Sleep and dreaming

• identify what the pons area of the brain does during sleep, according to the Activation Synthesis Theory.

  Send signals
• Identify which part of the brain tries to give meaning to the electrical activity of the brain during sleep, according to the Activation Synthesis Theory.

  Cerebral cortex
• Explain how the Activation Synthesis Theory of Dreaming is criticised for being reductionist

  Reductionism refers to the idea that something can be explained in simpler terms. The theory is too reductionist as dreams are so complex that they cannot just be attributed to the electrical signals in the brain
• Give two functions of sleep

  Physical repair

  Healthy brain
• Stage 1 of sleep

  light, drowsy sleep. Brainwaves and muscle activity slow down. Eyes move slowly
• Stage 2 of sleep


  loss of conscious awareness. Slow brain waves with occasional bursts of activity. No eye movement
• Stage 3 of sleep

  deep sleep. Very slow brain waves alternate with shorter faster waves. No muscle movement
• Stage 4 of sleep

  Deep sleep. Only very slow brain waves. No eye or muscle movement. Very difficult to wake people.
• Stage 5/ REM of Sleep


  Most dreaming happens. Rapid eye movement but muscles paralysed. Brain waves fast like awake.
• 3 reasons for sleep

  Healthy brain

  Physical repair

  Emotional stability
• What are the types of interviews?

  Unstructured and structured
• Describe two criticisms of the Williams et al. (1992) study into the bizarreness in dreams.

  the sample was biased as all participants were biopsychology students

  the sample may not have been representative as only 12 participants were used
• Identify which of the following represents the actual subject matter of dreams according to the Freudian Theory of Dreaming.

  manifest content
• Identify what the process of repression means in relation to the Freudian Theory of Dreaming

  pushing unpleasant thought and experiences in to the unconscious
• Criticism relating to the validity of the Freudian Theory of Dreaming.

  Subjective
• Outline the role of melatonin in sleep

  Melatonin is a natural hormone produced by the pineal gland. It helps with the onset of sleep as part of the sleep – wake cycle.
• Evaluate the Activation Synthesis Theory of Dreaming

  The theory is reductionist because dreams are very complex and usually have meaning to the individual. Other theories, such as Freud’s are much more holistic. However, the theory is very objective and reliable as it shows the different parts of the brain involved in dreaming which can be measured
• Outline the role of neuropsychology in the Activation Synthesis Theory of Dreaming.

  The theory is made up of two parts: activation and synthesis. Activation refers to the random firing of neurons from the brain stem. The signals come from the pons. Synthesis refers to the interpretation of these random signals into spontaneous thoughts by the cerebral cortex
• Identify what the colour of the wolves represented in Freud’s (1918) Wolfman study

  White bedlinen
• Identify the nationality of the Wolfman from Freud’s (1918) study

  Russian
• Identify what the wolves in the tree represented in Freud’s (1918) Wolfman study

  Father
• Sleep onset insomnia

  Someone who can’t get to sleep
• Sleep maintenance insomnia

  Someone who can’t stay asleep
• Outline the role of the pineal gland in sleep.

  the pineal gland makes melatonin, it releases melatonin at night when it gets dark which makes us sleepy
• Outline the role of the cerebral cortex in the Activation Synthesis Theory of Dreaming.

  Just before and during REM, electrical signals pass through the brain which activates the cerebral cortex. The result of this is the higher brain tries to attach meaning to what is happening and it uses stored memories which leads to dreaming
• Identify the method used by Williams et al. (1992) in their study into bizarreness in dreams and fantasies.

  Natural experiment and self-report
• The sample in Williams et al.’s (1992) study

  Two male and ten female American students.
• Identify an example of an exogenous zeitgeber.

  Light

  Identify a stage of sleep.

  Rapid eye movement
• Identify a neurochemical associated with the regulation of sleep

  Melatonin
• Identify a strength of Freud's (1918) dream analysis study of the Wolfman

  in depth data was obtained
• Freudian theory gives one explanation of dreams. Outline the role of repression in dreaming

  To push things into the unconscious to resolve any immediate emotional conflicts
• Explain why subjectivity can be considered a problem with Freud’s theory

  because a lot of the theory makes reference to the unconscious which cannot be observed this means that many ideas are open to interpretation
• Identify a key feature of the REM stage of sleep

  Drowsiness
• Name for the environmental cues which regulate sleep.

  exogenous zeitgebers
• Freud (1918) carried out a case study of the Wolfman. Suggest one strength and one weakness of using the case study method

  Strength- High validity

  Weakness-Difficult to generalise
• Healthy brain

  Gap between brain cells get larger, getting rid of toxins that would damage the brain. Sleep also helps protect information and it’s the time where new memories are consolidated
• Physical repair

  sleep is time where damaged cells are repaired, hormones are rebalanced and the immune system is more active to kill viruses and bacteria
• Emotional stability

  lack of sleep can lead to various emotional problems
• Insomnia


  where people don’t follow regular sleep plans
• What causes sleep disorders?

  Sleep onset and maintenance insomnia