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THE WORLD OF DREAMSWhat exactly is a dream? This question is more complex and controversial than you might guess. The conventional view is that dreams are mental experiences during REM sleep that have a storylike quality, include vivid visual imagery, are often bizzare, and are regarded as perceptually real by the dreamer. However, theorists have begun to question virtually every aspect of this characterization. Decades of research on the contents of dreams have shown that dreams are not as bizarre as widely assumed. In recent years, there has been renewed interest in the fact that dreams are not the exclusive property of REM sleep. Moreover, studies that have focused on dream reports from non- REM stages of sleep have found that dreams appear to be less vivid and storylike than REM dreams. And work on reflective awareness in dreams suggests that dreamers realize they are dreaming more often than previously thought. Thus, the concept of dreaming is undergoing some revision in scientific circles. What do people dream about? Overall, dreams are not as existing as advertised. Perhaps, dreams are seen as exotic because people are more likely to remember their more bizarre nighttime dramas. After analyzing the contents of more than 10,000 dreams, Calvin Hall (1966) concluded that most dreams are relatively mundane. They tend to unfold in familiar settings with a cast of characters dominated by family, friends, and colleagues, with a sprinkling of strangers. Researchers have found that certain themes are more common than others in dreams. For example, people dream quite a bit about sex, aggression, and misfortune. According to Hall, dreams tend to center on classic sources of internal conflict, such as the conflict between taking chances and playing it safe. Hall was struck by how little people dream about public affairs and current events. Typically, dreams are very self-centered; people dream mostly about themselves. Though dreams seem to belong in a world of their own, what people dream about is affected by what is going on in their lives. If you.re struggling with financial problems, worried about an upcoming exam, or sexually attracted to a classmate, these themes may very well show up in your dreams. Freud noticed long ago that the contents of waking life tend to spill into dreams. He labeled this spillover the day residue. The connection between a person.s real world and his or her dream world probably explains why thematic continuity can be found among successive dreams occurring in different REM periods on a given night. On occasion, the contents of dreams can also be affected by external stimuli experienced while one is dreaming. Date: 2015-01-29; view: 1511
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