1. DREAMS… WHAT DO THEY MEAN???
DREAM THEORIES

2. Information-Processing
Dreams sift, sort and fix the day’s experiences into memory
REM sleep facilitates memory

3. People who get more REM sleep have higher scores on memory exams
Evidence
People who get more REM sleep have higher scores on memory exams

4. Physiological Theory
Dreams provide the sleeping brain with periodic stimulation that helps preserve brain’s neural pathways
Evidence- Infants spend more time in REM sleep than older people

5. Cognitive Theory
Dreams are a natural part of brain maturation and development
They draw on our working concepts and knowledge
Evidence- The dreams of small children are more like a slide show.

6. Problem Solving Theory
Dreams are the continuity of waking thought but in dreams you are not constrained by logic or realism like you are when you are awake

7. People self-report that they solve problems in their dreams
Evidence
People self-report that they solve problems in their dreams

8. SIGMUND FREUD Manifest Content: The story line of the dream
Latent Content: The hidden meaning (symbols) within the dream (This is what Freud was really interested in)
Dreams are key to understanding inner-conflict

9. FREUD
Carl Jung (Freud’s student) picked up and expanded where Freud left off
Jung believed that you could “decode” your dreams

10. Evidence
There is no scientific evidence for this theory.

11. Activation-Synthesis Theory
Dreams are a product of activity from pons and/or brainstem
Cerebral Cortex attempts to make sense of neuron firings by creating a story
DREAMS HAVE NO MEANING!

12. Evidence
PET scans and other imaging techniques provide evidence for this.