Psychology-Dreams

Want to read the rest of this paper? Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay and over 50,000 other term papers

experience some bizarre dreams. Early in the 20th century, Sigmund Freud believed that dream content was composed of the mental processes different from that used in the awake state. He believed this was what dominated the dreaming mind. He described this "process" as characterized by more primitive mechanisms, by rapid shifts in energy and emotion, and by a great deal of sexual and aggressive content derived from childhood. (Hartmann, E. 1997)
There are 4 stages of sleep. The individual goes from awake to stage 1, then to 2, 3, and finally 4, the deepest stage of sleep. After spending about 20 minutes in stage 4, they return to stage 1 and progress back to stage 4. The individual will continue to make these cycles throughout their sleep. Most individuals will experience about 4 to 5 cycles a night (Engle, 1984) (Snellgrove, 1984)
American sleep researchers Eugene Aserinsky and Nathaniel Kleitman proved through studies that dreams do not consist of fleeting imagery that ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays. Write better papers. Get better grades. Already a member? Login

state. Mentally retarded individuals or people with low I. Q.s tend to spend less time in the REM type sleep, but other mental disorders are capable of initiating more REM type sleep. Outer stimuli such as sounds or feelings can be incorporated into a dream if they occur during the REM state of sleep. These stimuli, however, have been shown to not be able to initiate a dream if one is not already in progress, and Freud had once suggested. REM type sleep is classified as paradox sleep because it is characterized by both light and deep sleep. In most dreams, individuals are paralyzed of using their voluntary muscles to prevent dreamers from physical damage. New knowledge of the ...

Succeed in your coursework without stepping into a library. Get access to a growing library of notes, book reports, and research papers in 2 minutes or less.

CITE THIS PAGE: