Today, I have decided to explain a bit about why we are tackling this myth together. Have researchers proven that dreams have symbolic meaning in real life?
Why not ask a different question? Why not tackle a myth that is featured in the news or is recreated on TV?
When seeing the list of myths in my Psychology class about Popular Myths in Human Behavior, the dreams myth caught my eye. The reason I am so interested in this myth, and hope that you are too, is the myth is so relatable to real life! So many cultures revere dreams in their religions or everyday life. For instance, in some Chinese cultures, dreams are all symbols: , as seen in this YouTube clip.
In my own life, I've experienced many dreams in which, in my waking life, I think, "Didn't I dream this?" or "Is God trying to talk to me through my dreams?" There are many questions I have pondered about dreams; they are fickle things. Now, let's get down to business to defeat this myth.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
What Not To Read
Welcome! We now begin to look into the myth at hand, dreams have been proven to have symbolic meaning in real life while we're awake.
Keep in mind when reading articles that some are not appropriate to our myth.
Appropriate Sources!
Some articles can be golden! They have relevance to our myth and cover what we are searching for. For starters, this article focuses on what the author calls "dream residue", the symbolism of dreams in real life. This article is entitled "Dream Rebound: The Return of Suppressed Thoughts in Dreams and is written by Daniel M. Wegner, Richard M. Wenzlaff, Megan Kozak. Another source that is appropriate for our myth-busting is an article entitled "The Statistics of Dreams". This article, by Mary Whiton Calkins, speaks to the cycle of dreaming from a factual point of view. This will help us see if there is some sort of data connecting dreams and their statistical data to our real lives. Another very valid source is an article entitled "The Psychology of Dreams" by James Ralph Jewell. This article focuses on dreams from a pscyhologist's perspective (where we are approaching the myth from!). Another source we may consider is "Monsters in the dark and other scary things: Preschoolers' self-reports." by : Helene Loxton. This article takes what we are looking at, dreams' symbolic meaning, from a child's perspective.
Sources to Stay Away From!
Some articles seem to be relevant, but aren't. It is important to approach sources from a scholarly perspective:These sources aren't bad; these sources do not fit what we are looking for.One such source is "A Study of Dreams" by Julius Nelson. This source, at first, seems very crucial to our myth. However, this article looks more over the biological presence and classifications of dreams. The article may help some, but, for our cause, isn't relevant. Another source to not read is "The Other as a Nightmare: The Israeli-Arab Encounter as Reflected in Children's Dreams in Israel and the West Bank" by Yoram Bilu. You may be asking, "Why the heck would you think that is related in the first place?!" But, in any search related to dreams, this article will likely come close to being found. In all of my searches, on three different search engines, this article popped up. It is a fascinating article, but not appropriate here.
References:
Bilu, Y. (1989). The Other as a Nightmare: The Israeli-Arab Encounter as Reflected in Children's Dreams in Israel and the West Bank. Political Psychology, 10(3), 365-389. Retrieved from JSTOR database.
Calkins, M. W. (1893). Statistics of Dreams. The American Journal of Psychology, 5(3), 311-343. Retrieved from JSTOR database.
Kozak, M., Wegner, D.M., Wenzlaff, R.M. (2004). Dream Rebound: The Return of Suppressed Thoughts in Dreams. Psychological Science, 15(4), 232-236.Retrieved from JSTOR database.
Jewell, J. (1905). The Psychology of Dreams. The American Journal of Psychology, 16(1), 1-34. Retrieved from JSTOR database.
Loxton, H. (2009). Monsters in the dark and other scary things: Preschoolers' self-reports. Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 21(1), 47-60. Retrieved from PsychINFO database.
Nelson, J. (1988). A Study of Dreams. The American Journal of Psychology, 1(3), 367-401. Retrieved from JSTOR database.
Keep in mind when reading articles that some are not appropriate to our myth.
Appropriate Sources!
Some articles can be golden! They have relevance to our myth and cover what we are searching for. For starters, this article focuses on what the author calls "dream residue", the symbolism of dreams in real life. This article is entitled "Dream Rebound: The Return of Suppressed Thoughts in Dreams and is written by Daniel M. Wegner, Richard M. Wenzlaff, Megan Kozak. Another source that is appropriate for our myth-busting is an article entitled "The Statistics of Dreams". This article, by Mary Whiton Calkins, speaks to the cycle of dreaming from a factual point of view. This will help us see if there is some sort of data connecting dreams and their statistical data to our real lives. Another very valid source is an article entitled "The Psychology of Dreams" by James Ralph Jewell. This article focuses on dreams from a pscyhologist's perspective (where we are approaching the myth from!). Another source we may consider is "Monsters in the dark and other scary things: Preschoolers' self-reports." by : Helene Loxton. This article takes what we are looking at, dreams' symbolic meaning, from a child's perspective.
Sources to Stay Away From!
Some articles seem to be relevant, but aren't. It is important to approach sources from a scholarly perspective:These sources aren't bad; these sources do not fit what we are looking for.One such source is "A Study of Dreams" by Julius Nelson. This source, at first, seems very crucial to our myth. However, this article looks more over the biological presence and classifications of dreams. The article may help some, but, for our cause, isn't relevant. Another source to not read is "The Other as a Nightmare: The Israeli-Arab Encounter as Reflected in Children's Dreams in Israel and the West Bank" by Yoram Bilu. You may be asking, "Why the heck would you think that is related in the first place?!" But, in any search related to dreams, this article will likely come close to being found. In all of my searches, on three different search engines, this article popped up. It is a fascinating article, but not appropriate here.
References:
Bilu, Y. (1989). The Other as a Nightmare: The Israeli-Arab Encounter as Reflected in Children's Dreams in Israel and the West Bank. Political Psychology, 10(3), 365-389. Retrieved from JSTOR database.
Calkins, M. W. (1893). Statistics of Dreams. The American Journal of Psychology, 5(3), 311-343. Retrieved from JSTOR database.
Kozak, M., Wegner, D.M., Wenzlaff, R.M. (2004). Dream Rebound: The Return of Suppressed Thoughts in Dreams. Psychological Science, 15(4), 232-236.Retrieved from JSTOR database.
Jewell, J. (1905). The Psychology of Dreams. The American Journal of Psychology, 16(1), 1-34. Retrieved from JSTOR database.
Loxton, H. (2009). Monsters in the dark and other scary things: Preschoolers' self-reports. Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 21(1), 47-60. Retrieved from PsychINFO database.
Nelson, J. (1988). A Study of Dreams. The American Journal of Psychology, 1(3), 367-401. Retrieved from JSTOR database.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Welcome!
Welcome to my blog on the myth that researchers have proven that dreams have symbolic meaning in real life. I plan to disprove the aforementioned common belief.
My name is Adam Trevino. I am a Psychology major at Seattle University. My class on Popular Myths of Human Behavior has prompted me to create this blog in order to disprove popular myths in the human world.
My name is Adam Trevino. I am a Psychology major at Seattle University. My class on Popular Myths of Human Behavior has prompted me to create this blog in order to disprove popular myths in the human world.
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