT content. The origin of the manifest content is easier to determine, and is generated by things like "day residue" (the left over remnants of the day that the mind uses as a stage to hide the deeper issues of a dream). The latent content is the one that is important for understanding the unconscious conflicts that the dreamer is experiencing. The latent or hidden part is where the greatest understanding can be uncovered.

RULES for Interpretations:

do not trouble yourself over the manifest's meaning, although the dreamer may want to, again to keep you (the interpreter) away from the more significant issue
free associate, allow the dreamer to say what ever comes to mind when they think about different parts of the dream
the hidden thoughts will appear on their own, we can not rush them along

Types of Dreams

Dreams may fall into one of the following categories, and serve these particular functions:

1) the satisfaction dream, you experience something you enjoy.

2) the impatience dream- where the dreamer dreams about being at a party or function, that is in the near future, that they "can not wait to get to" so the dream takes you there.

3) the comfort dream

Terminology

Dream censorship- the process by which the issues of a dream are omitted to hide the true meaning
Symbolism- the manifestation of an object, idea, or feeling, in some "concrete" form that is in the dream. Figuring out what the manifestation symbolizes is a major component of Freudian dream interpretation.
Dream Work- the techniques or ways that the unconscious uses to distort the reality and issues in a dream. Those "tricks" include: condensation, displacement, and symbolization
Condensation- taking large issues, or more than one issue, and representing it is a dream with only one image, i.e. fearing your new girlfriend, missing your mother and personality fixations revolving around an oral fixation may be represented in a dream with just a baby with a pacifier
Displacement- replacement of issues (conflicts) by something remote or nothing i.e. a big issue is only a small element of a dream, while a small issue seems to get all the attention (this would be displacement of accent, there is also displacement of omission where items from the dreams are just left out, displacement by modifications, and displacement by regrouping materials- again to confuse issues.

As stated, Freud would never write a "dreamers" dictionary, because you can not identify what each element of a dream is supposed to represent until you hear the patient talk and free associate. However, he did find that many times, certain "items" of the real world, were represented the same way between different people. Some of these "generalities" are listed here:

a house = the human form
if the house is flat (no balconies or things coming off the house)- it is a man if the house has balconies, awnings, etc., then it is usually a women
emperors and empresses = parents
Kings/Queens = parents
little animals/vermin = siblings
water = birth
journeys/travel = dying
the #3, umbrellas, sticks, poles, trees, (things that penetrate) knives, daggers, lances, sabers, guns, pistols, revolvers, (things form which water flow) taps, water cans, springs (objects that get longer) balloons, slide rulers, (things that defy gravity) airplanes, and (animals) snakes, etc. = the male sex organs
pits, hallows, caves (things that hold things) jars, bottles, boxes, chests, coffers, pockets, cupboards, stoves, rooms, (things that hold other things) mouths, doors, gates, (things that represent breasts) apples, peaches fruits, and (others) woods, shrubs, bushes, etc. = female sex organs
Intercourse (the act) was often found to be represented as dancing, riding, climbing, or experiencing some violent act

Jung's Theory of Dreams

A disciple and friend of Freud, Carl Jung was one of the elite in Freud's inner circle. He learned however, that you can admire Freud, use Freud's ideas, but you can not question them or attempt to change them. His ideas about a personal unconscious were synchronous with Freud's, but his theory that there was something beyond that, what he called a "collective unconscious" that all humans share (perhaps on some spiritual level) lead him to be booted out of the Freudian crew. Jung started his own movement, and began to look for universals, or "common themes, symbols, and ideas" that are present in all humankind (and for our concerns, all the aforementioned, dreams.) These Neo-Freudians (new Freudians as they are now categorized) continued to emphasize not only the individual (personal) unconscious, but also the collective unconscious.

In this reading, you will be exposed to some sample dreams, and see how Jung interprets them, often without even talking to the client, or knowing anything about them. Instead, he relies on his knowledge of the "traditional" or "shared" human conflicts.

Some of the terminology you will need to read this section and understand the Jungian approach, are listed below.

archetypes - emotionally charged images and thoughts, that have universal meaning, irregardless of who expresses them

anima vs. animus - the female vs. maleness issues that all humans face. Jung believed that no one is all male or all female, but rather some percentage of each (a theory that holds water according to most modern psychologists). This will cause a struggle that everyone has to deal with. This type of "dichotomy" is common in Jungian analysis.

Your Dream Journal

Sigmund Freud said "Dreams are the royal road to the unconscious". He wrote several books on dreams, dream content, and dream interpretation. Everybody dreams, though there are those who say they do not. This is perhaps because they cannot recall their dreams. Most dreams occur during REM sleep, which takes up about 25% of total sleep time and occurs on an average of every 90 minutes. This exercise is designed to help you become more aware of your dreams, how often you dream, and what (if anything) can you learn from your dreams.

First, staple several sheets of loose leaf paper together, around 10 should suffice (not pages ripped out of a spiral notebook), or get a small steno pad. This is going to be your dream journal. Start recording your dreams right away, and continue until you have about 4 to 5 dreams.

PART I. Sleeping Dreams

Before falling asleep, DECIDE you are going to remember your dreams. Be patient; it may take a night or 2 for your unconscious to get the message. The most important thing to remember is that EVERYONE dreams and that once you believe you will remember them, you will!

Keep the journal and a pen close to your bed and write down dreams you recall immediately, without interpretation. You may have more than one entry per night (everyone dreams between 4 and 6 times) of varying lengths (REM sleep gets longer, therefore, your dreams get longer later on in night).

What should you record? Basically everything, uncensored, as you remember them... do not worry about proper English for this part. To be more specific write down:>

dialogue or any words
the number and types of people (friends, strangers, relatives)
objects
the mood of the dream (happy, sad, scary, etc.)
settings
themes
events
timing in the dream
relations to the dream and you (are you an observer, participant, seeing yourself as player?)

If it's to difficult to record a part of the dream in writing, sketch a picture.

Part II. Written Report

Once you have about 4-5 dreams in your journal, try to analyze them using the following questions as guides (but feel to create your own "questions" also).

Were there any common threads, common ideas, running through the journal?
Are your dreams bizarre? Mundane?
Which dreams are most disturbing? Why? What do they mean to you?
What common symbols or objects did you record? What do you think these symbols mean?
Were you able to control your dreams as you remembered more and more of them?
How are your dreams relevant to your waking life?
Was the content of both journals identical on any days? What does this tell you?
What seems to be the main function of your dreams?

Write a thesis statement, and support it with references directly from your dreams (you may even refer to a particular date of a dream and tell the reader to go to certain lines.) Summarize the dreams you discuss in your report. Consider comparing settings, plots, characters, emotions, and colors.

The report should be in essay/paragraph form. Do not just write sentences answering each question, rather have a thesis in mind that connects all the individual ideas.

Lastly, have a conclusion about the activity and the topic. In other words, what did you learn about yourself by writing in the journal?

Your dream journal will not be turned in but will be necessary to produce your report.

The report will be a minimum of 3 pages double spaced 12pt Times New Roman or equivalent.

Tips to help you remember your dreams:

relax and keep telling yourself that you WILL remember your dreams
create a comfortable sleeping environment (you probably already have one, so don't do anything different because of this assignment
these dreams do not have to occur at night, dreams that occur during naps can be just as revealing
if you can't remember a dream, when you wake up, just write the first words that come to your mind, as you look at them, a dream may come back to you.
if you really get stuck, you can think about dreams you have had before, especially those that are reoccurring

Tips for dream analysis:

Ask yourself the following Questions:

Were there any common threads, common ideas, running through the journal?
Are your dreams bizarre? Mundane?
Which dreams are most disturbing? Why? What do they mean to you?
What common symbols or objects did you record? What do you think these symbols mean?
Were you able to control your dreams as you remembered more and more of them?
How are your dreams relevant to your waking life?
Was the content of both journals identical on any days? What does this tell you?
What seems to be the main function of your dreams?