Sigmund Freud's Method and Theory of Dream Analysis Essay

Freud also listed the following results from his studies, dreams can have multiple layers of meaning, nearly all dreams are wish-fulfilling, and all dreams have a unifying motive that accounts for all random images and events. Freud concluded that dreams are the way an individual 's unconscious mind tries to express itself and that dreams “may only have a chance of reaching our consciousness if they are somewhat disguised”. Which explains the sometimes absurd and bizarre dreams that someone can get. Sigmund Freud uses the following analogy to explain his theory, “a political writer may criticize a ruler, but in doing so may endanger himself. The writer therefore has to fear the ruler’s censorship, and in doing so “moderates and distorts the expression of his opinion”. The writer serves to represent the unconscious mind, while the ruler is the conscious mind that stops an individual from doing certain things. Dreams and daydreams are practically synonymous, except dreams occur when an individual sleeps, and daydreams are when the person is awake, but both allow for the mind to wander, so the theory can apply to both, but Freud mainly focuses on the aspects of dreams.

Sigmund Freud’s theory of dreams suggested that dreams represented unconscious desires, thoughts, and motivations. According to Freud’s psychoanalytic view of personality,

Third, Sigmund Freud thought dreams had motives and there meaning is other than it appears on the surface. Dreams are disguised by condensation and displacement. Condensation is a thought expressed in the optative has been replaced by a representation in the present tense” (Freud, 151). In simpler terms, dream condensation is complex meaning compressed into a simpler one. While “dream displacement is concealing the meaning of a dream and to make the connections between the dream content and the dream thoughts unrecognisable” (Freud, 155). When we rationalise this, it is merely stating that dream content is derived from the dream thoughts and when an individual awakes the content of the dream may not be clear due to condensation and displacement. Often with dream displacement, for the dream content to be clear there has to be a linkage to something that corresponds to it. Freud also stated that, “we assume as a matter of course that the most distinct element in the manifest content of dream is the most important one; but in fact owing to displacement that has occurred it is often an indistinct element which turns out to be the most direct derivative of the essential dream thoughts” (Freud, 155). This shows that it is not the content of the dream, which is remembered, that is most significant but the

After a friend told me about some weird dreams he had been having I decided to research the meaning of dreams. I will focus on Sigmund Freud’s idea that understanding our dreams can help us to understand ourselves, and live a much happier and fulfilled life. Freud was known as “the father of psychoanalysis” and in 1899 he wrote his most famous work, The Interpretation of Dreams, and

Freud found two meanings in a dream: the manifest meaning and the latent meaning (Freud 168). The manifest meaning of a dream is what is remembered upon waking (Felluga). The manifest meaning can reflect a situation that follows common sense and unfold in a way possible in waking life. Other times it can take its own wild path that follows little or no logical sequence when viewed at surface level. Despite this vast difference, both of these are influenced by the superego, a part of the mind that Freud believes houses the knowledge of the structure of society and what is acceptable in the dreamers culture. The dream takes place on a stage or backdrop that makes sense and relates to waking life (Freud 216-17). While the manifest meaning is useful and can itself contain a message, interpretation of it can reveal more than seen at face value.

Both Freud and Jung provided important and interesting theories on dreams; encompassing their functions, their roots, and their meanings. Freud looked at dreams as a result of repressed memories, particularly repressed sexual memories from our childhood. Jung however, believed that dreams delved beyond sexual repression during younger years, to other problems, be it trauma, anxiety etc. Jung also believed dreams changed predominately through middle adult years, while Freud believed the opposite. There is little empirical evidence to reinforce either Freud or Jung’s theories, however, their contributions to the study of dreams in psychology cannot be lessened or denied.

Psycho-analysis, the brain child of Sigmund Freud, is an attempt to conceive an entirely new field of science based on the constructs set forth by its creator, it deals with all manners of the human psyche, from the human ego, to our dreams, and to our unconscious and conscious minds. In his work, “Revision of the Theory of Dreams” Freud’s unwavering persistence to cement psycho-analysis, and his method of dream interpretation, as an established science becomes apparent. He implies that only a psycho-analysist is capable of correctly analyzing dreams, and in making this implication he commits a series grievous mistakes, he overestimates the value of the psycho-analyst’s interpretation and the values of the associations which the dreamer makes during the process, he then, in accordance with his newfound science and procedure, attempts to pass off these supposed analyses as definitive fact. These mistakes are a result of Freud’s own ego, in his desperation to prove the validity of his science he forgets about human nature and its impacts on the unconscious mind, which he claims to know much of, and the subjectivity of all interpretation.

Freud, Sigmund. The Interpretation of Dreams. Dover Thrift Editions. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 2015.

By analyzing dreams, Freud believed that it could lead to understanding the most mysterious part of the human body: the brain. He viewed dreams as the unconscious mind making an endeavor to resolve a conflict regardless of when the conflict arose (Freud, 1900, p.577). Freud eventually developed a theory that the symbols and images in dreams may only be the front for multiple connotations, linking icons in dreams to parts of the body and biological drives. The dreamer may “find the top part of a clarinet in the street or the mouth-piece of a tobacco-pipe” in response to stimuli from male sexual organs (Freud, 1900, p.111). Freud argued in many of his early works that many latent dreams are sexual in nature. These connections separated Freud from his colleagues, such as Carl

Many people are intrigued by dreams. They are constantly searching for answers, ‎wondering why certain events occurred and what they mean. Dreams are probably one of the ‎hardest things to study, which is why there’s nothing more than theories about them. Humans ‎are self-conscious individuals, and dreams are mysterious and unpredictable. If an individual ‎under a study has a dream that is embarrassing or ignominious, they may leave key parts of the ‎dream out, or even lie about having a dream at all! However, this doesn’t stop people from ‎searching for meaning to their most intimate thoughts. Dreams can be our subconscious’ way ‎of communicating with us about important details that have happened, and even those that have ‎yet to happen.

This reflective essay illustrates Freud’s theory of dream analysis. It will begin with a brief overview of Freudian dream theory and will go on to describe the various components of personality structure and the unconscious from a psychodynamic perspective. This essay will analyse one of my personal dreams using Freud’s dream analysis theory and conclude with a critical reflection on the application of his theory as it relates to my dream.

Briefly present Freud's theory on dreams and how his ideas are distinctly different from the philosophy of the Activation-Synthesis Model. Freud believed manifest content/dream images brought out repressed wishes/wish-fulfillment and urges, and latent content/ disguised psychological dream meaning. Also, dream functioning was a release of unconscious and inappropriate urges. Images in dreams had different symbolism's such as, an elongated object represented male genital organ and ovens represent the female genitals. Researchers Robert McCarley and J. Allan Hobson created a model called Activation-Synthesis in which it suggests dreams are a way the brain makes sense of the activities while sleeping.

It is universally known that dreams are full of meanings and emotions. In Freud’s theory, all dreams are wish fulfillments or at least attempts at wish fulfillment. The dreams are usually presented in an unrecognizable form because the wishes are repressed. Freud proposes there are two levels in the structure of dreams, the manifest contents and the latent dream-thoughts. The manifest dream, a dream

Freud believed that dreams represent repressed desires, dears and conflicts. He distinguished two aspects of dreams: the manifest content (Actual event) and the latent content (symbolic meaning of the event). In Freud’s latent content all of the symbolic meanings had a sexual background. He viewed dreams as revealing conflicts in a condensed and intensified form.

Sigmund Freud created strong theories in science and medicine that are still studied today. Freud was a neurologist who proposed many distinctive theories in psychiatry, all based upon the method of psychoanalysis. Some of his key concepts include the ego/superego/id, free association, trauma/fantasy, dream interpretation, and jokes and the unconscious. “Freud remained a determinist throughout his life, believing that all vital phenomena, including psychological phenomena like thoughts, feelings and phantasies, are rigidly determined by the principle of cause and effect” (Storr, 1989, p. 2). Through the discussion of those central concepts, Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis becomes clear as to how he construed human character.