Deams, Dream Interpretation, & Symbols Flashcards
How does Jung’s understanding of dreams different from that of Freud’s?
Jung understood dreams as natural and purposive phenomena, the spontaneous, undisguised expressions of unconscious processes. For Freud, dreams were psychological mechanisms that function to preserve sleep by expressing and thereby discharging unacceptable, unconscious wishes in disguised form.
According to Jung, what makes interpreting dreams so difficult?
The difficulties are due to the unconscious nature of the dream. Dreams do not speak the language of waking life but rather find their voice in language of symbolism.
What must one do in order to understand dreams?
One must learn the language of the unconscious with its rich symbols and archetypal imagery.
Describe the first concept of Jung’s method of dream interpretation.
The first concept is the idea of association. After the patient would present a dream, Jung would have the patient freely associate to the various symbols or images in the dream as a way of preparing for tentative interpretations of the dreams meaning. Jung realized that each element of the dream had a symbolic individuality that could best be interpreted by the dreamer and no one else.
Describe the second concept of Jung’s method of dream interpretation.
The second concept is the idea ofsymbol amplification. Having gathered dreamers associations & made various tentative interpretations of the meaning & purpose of individual dreams, Jung looked to archetypal parallels for understanding deeper levels of the dream’s symbols. Motifs in myth & legend which were similar to those contained in an individual’s dream would be helpful in pointing to the archetypal basis of a dream & afford perhaps more transformative understanding of the dream on the archetypal level.
According to Jung, what are the possible functions of a dream?
He saw the majority of dreams functioning in a compensatory way psychologically; by presenting the inner situation of the psyche so as to bring the situation to conscious and integrated awareness within the individual.
