1. Running Head: DREAMS 1
Dream Analysis Paper
Nathaniel J Borst
Our Lady of Lourdes High School
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Abstract
Dreams are scenarios that our subconscious mind creates. Some dreams may include a negative
event or emotion that evokes some kind of failure. Others may incorporate real world
experiences and possibly contain memories from recent experiences, traumatic events, and also
frequent experiences (Class Lecture Notes). There are five theories as the reason why we dream.
They are to fulfill wishes, process recent information, help with psychological function, aid in
activation synthesis, and for cognitive development. However, my theory as to the reason why
we dream is from the motivation of our life goals and our desire to achieve them.
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Theories as to Why We Dream
There are five theories that were developed that helps to explain the reason as to why we
dream. They are wish fulfillment, information processing, psychological function, activation
synthesis, and cognitive development. The Wish Fulfillment theory suggests that the reason why
we dream is to fulfill wishes that would be considered strange in reality. The information
processing theory suggests that we dream to reorganize information and events from the recent
day. The psychological function theory suggests that REM sleep helps to develop and preserve
the neural pathways. The activation synthesis theory suggests that REM sleep triggers random
visual memories and weave them into stories. And finally the cognitive development theory
states that the content of dreams can determine the knowledge and understanding of an
individual.
The first theory to why we dream is for wish fulfillment. This developed from Freud’s
psychoanalytic theory. Dreams are provided to be a safety net for our unconscious mind which
we express often unfulfilled wishes and needs that otherwise would be considered and strange
and unacceptable in reality (Class Lecture Notes). So because of this, our mind creates made up
scenarios while we sleep so that these wishes and needs are fulfilled without actually showing
them. Also, according to Freud and the wish fulfillment theory, these dreams contain both a
manifest, remembered, and also latent, underlying meaning, content. However, this theory lacks
any scientific support because the fact that dreams does not have a single defined meaning, but
can be defined differently between different people (Class Lecture Notes).
The second theory as to why we dream is information processing. As we learn new
material and skills every day, they begin to become a conglomerate of stuff learned for the day in
our mind. However, according to this theory, when we sleep at the end of a day after learning
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new material, our mind creates dreams to help organize new learned material , organize the day’s
events, and also to consolidate memories so that they would be easier to remember later on if the
information ever needs to be recalled (Class Lecture Notes). However, one question that this
theory does not answer is why do we dream about things that we have not experienced?
The third theory as to why we dream is for psychological function. This theory states that
by being naturally induced to REM sleep, these help to stimulate the brain regularly and help to
develop and preserve the neural pathways (Class Lecture Notes). This theory shows a small
truth, however, it does not explain the reason behind why we experience dreams that we consider
powerful and meaningful.
The fourth theory as to why we dream is called Activation Synthesis, also known as the
Neural Activation Theory. This theory states that when we are in the REM stage of sleep, this
causes random neurons to fire up in our brain (Class Lecture Notes). Because of the random
firing of neurons, this evokes random visual memories that could have been anything that we
have seen or experienced and brings them together to create a story. This is the result from the
fact that the cortex of the brain struggles to understand the reason behind the random stimulation
and manufactures dreams to help make sense of it (Huffman). The fact that the individual’s brain
takes these memories and creates stories out of them tells us something about the dreamer such
as their personality, motivations, life experiences, and memories (Huffman).
The fifth and final theory as to why we dream is called the cognitive development theory.
Within this theory, the content of dreams reflects upon the individual’s mind and their own
understanding (Class Lecture Notes). This theory also can be considered as another type of
information processing. Also, this theory suggests that dreams help us to organize and interpret
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and individual’s own everyday thoughts and experiences. However, this theory does not fully
explain the neuroscience behind dreams.
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One Week Dream Journal
Sunday - March 20, 2016
Dream 1,
I was running away from something in what it looked to be a type or post apocalyptic society or
in a really ravaged area from a catastrophe
Dream 2
I was waiting for a hotel room at a hotel that had a very similar resemblance to a hotel that I
stayed in and I was going through some papers that had people that I knew that did not go our
school
Monday - March 21, 2016
Did not dream
Tuesday – March 22, 2016
Dream 1
I remember I was at a really nice restaurant and was eating a really delicious seafood dish
and ate the whole thing
Dream 2
I was flying on an airplane in first class; however, it looked really futuristic with a
holographic ceiling that would turn into the sky when it was time to sleep.
Wednesday – March 23, 2016
I was in another country that felt hot and was unfamiliar walking around seeing
attractions then suddenly the scenery changed and all around me was a more developed city with
skyscrapers and trees.
Thursday – March 24, 2016
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I was freaking out because I thought I was thirty minutes late for work however after I
arrived I realized I was early and my shift didn’t start until an hour later.
Friday – March 25, 2016
I was riding a cheetah which was also my pet and used him to transport me everywhere. I
recall that his name was Sparky and people were speechless at the fact that I owned a cheetah.
Saturday – March 26, 2016
Did not dream
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In-depth Dream Interpretation
Manifest Content
I was flying on a futuristic aircraft and was sitting in first class. On each end of the
aircraft there was one window seat for each row and in the middle two seats. They looked like
small private suites that you can recline flat to sleep. They were also pinstriped in green LED
lighting. The interior also was somewhat futuristic; a lot of blue and purple lighting filled the
cabin with some hints of green accent lighting. The overhead bins were shaped that showed there
was a lot of room and also like a holographic film over them to turn them invisible and add to the
futuristic look of the cabin. While in the air, the flight attendant was demonstrating really
fascinating features of the aircraft. One of them was that the ceiling was holographic so after she
clicked a button the ceiling became the night sky that we were flying in which the blue lighting
helped to enhance the experience.
Latent Content
I believe this dream shows my desire to be successful later in life and also shows that I
have an innovative personality. I find my desire to be successful later in my life in this dream
from the fact I was flying first class which would mean that I would either be recognized for
something or that later in life I would have a lot of money to be able to afford flying lavishly.
Also flying first class also can signify that I want to work for a well paying company that
involves frequent business trips across the world. Also where in my dream that I tell me that my
personality is innovative is the fact that I was flying on a futuristic aircraft and the interior
looked as if it was many years from now such as holographic ceilings and walls and lighting that
also made the cabin feel technologically advanced.
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Own Theory on Purpose of Dreams
I believe that the purpose of dreams is our desire to achieve goals that we set for
ourselves in life. Life goals are a type of motivation that never diminishes over time and also
pushes us to our full potential. The fact we sometimes can get over obsessed with our life goals
to the point where it becomes the priority over everything. So as a result of this, our mind creates
scenarios that our life goal is the main focus of the dream so it makes us feel like we have
already achieved it but however in reality we have not yet. Also, dreaming about our life goal
helps to alleviate the stresses that we may have about it by creating our own world when we
achieve REM sleep and dream where our life goal is fulfilled. In addition, dreaming about our
life goals also gives our mind a chance to develop new methods to help ourselves to get closer to
achieving our life goals in reality and also to overcome challenges that might hinder or make that
life goal less likely to be achieved.
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Works Cited
Damiano, D. (2016). Lecture on Dreams. Personal Collection of D. Damiano, Our Lady of
Lourdes High School, Poughkeepsie NY.
Huffman, K. (2015). Psychology in action (11th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing.
