Dreams, Hypnosis & Meditation

A.P. Psychology 01/06/09

Drill

• Look at your sleep diary. Do you notice any patterns in your sleeping? Is there something in particular that you dream about? Summarize your sleep experience and what you learned from keeping this diary.

Dreaming

• What exactly is a dream?• mental experiences during REM sleep that

have a story-like quality, include visual imagery, are often bizarre, and are regarded as perceptually real by the dreamer.

• Are they really that bizarre?• Is it possible that dreams are really ways to

unconsciously work through our everyday problems?

Dreaming

• Recent research has shown • that dreams DO NOT happen during REM Sleep

only» Non-REM dreams are less vivid, visual, and

story-like than REM dreams

• Dreamers actually realize they are dreaming more than previously thought

• Very similar to waking thoughts• Dreaming is constantly being researched

Content of Dreams

• People are more likely to remember bizarre dreams, but overall, most are not that exciting

• Common Themes• Falling• Being attacked • Trying repeatedly to

do something• School, teachers,

studying• Sexual experiences• Arriving Late• Eating• Being frozen with

fright• Death of a loved one

Content of Dreams

• Calvin Hall (1966)• Concluded that most dreams are mundane and

deal with family, friends, and colleagues• Dreams tend to center on classic sources of

internal conflict• People dream very little about public affairs &

current events• We dream mostly about ourselves

Theories of Dreaming

• 1. Sigmund Freud ~ Wish Fulfillment– People fulfill ungratified needs from waking hours

with wishful thinking in dreams» Ex. Someone who is sexually frustrated might

have highly erotic dreams» Ex. An unsuccessful person might dream about

greater accomplishments– Also believed that the true meaning of dreams might

be disguised

Theories of Dreaming

• 2. Rosalind Cartwright ~ Cognitive Problem Solving View

– There is considerable continuity between waking and sleeping thought

– Dreams allow people to engage in creative thinking about problems because they are not restrained by logic or realism

Theories of Dreaming

• 3. J. Allen Hobson & Robert McCarley ~ Bursts in Brain activity

– Activation Synthesis Model» Dreams are side-effects of the neural activation

that produces “wide awake” brain waves during REM sleep

» The cortex synthesizes a dream to make sense out of these signals

» DOES NOT say that dreams are meaningless, but it does downplay the role of emotional factors

Content of DreamsDifferences between Men & Women

• Men• Strangers appear

more in men’s dreams• Acting out

aggressively• Having sexual

liaisons with attractive female strangers

• Women• Children• Being the target of

aggression• Having sexual

encounters with their boyfriends & husbands

Lucid Dreams• A lucid dream is a dream in

which the sleeper is aware that he or she is dreaming. When the dreamer is lucid, he or she can actively participate in and often manipulate the imaginary experiences in the dream environment.

• Lucid dreams can seem extremely real and vivid depending on a person's level of self-awareness during the lucid dream.

Hypnosis• A systematic procedure that typically

produces a heightened state of suggestibility

• Franz Mesmer (18th Century)» Believed he could cure people of their illnesses

through “mesmerism”

• James Braid (1843)» Popularized the term hypnotism & thought that

this “trance-like” state coulse serve as a general anesthetic ~ when medicine came around, it died out

Hypnotic Induction & Susceptibility

• Techniques for inducing hypnosis

• Swinging pendulum• Suggestion of

relaxation• Repetition • Speaking softly• Vivid description of

body sensations

• Hypnotic Susceptibility

• Not everyone can be hypnotized

• Stable, measurable trait measured by the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale

» About 10% of the population does not respond at all

» About 10% are exceptional subjects

SHSS

• a series of exercises performed with an experienced hypnotist who assesses your suggestibility to certain tasks while in state of hypnosis. There are 12 tasks ranging from pulling apart your interlocked fingers to hallucinating the presence of a buzzing fly. Item number 12 tests your susceptibility to post-hypnotic amnesia. The hypnotist would ask you to forget what has just happened during the session. The test is scored as follows: 0-4 is considered low hypnotizable. 5-7 is medium 8-12 is high

Hypnotic Phenomenon• Effects produced

through hypnosis• Anesthesia

» Some physicians & dentists have used hypnosis as a substitute for drugs

• Sensory distortions & Hallucinations

» Subjects may see or hear things that are not there or even have their sensations distorted (sweet tastes sour, etc.)

• Disinhibition» Hypnosis can

sometimes lower inhibitions and cause subjects to act in ways that are not socially desireable

• Post-hypnotic suggestions & amnesia

» Suggestions made during hypnosis may influence later behavior

Theories of Hypnosis

• 1. Hypnotic Trance• Special altered state where there are no special

physiological changes & may just be “normal”

Theories on Hypnosis

• 2. Role-Playing• Theodore Barber (1979) & Nicholas Spanos

(1986)• Subjects’ role expectations produce effects,

rather than an altered state of consciousness» Many amazing effects of hypnosis have been

duplicated by nonhypnotized participants» Martin Orne (1951) took hypnotized subjects

back to their 6th birthday & found that many memories were inaccurate or invented ~ subjects seem to be playing a role

Theories on Hypnosis

• 3. Altered State of Consciousness• Theorists doubt that all effects can be

explained by the role-playing theory– Even the most cooperative subjects are unlikely to

endure surgery without anesthetic, just to please the doctor

– If it was all an act, why do subjects continue to “play a role” even when alone

– Brain-Imaging Studies» Changes in brain activity while hypnotized

Dissociation

• Ernest Hilgard (1986)• Theorized that hypnosis splits consciousness

into two streams – one in communication with hypnotist & external world, and the other is difficult to detect

– Divided consciousness seems to be rather common» Ex. Highway Hypnosis – many people drive a car

for miles, responding to traffic signals and other cars without any recollection of having consciously done so

Meditation

• A family of practices that train attention to heighten awareness and bring mental processes under greater voluntary control

Approaches to Meditation• Yoga

• a system of exercises practiced as part of the Hindu discipline to promote control of the body and mind

• Zen• Zen emphasizes

experiential wisdom in the attainment of enlightenment. As such, it de-emphasizes theoretical knowledge in favor of direct, experiential realization through meditation and religious practice.

• Transcendental Meditation

• A form of meditation that originated in the cultures of India and Tibet. It was exported to the West by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It involves training the mind on a single point of focus, such as a word or phrase (Mantra)

Religion & Meditation

• Meditation is rooted in Eastern Religions• Hinduism• Buddhism• Taoism

• Meditation has been practiced throughout history in spiritual traditions, even in Judaism & Christianity

Physiology of Meditation

• Alpha & Theta waves become more prominent

• Heart rate, skin conductance, respiration rate, oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide elimination decline

• High activity in the prefrontal cortex

• Consistent with focused attention

• Unusually low activity in the parietal lobe

• Processes body’s location in space

• Experienced meditators report their “oneness” with the world

Long-Term Benefits• Effective in reducing stress

• Can improve mental health

• Positive effects on blood pressure, mood and one’s sense of control

• Possible increase in creativity & intelligence