Evaluation

• This theory is considered too subjective


  dream interpretation is very open to opinion. A number of people can hear the same description of a dream but have a very different way of explaining what it means. We cannot trust Freud’s interpretation of a dream any more than someone else’s.
• Freud’s dream theory is difficult to test


  this is because the concepts are not objective enough and due to the fact that dreams cannot easily be verified. People may not be recalling their dreams accurately. A big part of the theory relies on the unconscious mind, yet this cannot be observed or asked about.  
• The theory is based on unreliable research


  the evidence is mainly from case studies and so making generalisations about the meaning of dreams for all may not be fair.
• The theory has a narrow interpretation of dreams. It only related them to wish fulfilment, and then it is mainly about sex and aggression


  critics say that dreams can represent many aspects of our lives, including dreams that directly reflect what we have done that day, or things that we are worried about or looking forward to the next day. Also it is hard to accept that nightmares have much to do with wish fulfilment.
• The theory can be accused of cultural and historical bias


  Freud’s themes, especially in terms of how dreams were interpreted, may have reflected the culture at the time. At the time Freud was writing, society had very strict and moralistic views about sexual intercourse and so the idea of repressing lust and desire makes sense. However nowadays, people have more liberal attitudes towards sex, but this does not necessarily mean that the manifest content of dreams is very different