B1c2 Evaluating activation-synthesis theory

Question 1

Evidence for activation-synthesis theory

Answer 1

1) REM sleep happens regularly throughout a night’s sleep every night
2) Movement inhibition and sensory blockade meant that there must be something happening in the brain itself to make dreams
3) the pons and the reticular activating system (RAS) were involved in shutting down physcial movement during REM sleep
4) Dreams come from neurons that when activated when person is awake, have a specific purpose (e.g neurons for balance, dream about falling)

Question 2

Weaknesses of activation-synthesis theory

Answer 2

1) Many people say the recognize parts of a dream from the something that happened in their life before –> not as random as AST says
2) A study by Hobson suggested only 34 out of 200 dreams did not make logical sense
3) Lucid dreaming–> dreams are controllable and not random
4) Young children–> ages 5 and under have fewer dreams but same amount of REM sleep