Theories of Dreaming

Freud’s Wish-Fulfillment TheoryDreams are an attempt to satisfy sexual and

aggressive impulses that we cannot satisfy when we are awake.

Manifest Content: the surface level of a dream (images, action).

Latent Content: the unconscious meaning of a dream.

A Freudian dream...

A Freudian dream...

A Freudian dream...

A Freudian dream...

A Freudian dream...

A Freudian dream...

A Freudian dream...

A Freudian dream...

Theories of Dreaming

Activation-Synthesis TheoryDreams result from random activation of

brain cells responsible for eye movement, muscle movement, balance, and vision.

The brain then synthesizes (combines) this activity with existing knowledge and memories as if the signals came from the environment.

How we interpret the random images and sensations is the dream’s meaning.

Theories of Dreaming

Dreams as Problem-SolvingDreams reflect emotional preoccupations of

waking life—relationships, sex, work, health.

Images in a dream are sometimes symbols for things in everyday life.

This theory agrees with Freud that dreams contain symbols, but there is no “latent” (unconscious) meaning. The meaning is at the surface level—”manifest” content.

Theories of Dreaming

Mental Housekeeping TheoryDuring sleep, the brain shuts out sensory

input so it can process what was stored in memory during the day.Dreams are brief glimpses of the brain’s sorting, scanning and searching through memories. Dreams have no meaning.

Supporting the theory is research showing that REM sleep is important for remembering things that were learned during the preceding day.