Invitation to Psychology: dream theories

Several dream theories are discussed in the course textbook, including dreams as our subconscious wishes, dreams as a method of problem solving, dreams as an extension of thinking, and activation-synthesis theory.

Sigmund Freud was one of the biggest proponents of dreams having subconscious meanings. He believed our dreams were tools for managing fears and conflicts of which our waking minds weren’t aware. Many theorists have come after Freud, among them Carl Jung, with different opinions about dreams, some believing there are no dream meanings hidden from our conscious awareness and others speculating that dreams may be symbolic representations very personal to the individual dreamer, the interpretation of which might give us insight into ourselves, and still others seeing dreams as potentially illuminating to our self-understanding with any potential meaning arising from the interpretations of the dreamer without the need of others to provide dream interpretation guidance. For the latter group, perception, even in dreaming, is reality and only the dreamer can and should have anything valid to say about the meaning of his/her dreams.

Regardless of which perspective one has, of dreams being rich with below the surface of conscious thought meaning with enough characteristics in common across dream events for others to attempt to identify common meanings of the objects, persons and events in dreams, or of dreams as merely manifestations of our brains at rest producing the random stories of sleep which are often nonsensical and aren’t to be related to waking life, or of so-called “dream interpretation” being something in need of a skilled guide or something only the dreamer can do as the one who had the dream, dreams are, to be sure, phenomena that have long fascinated generations of people. Whatever it is, something about dreams draws us to wanting to know why we have them and what they might mean.

It can and frequently has been argued that, since there is no scientific basis for the assumption that dreams have meanings, the idea that they do is at best of little practical value and at worst misleading and may impede self-understanding rather than enhancing it. For the purpose of this discussion, we are not assuming there is validity to the notion of dreams having particular meanings. Rather we are momentarily putting on Freud glasses and viewing dreams as he did. Freud identified a number of dream symbols, the frequent therapy client reporting of which led him to believe represented consistent meanings in dreams that included those symbols. His ideas about dream meanings were based on his own observations and can’t be scientifically tested, as are the dream meanings represented on the website you will visit not grounded in anything but the observations of others who decided which dreams had what meanings. Keep this in mind as you access the website and complete the exercise.

After reading about the theories of dreaming, visit the website, Dream Moods at http://www.dreammoods.com/dreamdictionary/ On this site, you will find a “Dream Dictionary” where you can look up the meaning of a dream. It can be a dream you had or a dream about which someone else, friends, family members, co-workers, told you. NOTE: In selecting a dream keep in mind that, whether they have meanings or not, some dreams can be deeply personal and sometimes upsetting to the dreamer and that the Dream Dictionary represents the unsubstantiated opinions of the its developers. What, if anything, you disclose about a personal dream is up to you and the fact that the Dream Dictionary and other products like it lack scientific back is actually part of the learning experience here as we consider if any value is added to our self-understanding by such websites and whether they might even have a potential negative impact.

After you have looked up the dream you selected, respond to the following questions on the discussion forum.

What was the dream that you used with the Dream Dictionary about (if you are not comfortable disclosing the dream skip this question and start with the next one).

What did the Dream Dictionary say about the dream’s meaning?

How might this fit into what you learned about dreaming in the chapter readings?

What dream theory would the dream best fall under?

Do you believe that dreams have real meaning? Why or why not?

Do you see any problems associated with the Dream Dictionary and other websites like it? If so, what?

Discussion Forum General Instructions:

The following are instructions for all of your discussion Forum assignments except Week 1 which requires longer posts. These instructions will be included at the end of the topical instructions

on each discussion Forum for your reference.

One “Initial Post” in response to your instructor’s instructions (located on the Discussion Forum in your online classroom) is due by Wednesday by 11:55p.m., Eastern Time (ET). This post must

be a minimum of 400 words. A minimum of two replies to classmates’ post of your choice are due no later than Sunday by 11:55p.m. ET. Each of the two replies must be a minimum of 250 words.

Point assignment is based on these requirements and the Discussion Forum rubric located under the classroom Assignments link.

Because scholarly discussion and related student interaction within a college learning community are such essential aspects of online education, participation is graded and required.

Discussion assignments are graded directly from the Forum where they must be posted to be viewable by everyone in the class. Attachments or other copy forms sent to your instructor cannot

be graded.

Discussion Forum “initial posts” must be based on factual information, using the textbook for this class as your primary resource. Other scholarly sources in addition to the course textbook

may also be used but these do not replace the textbook as the required primary source of information. Be sure to properly cite and reference your source in your discussion comments. To assist

you with APA citation and referencing, a folder titled “APA Formatting Guides” is available in the classroom Resources folder. Discussion Forum posts will be graded on verbal expression, critical

thinking, making an effort to not just participate in but contribute to the dialog with posts of a substantive nature that show thoughtful consideration of classmates’ comments rather than “I

agree with you” type commentary or that which reiterates ideas already posted by fellow learners. Posts must have correct grammatical construction, spelling, and punctuation with no texting

style, slang or other informal language. A grading rubric below details specific grading criteria.

Discussion Forum Grading Rubric

(NOTE: The information below includes requirements and point allocations for 100% instructions compliance and exemplary meeting of assignment criteria. You instructor will evaluate your

posts, based on teaching and assessment expertise, for the degree to which they meet these criteria and will assign points accordingly).

R1: Initial Post Content (10 points possible)
“Initial” posts in response to the weekly topic instructions include documentation of factual information to support opinions, including use of assigned readings in responding to questions,

demonstrate ability to synthesize information, elaborate on the course material in a focused and well organized manner, clearly showing that the author has made meaning of the material rather

than merely reiterating what a published author or classmate has already stated. Posts are a balance of professional dialog style and grounding in scholarly information rather than essay

submissions

R2 Format (10 points possible):
“Initial” posts are a minimum of 400 words in length and use correct APA citation and referencing, as well as correct spelling and grammar; and texting, slang or other informal conversation

style language is not used. Posts use correct APA source crediting, as well as correct spelling and grammar; and texting, slang or other informal conversation style language is not used. (Note:

Double-spacing, which is required in papers per APA formatting rules, should not be used in posting forum posts as doing results in a need for repeated scrolling to read them).

R3 Reply Posts – Interactive Dialog with Classmates (10 points possible)
Reply responses, a minimum of 250 words in length, each are posted weekly to a minimum of 2 classmates, add to the dialog rather than reiterating what classmates already said or focusing

off-topic, and are compliant with instructions posted on each Forum. Factual information included in reply posts is source credited in correct APA format. Weekly reply responses to classmates

are accompanied by a weekly “Initial” post.

Total Points Possible for Each Discussion Forum = 30points
R1, R2 & R3 criteria are equally weighted because each is key to the integrity and vitality of fully interactive, scholarly classroom dialogs.

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