Question: When analyzing the content of dreams for meaning, do people report common

themes?

Background Information:

Going into this lab, we knew that in in Freudian dream analysis, content is both the manifest and
latent content in a dream, that is, the dream itself as it is remembered, and the hidden meaning
of the dream. The latent content of a dream is the hidden psychological meaning of the dream.
Freud believed that the content of dreams is related to wish fulfillment and suggested that
dreams have two types of content: manifest content and latent content. The manifest content is
the actual literal subject-matter of the dream while the latent content is the underlying meaning
of these symbols.

Hypothesis: What do you think the outcome of the experiment will be?
Together, we think that the outcome of the result of the five peoples answers per scenario will
be more similar than anyone would expect. That each persons answer will have an easily
comparable analysis to each other in each scenario. We predicted that females would have
more detailed answers and give the dreams more thought therefore coming up with a more in
depth analysis.

Materials:
3 scenarios of data collection sheets (15 in total)
15 different people with no past knowledge in psychology.

Method:
1. Choose 15 participants to answer one scenario with their analysis. Before giving
participant a scenario sheet, ask if they have done this analysis yet for another group in
the group.
2. Once you find a participant to analyze a scenario, it is important to mention that this is
kept anonymous and the sheet itself will only be seen by a teacher and the group
members. Participants will not be judged and there is no right or wrong answer.
3. When telling the participant what to right it is important to mention that this is information
for a class project and if they are interested in seeing the results they are entitled in
seeing the final project.
4. After having the participant answer the scenario analysis, ask them to keep their
answers to themselves in case one of their peers is asked the same scenario.
Data:

Handed in to the teacher in a package.

Results:

Many participants wrote in their analysis that the thought the dream was sad and had a much
deeper meaning behind it than what it stated. The common result was that the dreams were not
just as it is read, but there is meaning to what the dreamer is dreaming.
See more on chart.
Analysis:

We both believe that we got similar results and that in all three scenarios, that dreams have
more meaning than what is directly on the surface because that is what the majority of the
population believes about dreams. The major difference between the three scenarios were
length in description of the dreams, which gave more or less to interpret from the participant.

Conclusion:

Our hypothesis that when analyzing the content of dreams for meaning, do people report
common themes? was correct. The participants that were generally women that took part in
this assignment gave more thoughtful responses.

Sources of Error:

Our hypothesis was correct but mainly because the boys/men we chose to partake were all
young and did not take the assignment seriously.
We found that by using our friends/peers, they did not take the assignment seriously and
therefore some of our responses were not serious or thoughtful, and were written out as a joke.

Questions for Further Investigation:

1. Does dreaming help people cope with trauma and issues that are dealt with in their
waking hours?
2. Where do dreams come from in your brain?
3. Are nightmares harmful to people? Specifically in children and youth.
4. Do dreams have any further significant meaning than what is being dreamt?
5. What makes us not always remember our dreams or remember them all?

F=Female Participant Participant Participant Participant Participant #5

M=Male #1 #2 #3 #4

Scenario -M/16-18 -F/16-18 F/19-25 F/16-18 M/16-18

One -In this -This -The -The -This participant
scenario the participant participant participant wrote that the
participant wrote that the wrote that the wrote that rain woman is sad
essentially dreamer is womans means a new because of
repeats the having daughter and beginning and challenging
scenario using flashback from the woman this was childhood memories.
different early age. would garden someone
phrasing. together. longing for a
relationship
like this with
someone in
their life.
Scenario M/16-18 F/16-18 M/16-18 F/56-65 F/16-18
Two Participant Participant The Participant Young girl is the
wrote that the wrote that she participant wrote that the dreamer, shows
dreamer is a thought the wrote that the dreamer is childhood spent with
mother dream was a young girl in remembering her mother, wagon
dreaming flashback of the dream is a close time represents childhood
about her past the child's the dreamer with her memories,umbrella
when her child memories and at a younger mother and symbolizes
was younger childhood. age. The rain her caring protecting the young
and that child symbolizes a ways. girl.
was asking for dark time.
help

Scenario M/12-15 F/36-45 M/16-18 M/16-18 F/16-18

Three Participant Participant PArticipant The participant Participant wrote that
wrote that girl wrote that rain wrote that the wrote that the dreamer is having a
is the symbolizes dreamer was dreamer is flashback that now
dreamers past sadness dreaming of dreaming might make sense to
self. She had coming down her mother about her her having a
a dark past around girl. when she was issues with her disability.
and things Dreamers young and mother.
falling out of mom is trying how her
her cart are to protect mother would
lost family dreamer with protect her.
members. umbrella,
trying to pick
up the pieces
as the fall.