Dream Analysis

• Dreams as wish fulfilment

  Dreams are unconscious fulfilment of wishes that can’t be satisfied in conscious mind. Protect sleeper from actual harm, but allows them to express buried urges.
• Symbolic nature of dreams

  Latent content (real meaning/unconscious worry) transferred into manifest content (symbol/what you experience in dream). Consider symbols in context of person‘s life.
• Dreamwork

  Latent content transferred into manifest content through dreamwork process. Processes: condensation, displacement, representation, symbolism and secondary elaboration. Processes applied to repressed wishes to produce content of dream experienced.
• Explain condensation

  Dream thoughts rich in detail & content but are condensed to brief images in a dream where 1 dream image stands for several associations and ideas.
• Explain displacement

  Emotional significance of a dream object separated from its real object or content & attached to entirely different one, so dream content not censored. Censor prevents disturbing thoughts reaching conscious mind.
• Role of therapist

  Reverse dreamwork process & decode manifest content back to latent content. Suggest various interpretations based on patient‘s feedback & knowledge of life experiences, allowing patient to select one’s that make sense.
• Explain representation


  Thought translated into visual images.
• Explain symbolism

  Symbol replaces an action, person or idea.
• Explain secondary elaboration

  Unconscious mind collects all different images & ties them together to form logical story, further disguising latent content. Actual dream material may be supplied in person’s waking life.
• Solms (2000)


  PET scans highlight regions of brain active during dreaming. Rational part inactive during REM sleep, whereas centres concerned with memory & motivation very active. Ego suspended & id given free reign.
• Hopfield et al (1983) 


  Research on neural networks (computer simulations aim to mimic action of brain). Neural networks deal with overloaded memory by conflating or condensing, ‘memories’.
• Ethical issues of dream analysis

  False memory syndrome, psychological harm/distress from interpretations, may create power imbalance between therapist & patient- over-independence: those depressed may over-rely.
• Ethical advantages of dream analysis

  No physical harm & consent given.
• Why it’s not effective

  Difficult/time-consuming to work out latent content & deal with issues, not falsifiable, may only suit those who are open to people.
• What is false memory syndrome?

  Identity & relationships affected by strongly believed false memories of traumatic experiences. False memories can come to light during psychoanalysis when therapist claims to have uncovered past traumatic events. Patient likely to succumb to belief of therapist as they are authority figure.
• Toon et al (1996)


  Therapists may induce false memories so therapy takes longer- financial gain. Patients may experience much anxiety due to, 'memories' of events that never even happened.
• Evaluate research of dreams

  Most carried out in sleep labs-is sleep/dream state in lab as authentic as when under normal conditions? Wired up with electrodes & measurements taken-ecological validity questioned. Many studies conducted on those deprived of sleep-impairs important biological functions such as hormone & neurotransmitter secretion. May act as confounding variables.