Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsFreud’s Unconscious Mind TheoryJung’s Archetypes TheoryHall’s Cognitive Process TheoryDomhoff’s Waking Life TheoryPopularizing Dream InterpretationThe Effect of Biases

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Freud’s Unconscious Mind Theory

Jung’s Archetypes Theory

Hall’s Cognitive Process Theory

Domhoff’s Waking Life Theory

Popularizing Dream Interpretation

The Effect of Biases

Close

Dreams can be mysterious, exhilarating, or even terrifying, but understanding the meaning of our dreams can be downright baffling. While many theories exist to explainwhy we dream, no one yet fully understands their purpose, let alone how to interpret the meaning of dreams. However, psychologists have developed theories that might explain what dreams mean.

Here are four theories that can help you figure out what your dreams mean:

Read ahead to learn more about each theory and how you can use them to interpret your dreams.

Freud: Dreams as the Road to the Unconscious Mind

In his book “The Interpretation of Dreams,“Sigmund Freudsuggested that the content of dreams is related to wish fulfillment.

Dream Are Our WishesFreud believed that themanifest contentof a dream or the actual imagery and events served to disguise thelatent contentor the unconscious wishes of the dreamer. In other words, Freud believed that the content of your dreams shows what you desire in life.

Dream Are Our Wishes

Freud believed that themanifest contentof a dream or the actual imagery and events served to disguise thelatent contentor the unconscious wishes of the dreamer. In other words, Freud believed that the content of your dreams shows what you desire in life.

Dream Work

Freud also described four elements of this process that he referred to as “dream work:”

Freud and Dream Interpretation

Jung: Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious

While Carl Jung shared some commonalities with Freud, he felt that dreams were more than an expression of repressed wishes.

Dreams Explore the Underdeveloped MindJung suggested that dreams revealed both the personal and collective unconscious and believed that dreams compensate for parts of the psyche that are underdeveloped in waking life.

Dreams Explore the Underdeveloped Mind

Jung suggested that dreams revealed both the personal and collective unconscious and believed that dreams compensate for parts of the psyche that are underdeveloped in waking life.

Jung’s Four Archetypes

Jung also suggested that archetypes such as the anima, the shadow, the animus, and the persona are often represented as symbolic objects or figures in dreams.

Unlike Freud, who often suggested that specific symbols represent specific unconscious thoughts, Jung believed that dreams can be highly personal and that interpreting these dreams involved knowing a great deal about the individual dreamer.

What Are the Jungian Archetypes?

Hall: Dreams as a Cognitive Process

Dreams Contain Patterns Related to Waking LifeHall proposed that dreams are part of a cognitive process in which dreams serve as “conceptions” of elements of our personal lives.

Hall proposed that dreams are part of a cognitive process in which dreams serve as “conceptions” of elements of our personal lives.

According to Hall’s theory, interpreting dreams requires knowing the following:

What It Means When You Dream About Snakes, According to Dream Experts

Domhoff: Dreams as a Reflection of Waking Life

G. William Domhoff is a prominent dream researcher who studied with Calvin Hall at the University of Miami.

Dreams Represent Daily LifeIn large-scale studies on the content of dreams, Domhoff has found that dreams reflect the thoughts and concerns of a dreamer’s waking life.

Dreams Represent Daily Life

In large-scale studies on the content of dreams, Domhoff has found that dreams reflect the thoughts and concerns of a dreamer’s waking life.

Domhoff suggests a neurocognitive model of dreams in which the process of dreaming results from neurological processes and a system ofschemas.Dream content, he suggests, results from these cognitive processes.

1:487 Theories on Why We Dream Simplified

1:48

7 Theories on Why We Dream Simplified

Since the 1970s, dream interpretation has grown increasingly popular. Ann Faraday’s 1974 book “The Dream Game” outlined techniques and ideas anyone can use to interpret their dreams.

Today, consumers can purchase various books that offer dream dictionaries, symbol guides, and tips for interpreting and understanding dreams.

What Does It Mean When You Dream About Someone?

How Biases Affect Dream Interpretation

Researchers Carey Morewedge and Michael Norton have studied the dreams of over 1,000 individuals from the United States, India, and South Korea.

They discovered that few college students who participated in the research believed that their dreams were simply the brain’s response to random stimulation. Instead, most endorsed Freud’s notion that dreams reveal unconscious wishes and urges.

What they also discovered, however, is that the weight and importance people attach to their dreams depends largely on their biases. People are more likely to remember negative dreams if they involve people they dislike. They are also more likely to take positive dreams seriously if they involve friends or loved ones.

In other words, people are motivated to interpret their dreams in ways that support their already existing beliefs about themselves, the world, and the people around them.

The researchers found that such things as theconfirmation biasand theself-serving biascan impact how people respond to their dreams.

Because people tend to take their dreams seriously, the researchers suggest, they can also become aself-fulfilling prophecy. If you dream that you will fail an exam, you might be less motivated to study or even become so stressed out that you perform poorly.

Dreams may or may not have meaning, but the fact remains that interpreting dreams has become a popular pastime.

9 Common Dream Interpretations to Help You Make Sense of It All

5 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Schneider JA.From Freud’s dream-work to Bion’s work of dreaming: The changing conception of dreaming in psychoanalytic theory.Int J Psychoanal. 2010;91(3):521-40. doi:10.1111/j.1745-8315.2010.00263.xJung, CJ.Four Archetypes. Routledge; 2014.Hall, CS.A cognitive theory of dreams.J Gen Psychol.1953;49(2):273-282. doi:10.1080/00221309.1953.9710091Domhoff, GW.A new neurocognitive theory of dreams.Dreaming. 2001;11(1):13-33. doi:10.1023/A:1009464416649Morewedge CK, Norton MI.When dreaming is believing: The (motivated) interpretation of dreams.J Pers Soc Psychol. 2009;96(2):249-64. doi:10.1037/a0013264Additional ReadingDomhoff GW.Finding Meaning in Dreams: A Quantitative Approach. Springer Science and Business Media, 1996.Domhoff GW. Toward a Neurocognitive Model of Dreams. In:The Scientific Study of Dreams: Neural Networks, Cognitive Development, and Content Analysis. American Psychological Association, 2003.Freud S.The Interpretation of Dreams. 1900.Jung C. The Practical Use of Dream-analysis. In:The Practice of Psychotherapy: Essays on the Psychology of Transference. 1966.

5 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Schneider JA.From Freud’s dream-work to Bion’s work of dreaming: The changing conception of dreaming in psychoanalytic theory.Int J Psychoanal. 2010;91(3):521-40. doi:10.1111/j.1745-8315.2010.00263.xJung, CJ.Four Archetypes. Routledge; 2014.Hall, CS.A cognitive theory of dreams.J Gen Psychol.1953;49(2):273-282. doi:10.1080/00221309.1953.9710091Domhoff, GW.A new neurocognitive theory of dreams.Dreaming. 2001;11(1):13-33. doi:10.1023/A:1009464416649Morewedge CK, Norton MI.When dreaming is believing: The (motivated) interpretation of dreams.J Pers Soc Psychol. 2009;96(2):249-64. doi:10.1037/a0013264Additional ReadingDomhoff GW.Finding Meaning in Dreams: A Quantitative Approach. Springer Science and Business Media, 1996.Domhoff GW. Toward a Neurocognitive Model of Dreams. In:The Scientific Study of Dreams: Neural Networks, Cognitive Development, and Content Analysis. American Psychological Association, 2003.Freud S.The Interpretation of Dreams. 1900.Jung C. The Practical Use of Dream-analysis. In:The Practice of Psychotherapy: Essays on the Psychology of Transference. 1966.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Schneider JA.From Freud’s dream-work to Bion’s work of dreaming: The changing conception of dreaming in psychoanalytic theory.Int J Psychoanal. 2010;91(3):521-40. doi:10.1111/j.1745-8315.2010.00263.xJung, CJ.Four Archetypes. Routledge; 2014.Hall, CS.A cognitive theory of dreams.J Gen Psychol.1953;49(2):273-282. doi:10.1080/00221309.1953.9710091Domhoff, GW.A new neurocognitive theory of dreams.Dreaming. 2001;11(1):13-33. doi:10.1023/A:1009464416649Morewedge CK, Norton MI.When dreaming is believing: The (motivated) interpretation of dreams.J Pers Soc Psychol. 2009;96(2):249-64. doi:10.1037/a0013264

Schneider JA.From Freud’s dream-work to Bion’s work of dreaming: The changing conception of dreaming in psychoanalytic theory.Int J Psychoanal. 2010;91(3):521-40. doi:10.1111/j.1745-8315.2010.00263.x

Jung, CJ.Four Archetypes. Routledge; 2014.

Hall, CS.A cognitive theory of dreams.J Gen Psychol.1953;49(2):273-282. doi:10.1080/00221309.1953.9710091

Domhoff, GW.A new neurocognitive theory of dreams.Dreaming. 2001;11(1):13-33. doi:10.1023/A:1009464416649

Morewedge CK, Norton MI.When dreaming is believing: The (motivated) interpretation of dreams.J Pers Soc Psychol. 2009;96(2):249-64. doi:10.1037/a0013264

Domhoff GW.Finding Meaning in Dreams: A Quantitative Approach. Springer Science and Business Media, 1996.Domhoff GW. Toward a Neurocognitive Model of Dreams. In:The Scientific Study of Dreams: Neural Networks, Cognitive Development, and Content Analysis. American Psychological Association, 2003.Freud S.The Interpretation of Dreams. 1900.Jung C. The Practical Use of Dream-analysis. In:The Practice of Psychotherapy: Essays on the Psychology of Transference. 1966.

Domhoff GW.Finding Meaning in Dreams: A Quantitative Approach. Springer Science and Business Media, 1996.

Domhoff GW. Toward a Neurocognitive Model of Dreams. In:The Scientific Study of Dreams: Neural Networks, Cognitive Development, and Content Analysis. American Psychological Association, 2003.

Freud S.The Interpretation of Dreams. 1900.

Jung C. The Practical Use of Dream-analysis. In:The Practice of Psychotherapy: Essays on the Psychology of Transference. 1966.

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