Psychology of Dreams and Dream Interpretation Theories

Psychology

The study of the mind and mental processes

Personality

How someone is like, and it is the patterns of behavior that make them distinct

The Big Five Theory of Personality

Openness, Consciousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism

Theory

A way of linking information together to explain something

Principle

How something works

Socialization

Process of human interactions and teaches us how to interact in society

Behavior Model

Focuses on what is seen and visible; highlights that behaviors are learned by seeing what others do

Humanistic Model of Behavior

Humans are unique and have growth and development and can make choices

Psychoanalysis Model

Based on the work of Freud and looks at the unconscious forces like our impulses, drives and fears

Id

Impulsive and relies on the pleasure principle

Ego

Moderator of the personality and delays gratification; relies on the reality principle

Superego

Judges right from wrong and operates on the morality principle

Defense mechanisms

Weapons used by the ego to protect us from our own self producing anxiety

Sublimation

(Mature defense mechanism) Finding socially acceptable ways to change socially unacceptable impulses

Repression

Force out negative feelings

Regression

Go back to a time that feels safe

Reaction formation

Adopt an attitude that is different to how you currently feel

Rationalization

Explaining why you haven't done something (creating excuses)

Denial

Refusal to accept reality or fact

Depth Psychology

The study that deals with the unconscious influenced by psychologists like Carl Jung and Alfred Adler

Carl Jung

Author of 'Man and His Symbols' and studies humans' unconsciousness; founded analytical psychology

Archetypes

Universal symbols that stand for something more than its obvious and immediate meaning

Individuation

Process that entails personal evolution and psychic growth centered on emerging self

Collective Unconscious

Shared information from our ancestors; every person's psyche is tied to it

Synchronicity

Meaningful coincidences that cannot be explained by cause and effect

Freud

Founder of Psychoanalysis; believed we were driven by sex and aggression

Dreams

Mental activity usually in the form of an imagined series of events, occurring during certain phases of sleep

Threat Stimulation theory

Dreams allow people to practice being in dangerous or challenging situations

Expectation Fulfillment Theory

Helps us deal with our emotions naturally

Continual Activation Theory

Dreams help us process, encode, and transfer memories from short-term to long-term memory

Activation-Synthesis Theory

Mentions that there is no real reason for why we dream; it's just electrical brain impulses pulling random thoughts

Alfred Adler

Theory of Individual psychology of personality; our personality is shaped by the drive to overcome feelings of inferiority

Alfred Adler's belief about dreams

Dreams were problem-solving devices and having fewer dreams can mean you are more psychologically healthy.

Calvin S. Hall

Cognitive theory of dreaming - dream images are the embodiment of thought and reveal the structure of how we envision our lives.

Samuel Lowy

Wrote the book 'Psychological and Biological Foundations of Dream Interpretations'.

Wilhelm Stekel

Believed dreams were less about disguised symbols but direct feelings and desires of the person dreaming.

Fritz Perls

Developed Gestalt therapy and viewed dreams as parts of the personality that have been unexpressed.

Eugene T. Gendlin

Author of 'Let Your Body Interpret Your Dreams' and focused on understanding implicit meanings in dreams.

Divine Mother

Archetype that protects and cares for others.

Divine Child

Represents purity and optimism.

Trickster

Represents mischief and boundary breaking.

Hero

Seeks to prove worth through courageous acts.

Self

Unified center of the psyche.

Shadow

Represents the unconscious aspects of the personality.

Anima

The feminine aspect of the male psyche.

Animus

The masculine aspect of the female psyche.

Animism

Belief in inanimate, personalized spirits or ghosts of ancestors.

Theism

Belief in divine beings, gods, and goddesses.

Mysticism

Concerned with the possibility of personally encountering a spiritual reality.

Shamans

Men and women who use alternate states to help heal and understand.

Karl Marx's perspective on religion

Argues that religion maintains the unequal status quo and oppresses people.

Hinduism

Polytheistic religion that started in India and has no single founder.

Buddhism

Evolved from Hinduism; focuses on the path toward enlightenment.

Four Noble Truths

Teachings of Buddha about suffering and the path to cessation of suffering.

Judaism

One of the Abrahamic religions that uses the Torah as its foundation.

Shabbat

The seventh day of rest in Judaism.

Christianity

Religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

Islam

Means surrender or submission; involves following the Five Pillars of practice.