Cognitive Theory of Dreaming Notes

COGNITIVE THEORY OF DREAMING

• Proposes understanding dreaming through cognitive concepts used in studying the waking mind.
• Dreams represent subconscious cognitive processing, involving information processing and memory.
• Thinking in dreams is similar to waking thought (Domhoff, 2017).

DREAM ANALYSIS

• Focuses on general life concerns rather than hidden symbolic content, unlike Freudian theory.
• Dreams dramatize preoccupations and can relate to life's themes, including unusual aspects.

BRAIN ACTIVITY

• Links brain activity during dreams to that during waking life, utilizing the default mode network which is active during mind wandering.
• Suggests dreaming may emerge from the same neural activity as daydreaming (Gott et al., 2020; Perogamivros et al., 2017).

CONTINUITY HYPOTHESIS

• Argues dreams reflect everyday waking thoughts and concerns, establishing a strong connection between dreaming and waking life.
• This perspective contrasts with activation-synthesis theory of dreams.