Name: __________________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________________________
Ms. Pedersen Period: _____________________________________
The "Purpose" of Dreams
By Dr. G. William Domhoff http://www2.ucsc.edu/dreams/Articles/purpose.html
Dreams are so compelling, and they often seem so weird and strange -- surely they must have a
"purpose"; that is, an "adaptive role" in the maintenance of our bodily or psychological health.
Furthermore, all the famous theorists who talk about dreams claim that dreams do have one or another purpose (although the famous theorists disagree on just what those functions are), but the best current evidence suggests otherwise.
Define “compelling”:
Define “adaptive”:
The first and most famous dream theorist of the modern era, Sigmund Freud, said that the function of dreams was to preserve sleep, but that theory from the year 1900 is contradicted by the fact that dreams happen very regularly at least five or six times per night in an active stage of sleep called
REM sleep (after the rapid eye movements that are part of it, along with many other neurological and physiological changes). In other words, dreams don't just happen as we are about to wake up as
Freud thought way back when, before REM sleep was discovered in 1953.
The other famous dream theorist of the modern era, Carl Jung, an early follower of Freud who broke away to develop a very different theory, claimed that the function of dreams is to compensate for those parts of the psyche (total personality) that are underdeveloped in waking life, but Calvin Hall's studies of two-week dream series from students and longer dream journals from adults of all ages, strongly suggest that dream content is continuous with waking thought and behavior. That is, if we are outgoing and active in our waking life, and not very introspective and reflective, then so too in our dream life, which contradicts Jung's view.
What did Freud believe the function of sleep was? What “discovery” proved him wrong?
What does that acronym stand for?
What did Carl Jung believe the purpose of dreams was?
What did Calvin Hall’s studies suggest?

The fact that we remember so few of our dreams -- a few percent at best -- also argues against any function for dreams. If they are so important, why don't we remember more of them? Furthermore, the people who remember many of their dreams don't seem to be any different from those who remember few or none, at least on the standard personality tests that have been used in many studies to date. If dreams are important, why aren't the re-callers of them better off in some way?
With the advent of computers, it became fashionable to say that dreams are "clearing out the software" from a busy day, or that they are a form of "off-line" processing to save the good stuff and get rid of the useless. Aside from the fact that such theories show how susceptible our supposedly highest thinking is to the dominant technology of any given era, the problem with this theory of dream function is that very, very little in dreams deals with the events of the day. Often there is some leftover from the day, first noticed by Freud, named "day residue," but the rest of the dream is a story that does not deal with actual events. The story is usually plausible and even mundane, and it often contains the most important people and concerns of our lives, but it is nonetheless a story.
But Dreams Have Meaning
This doesn't mean that dreams have no "meaning," that they make no sense. To the contrary, dreams correlate with age, gender, culture, and personal preoccupations, as evidence on this site and in many research studies suggests. Furthermore, they are very "revealing" of what is on our minds. Give us 1000 dreams over a couple of decades and we can give you a profile of the person's mind that is almost as individualized and accurate as her or his fingerprints.
And, Yes, Dreams Have Their "Uses"
Even if dreams have no physiological or psychological functions, human beings gradually invented uses for them. In more technical terms, dreams have an "emergent" function that develops through culture.
Are any of the questions asked, valid? Why or why not?
How are dreams related to our everyday lives according to some theorists? What is “day residue”?
What do dreams “correlate” with? What are dreams as “individualized” as?
Define “emergent”:

For example:
• In a great many societies, dreams are used by
Shamans to diagnose illness (often thought to be caused by evil or angry spirits) and to enter the spiritual world. In that sense,
Shamans were the first psychoanalysts, and
Freud and Jung are modern-day Shamans.
• In some societies, dreams are used to find game, predict the weather, or prophesy about the future.
• In our society, at least since about 1900, they have been used in psychotherapy, although not as much in recent years when the emphasis is on short-term therapy and on thinking sensible thoughts.
But, really, why do we dream?
But even with these discoveries, the question of why we dream remains unanswered. Some researchers think dreaming might have evolved for physiological reasons. There is a great deal of neuronal activity occurring while we sleep, especially in REM, and it has been suggested that dreams may just be a meaningless by-product of this biological function. Another theory of dreaming is put forth by Rosalind Cartwright, PhD,
Professor and Chairman, Department of Psychology at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Dr.
Cartwright believes that dreams are the mechanism whereby the brain incorporates memories, solves problems and deals with emotions. In this way, she maintains, dreams are essential for our emotional health.
In spite of our attempts to demystify the phenomenon of dreaming, human beings simply
Which of the three examples seems the most realistic? The most unrealistic? Why?
What does Rosalind Cartwright believe dreams are?
Personal response: After reading the article, why do you think we dream? have not yet come close to answering the question
“Why do we dream?” According to Jim Pagel, MD,
Director of the Sleep Disorders Center of Southern
Colorado, "If dreaming has an actual function, it really supports why we spend a third of our lives sleeping." For now, we will have to be content with simply enjoying the show our brain puts on for us each night.
Final Question: How does this article relate to Dr. Armstrong’s dream? Why? What connections can you make? Write your answer on the back.