Theories of Dreams

Definition of Theory of Dreams

Many times, our dreams seem logical enough, full of events that apply to our daily life. Teachers dream of events in their classrooms. Singers dream of events surrounding a performance, and servers clock into shifts while still asleep. There are also times when our dreams seem utterly bizarre. Sometimes our dreams leave us waking up in a terrified sweat.

Dream theories attempt to account for the content of our dreams and how they shed light on our deeper psychological states. They seek to uncover the function of our dreams. What meaning or significance are our dreams tied to?

What Do Dreams Tell Us About Consciousness?

Some theories of dreams posit that dreaming offers us a deeper glimpse into our consciousness. These theories propose that they are representations of deeper parts of ourselves we are not consciously aware of. By analyzing our dreams we will better understand what we feel, and why we do the things we do in our daily life.

Other theories, like the neurocognitive theory, propose that our consciousness informs our dreams. Our experiences in the world create a framework for the dreaming stage, where we find themes and events similar to what we experience in waking life.

Dream Theories in Psychology

There are many theories on dreaming in psychology.

Information Processing

As the name suggests, this theory holds that dreams help us to process memories, ultimately storing or expunging them.

Physiological Function

This theory looks at dreams in a more utilitarian way. The physiological function theory believes that dreams are a means of keeping our neural pathways stimulated and preserved while we sleep.

Activation Synthesis

This theory promotes the notion that dreams are the brain’s way of making sense of the neural activity that is produced as a consequence of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.

Cognitive Theory of Dreams

The cognitive theory of dreams was developed by the American psychologist Calvin Hall, in the 1950s. He believed there was a certain continuity between our waking lives and the contents of our dreams. Hall didn't see dream events as shrouded in hidden meaning, as Freud did. Dreams, in Hall's reckoning, were conceptualizations of the experiences we have as we go about in the world. They were representations of our worldly beliefs.

Of all of these concepts, Hall focused on five.

Concepts of the Self

The different identities we associate with, and the various roles we fill in our dreams, represent our concept of self.

Concepts of Others

The nature of our interactions with people in our dreams, and the feelings we have for them, represent our concept of the people in our lives.

Concepts of the World

The manner in which we describe the environment of our dreams, the setting, and landscape, represents our concept of the world.

Concepts of Morality

Our reaction and interpretation of behavior in our dreams represent our waking morality. It gives light to what we consider taboo, forbidden, or virtuous.

Concepts of Conflicts

Conflicts in our dreams are a portrayal of the same themes and struggles in our waking life.

Neurocognitive Theory of Dreams

The neurocognitive theory of dreams was founded by William Domhoff. As a student of Calvin Hall, he was largely informed by cognitive theory. Domhoff's theory posits that dreaming takes place along a specific neural network, and that the content of our dreams is informed by the content of our lives.

The neurocognitive theory is informed by three important factors.

Neural substrates

This theory utilizes information found through neuroimaging. Through this, Domhoff found that the area of the brain that supports dreaming is tied to the imagination in our waking life.

Dreaming in Children

Domhoff discovered a developmental component to dreaming. He found that our dreams grow in complexity and frequency as we progress through childhood.

Dream Content in Adults

Thanks to the work of his teacher Calvin Hall, Domhoff had access to a system of comprehensive, categorical dream content analysis. Because of this, he was able to find thematic and cultural similarities and differences in adult dreaming.

Different Theories of Dreams

Over the years, several models of dream theory have emerged. Chances are you’ve heard of at least one of them.

Freud's Psychodynamic Theory of Dreams

The Austrian scholar Sigmund Freud believed that our dreams offered us a window into understanding our inner desires and contentions. He believed our dreams were a safe place for our conflicting, and often unacceptable, desires to find expression.

According to Freud, the content of our dreams can be divided into two categories: manifest and latent content. Manifest content is the remembered events of a dream. Perhaps we slumber and dream of going to class and interacting with our teachers and friends. We remember the color of our clothes or the contents of a lecture. We remember the conflict, if there is any. We remember the rough sequence of events.

Latent content is the essential meaning beneath the things and events that take place in our dreams. It is an expression of our unconscious drives and wishes that are often taboo or erotic in nature. A knife might be part of the manifest content of a dream. However, according to Freud, the latent content might interpret the knife as a phallic symbol. Perhaps we dream about skipping school, but the underlying meaning gives voice to our desire to escape the confines of our life or relationships.

Freud's theory of dreams played a great role in the development of the school of psychology most associated with him, psychoanalysis.

While we often like to muse on the significance of our dreams, Freud's theory has been criticized as being unscientific. Many argue that the elements and objects in our dreams could be interpreted in an infinite number of ways depending on the dreamer.