sleep and dreaming

• activation synthesis theory of dreaming- the theory suggests that dreams are a result of our mind trying to make sense of brain activation during sleep
• neuronal activity increases in the pons - during rem sleep, body is paralysed, but activity increases in area of brainstem called the pons - random brain waves are generated
• brain waves travel to cerebral cortex- high brain areas in the cerebral cortex that would normally interpret sensory information. the information is treated as if it was real sensory information
• synthesis occurs- making sense of random signals - through interpreting the stimulation synthesis occurs; using stored memories to make sense of the information
• the role of the limbic system- because the brain waves activate many different brain areas such as the limbic system ( to control emotions) the resulting dreams are bizarre and emotional. so the theory suggests that dreams have no real meaning
• activation synthesis theory of dreaming limitations - too reductionist, suggests that dreams are a random result of happens when the mind tries to make sense of brain activity that occurs during sleep
• activation synthesis theory of dreaming limitations, the theory is quite a simplistic view and ignores the view that dreams can be meaningful. it os further reductionist as it does not explain the purpose of dreams, just where they come from#
• activation synthesis theory of dreaming limitations, doesn't explain how people with damage to brainstem can still dream
• freudian theory of dreaming - the theory suggests that the mind is like an iceberg, it consists of our conscious mind and unconscious mind (we are normally unable to access it).
• unconscious mind- contains acceptable thoughts and feelings and desires that our conscious mind cannot deal with and are considered unacceptable in society. Freud suggested this part of our personality is the ID and is repressed y another part of our personality called the ego.

  dreams allow us to access the unconscious mind
• wish fulfilment- in sleep the ego is weakened and the unconscious mind tries to break through into our consciousness, in order to satisfy these unconscious desires we dream, this is known as wish fulfilment (e.g. being able to eat all the icecream you want.)
• content of dreams- true content of our dreams are hidden through the use of symbols which do not disturb us. so dreams will have two types of content.
• manifest content - what we actually see in our dreams- disguises the latent content through symbolism (e.g, falling in a dream)
• latent content - which is the true meaning of our dreams (e.g. being afraid of falling at something)
• freudian theory of dreaming limitations - highly subjective - dream interpretation is dependent on persons opinion
• freudian theory of dreaming limitations -difficult to test as based on unreliable research where freud alone conducted interviews and interpreted the dreams of participants
• freudian theory of dreaming limitations - based on studies that have cultural and historical bias
• williams et al (1992) study into the bizarreness of dreams and fantasies
• williams et al - aim - to see if bizarreness of dreams is different to the bizarreness of daytime fantasies
• williams et al - sample - 12 biopsychology students from harvard university, aged 23 to 45
• williams et al - research methods - natural experiment and self report journal entries.
• williams et al - procedure - participants kept a journal for a term recording any dreams they could recall and any day dreams they experienced
• williams et al - procedure - researchers selected 60 dreams and 60 day dreams
• williams et al - procedure - 3 different judges scored for bizarreness (inter-rater reliability)
• williams et al - findings and conclusions - dreams were found to be a lot more bizarre than daytime fantasies (day dreams)
• williams et al - findings and conclusion - they were good levels of inter rater reliability between the judges (88.7% similar scores)
• williams et al - findings and conclusions - dreams scored higher than fantasies for : plot discontinuity (greatest difference), plot incongruity, uncertainty and thought incongruity
• the bizarreness of dreams is due to the brain activity during rem sleep
• williams et al - limitations - sample too small and gender biased (10 females) cannot be generalised.
• williams et al - limitations - social desirability self report so participants may have lied about/ changed their dreams/ fantasies
• freuds (1918) dream analysis of ' the wolfman'
• freud- aim - to see if dream analysis could help treat psychological problems by releasing repressed memories
• freud - sample - one russian male in his 20s suffering from depression
• freud - research method/design - longitudinal case stidy (4 years)
• freud - procedure - the man, known as ' the wolfman' was interviewed over 4 years
• freud - procedure - he was thought to suffer from depression after his father and sister had both committed suicide
• freud - procedure - he reported a dream where he woke up and saw 6 or 7 white wolves sitting in a walnut tree outside his bedroom window staring at him
• freud - findings and conclusion - the wolves represented fear because he had seen a primal scene of his parents having sex. freud also said the wolves represented fear of his father who he was scared would castrate him
• freud - findings and conclusions - also thought as the dream was around christmas, the wolves could represent pleasure, like christmas presents.
• freud - dreams can represent repressed thoughts which hide in the unconscious