Every human dreams throughout his or her life, so what is a dream? Dreams are a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring throughout the state of sleep. (Cherry, K. (n.d.). 5 Characteristics That All Dreams Have in Common. Retrieved November 6, 2015.) What purpose do dreams have on the brain?
Dreams are thought to be ones unconscious mind shedding their true thoughts and emotions, so psychologists analyze dreams to uncover why one acts a certain way. J. Allan Hobson was a sleep researcher that created a list of characteristics displayed in dreams. The first basic characteristic within a dream would be, emotions are simultaneously perceived. In conclusion, dream researchers have concluded that through dreams the three emotions commonly
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One of the commonly looked at theories was discovered by Sigmund Freud it was especially famous in the 1899’s; the theory was called the Psychoanalytic theory, and it suggested that dreams are a representation of one’s unconscious desires. Freud splits psychoanalytic analyze into 2 groups the manifest content and the latent content; the manifest content is the actual image or content within a dream where as latent content is the meaning behind the dream. Other theories such as the activation theory believe that dreams are a way for emotions to be expressed. J Allen Hobson and Robert McClarley first proposed the activation theory in 1977. It suggests that during the stage of REM sleep the part of the brain that deal with memories and emotions become active and like Freud’s beliefs the brain tries to comprehend what the dreams are supposed to mean, and by implying this; the activation theory hints that dreams do function in an important way. The last but most logical belief to why people dream would be the information processing theory. This theory suggests that all the information taken in from the previous day is all processed and stored somewhere in the brain at night. (Cherry, K. (n.d.). Why Do We Dream? The Most Popular Theories. Retrieved November 6, 2015.) The studies of dreams are called oneirology. Oneirology is different from dream analysis; dream analysis only deals with what the dream means while oneirology studies the mechanics of dreams. (Gonzalez, R. (2011, October 24). 10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Dreams. Retrieved) Dream analysis are valuable ways to comprehend ones self. Dream interpreters create simple steps that in other words transfer a dream into a different form of communication. They perceive a greater meaning from subtle symbolisms and patterns that are dreamt, and recordings of this process have been dated