Theories Of Dreaming | dream studies portal

Calvin Hall and the Cognitive Theory of Dreaming

Posted by Ryan Hurd on December 3, 2009 | 10 Comments

Any survey of modern dream research must include Calvin Hall (1909-1985). Hall was a behavioral psychologist who explored the cognitive dimensions of dreaming. His work began before the discovery of REM sleep, so little was known about the biology of sleep and dreams. Hall drew worldwide attention for his cognitive theory of dreaming, which was [...]

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The Dream Theories of Carl Jung

Posted by Ryan Hurd on November 25, 2009 | 10 Comments

Except for Dr Freud, no one has influenced modern dream studies more than Carl Jung.

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Contemporary Dream Theories Starting with Freud

Posted by Ryan Hurd on November 19, 2009 | 4 Comments

I’ve been brewing this post series for a long time. Many readers have asked me to review the influential theories of dream formation that are still at work today. Unfortunately, in our Western culture, where dreaming has long been considered insignificant, advances have been slow due to a lack of funded research. And no one [...]

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Are Dreams the Original Psychedelic?

Posted by Lee Adams on July 7, 2009 | 14 Comments

I have spent the last 6 years of my free time from my normal job researching the similarities between dreams and psychedelic hallucinations. Many people from the psychedelic community would disagree, claiming that their experiences are unique.
Not surprisingly, the lucid dreaming community or even normal sleeper may claim either that their dreams are unique [...]

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Dreams of Trauma Survivors – a Clinical Perspective

Posted by Ryan Hurd on August 9, 2008 | 4 Comments

On the topic of the dreams of trauma survivors, I saw another great talk in Montreal by Ann Goelitz, a clinical social worker from New York. In a nutshell, Goelitz’s work compares the emotional content of dreams of trauma survivors to the general population.
Goelitz found that trauma survivors” dreams are empirically more emotional, and [...]

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An Evolutionary Theory of Dreaming

Posted by Ryan Hurd on August 1, 2008 | 13 Comments

Thinking about thinking is hard, and thinking about dreaming is harder. Believe it or not, there is only one evolutionary theory of dreaming seriously at work these days in academia. Indeed, a theory supporting the biological function of dreams has a steep hill to climb, as we don’t really have a complete theory [...]