Freud and 'Dora' dreams case

Question 1

‘Dora’ case study

Answer 1

• Ida Bauer 1882-1945
• given the pseudonym ‘Dora’
• was Freud’s famous patient diagnosed as suffering from hysteria
• he analyzed her 2 dreams - which he believed reveal unconscious conflicts and desires related to her waking life

Question 2

Dream 1 - the jewel case dream

Answer 2

• Dora dreams of being given a jewel case by Herr.K, which she gave to Frau.K.
• Dora’s father enters accusing her of theft and demands to show what shes done with the case

Question 3

Freud’s interpretation of dream 1

Answer 3

• he interprets the case as a symbol of Dora’s sexual purity
• suggests that the dream reflects Dora’s conflicted feelings about her fathers inappropriate advances and wants to protect herself
• Freud’s interpretation relies heavily on symbolic associations between dream elements and unconscious desires, which are subjective and open to alternative interpretations

Question 4

Dream 2 - the irregular sign dream

Answer 4

• Dora sees a sign with her name and the word irregular on it
• she interprets as a reflection of her fathers warning about her irregular behavior in relation to Herr.K and Frau.K

Question 5

Freud’s interpretation of Dream 2

Answer 5

• Freud suggests, dream represents Dora’s unconscious acknowledgement of her fathers concerns and her anxieties about being perceived as irregular
• Freud’s interpretation again relies on symbolic associations between dream elements and unconscious conflict

Question 6

critics of Freud’s approach

Answer 6

• relies heavily on his theoretical framework of psychoanalysis - which posits dreams serve as disguised expressions of unconscious wishes
• his interpretations are overly speculative and lack empirical validation
• alternative interpretations of the dreams are possible

Question 7

Freud’s Dora dream summary..

Answer 7

• Freud’s analysis highlights the potential metaphorical relationship between dream content and dreamers waking life, his interpretations are subject to critique
• Further research is needed to explore the relationship between dream content and waking experiences.

Question 8

what is Freud’s claim that insight can be obtained by considering dreams?

Answer 8

• Note that he is claiming insight about the unconscious can be obtained, as well as about what is consciously known.

Question 9

Pesant and Zadra 2004

Answer 9

• state that in therapy “three types of gain are generally described as a result of dream interpretation”

Question 10

The three types of gains

Answer 10

1. client insights
2. increased involvement of the client int he therapeutic process
3. a better understanding of clients dynamics and clinical progress

Question 11

Edward 2013 conclusions

Answer 11

• That there is a distinction between insight about an item of dream content and insight about ones waking life as a result of considering the dream

Question 12

Edward 2015

Answer 12

• showed that discussion of a dream causes greater exploration-insight scores than does discussion of a recent personally important event