What Are Dreams? Psychology Chapter 1
Well my midterms are finally over, meaning I can finally work on my entries regarding psychology. My next few entries will not be about me. Instead, the next 5 of my entries will be covering the most fascinating topics in my psychology textbook. Topics such as dreams, motivation, sexual orientation, memory and perception will be discussed. So I wanted to kick things of with my favorite topic in my book, dreams. Keep in mind that what you are about to read is based on theories. And remember…you have every right to disagree with the information I am going to be shared with you for the next few entries. In fact I encourage it. With that said, let’s get started!
• What are dreams? Dreaming is an altered state of conscious in which various images, adventures and stories are built based on memories, current fears or even fantasies. Despite the seemingly endless amount of research on dreams, many scientists are sill puzzled about why it even happens in the first place. Nevertheless, many questions which were once unanswered have finally been unlocked. Let’s review some of the findings regarding these questions.
• Does everybody dream? No doubt we know people who claim that “they never dream.” I’m afraid they are incorrect. What they really mean to say is “I cannot recall my dreams.” Although there are many people who do not recall their dreams after waking up, test results suggest that non-recallers do as much dreaming as recallers. Researchers have proposed that nonrecallers simply have allot more trouble recalling dreams then recallers. Of course most scientists feel that theory is to basic and have come up better explanations. The most excepted theory is what happens during the awakening process is what determines the outcome. In other words, unless a distraction free waking period occurs shortly after dreaming, the memory of the dream cannot be stored in your memory. Others believe that a person’s motivation level is the key to salvaging dreams. If upon awakening a person actually makes an effort to remember about what he or she was dreaming about, some of the dream’s contents will appear later on. Otherwise the dream will be completely forgotten.
•What do dreams mean? According to Sigmund Freud, dreams are wishes in disguise. By this he means that dreams touch ones wishes, needs, or ideas that the individual finds unacceptable and have been repressing these thoughts to the unconscious part of the mind. A perfect example is sexual images and ideas. Most of us have had times where we continue to lie to ourselves and say that “we don’t want to have sex with, or kiss that person,” weather they are male or female, yet we tend to find ourselves to look at them constantly when they are near by. Freud also says that the censor protects the sleeper, enabling him or her to express repressed impulses symbolically while avoiding the guilt or anxiety that would originally happen if we were awake. HOWEVER, there are other scientists who do not agree with the above theory. Others see dreams have psychological meanings, rather then wanted wishes. In fact, this is a theory I support. Imagine this. You are dreaming about an average day at school. All of a sudden, all of the students are pointing their fingers at you and laughing. When you look at yourself, you discover that all of your clothes have mysteriously vanished, leaving you nude. Surely we have all experienced a dream like this. When you stop and think about that embarrassing dream’s meaning, one can conclude that it means you are afraid of what people think of you. So the meaning of dreams have many theories, it is just up to you to pick one that suits you.
• Freud also believed that the portion of our mind, the unconscious, contains some memories, impulses, and desires that are not accessible to consciousness. It is also said that emotionally painful memories and wishes are repressed, or diverted to the unconscious. You know what’s weird? The emotions we repress often influence majority of our actions. Repressed thoughts CANNOT enter our coconsciousness, but they can effect us in indirect ways, like slips of the tongue. The term Freudian slip is best known for the unintentional remarks that are assumed to reveal hidden impulses. For example, saying “I think you are so ugly, I mean divine!” So we accidently said how we really feel, when we really meant to say the opposite.
Well I hope you enjoyed this random entry of awesome theories. I am totally in love with this stuff! I’ll try and make my next few entries a bit more interesting, not that this entry was boring. I would really like your feedback on this. Would you like me to continue with these kinds of entries for a little bit? If so, what topic do you want me to cover? Emotions, manipulation, you name it.
Later.
• What are dreams? Dreaming is an altered state of conscious in which various images, adventures and stories are built based on memories, current fears or even fantasies. Despite the seemingly endless amount of research on dreams, many scientists are sill puzzled about why it even happens in the first place. Nevertheless, many questions which were once unanswered have finally been unlocked. Let’s review some of the findings regarding these questions.
• Does everybody dream? No doubt we know people who claim that “they never dream.” I’m afraid they are incorrect. What they really mean to say is “I cannot recall my dreams.” Although there are many people who do not recall their dreams after waking up, test results suggest that non-recallers do as much dreaming as recallers. Researchers have proposed that nonrecallers simply have allot more trouble recalling dreams then recallers. Of course most scientists feel that theory is to basic and have come up better explanations. The most excepted theory is what happens during the awakening process is what determines the outcome. In other words, unless a distraction free waking period occurs shortly after dreaming, the memory of the dream cannot be stored in your memory. Others believe that a person’s motivation level is the key to salvaging dreams. If upon awakening a person actually makes an effort to remember about what he or she was dreaming about, some of the dream’s contents will appear later on. Otherwise the dream will be completely forgotten.
•What do dreams mean? According to Sigmund Freud, dreams are wishes in disguise. By this he means that dreams touch ones wishes, needs, or ideas that the individual finds unacceptable and have been repressing these thoughts to the unconscious part of the mind. A perfect example is sexual images and ideas. Most of us have had times where we continue to lie to ourselves and say that “we don’t want to have sex with, or kiss that person,” weather they are male or female, yet we tend to find ourselves to look at them constantly when they are near by. Freud also says that the censor protects the sleeper, enabling him or her to express repressed impulses symbolically while avoiding the guilt or anxiety that would originally happen if we were awake. HOWEVER, there are other scientists who do not agree with the above theory. Others see dreams have psychological meanings, rather then wanted wishes. In fact, this is a theory I support. Imagine this. You are dreaming about an average day at school. All of a sudden, all of the students are pointing their fingers at you and laughing. When you look at yourself, you discover that all of your clothes have mysteriously vanished, leaving you nude. Surely we have all experienced a dream like this. When you stop and think about that embarrassing dream’s meaning, one can conclude that it means you are afraid of what people think of you. So the meaning of dreams have many theories, it is just up to you to pick one that suits you.
• Freud also believed that the portion of our mind, the unconscious, contains some memories, impulses, and desires that are not accessible to consciousness. It is also said that emotionally painful memories and wishes are repressed, or diverted to the unconscious. You know what’s weird? The emotions we repress often influence majority of our actions. Repressed thoughts CANNOT enter our coconsciousness, but they can effect us in indirect ways, like slips of the tongue. The term Freudian slip is best known for the unintentional remarks that are assumed to reveal hidden impulses. For example, saying “I think you are so ugly, I mean divine!” So we accidently said how we really feel, when we really meant to say the opposite.
Well I hope you enjoyed this random entry of awesome theories. I am totally in love with this stuff! I’ll try and make my next few entries a bit more interesting, not that this entry was boring. I would really like your feedback on this. Would you like me to continue with these kinds of entries for a little bit? If so, what topic do you want me to cover? Emotions, manipulation, you name it.
Later.