Sleep and Dreams Flashcards
Describe what is meant by REM sleep
REM sleep (Rapid Eye Movement) occurs in cycles of around 90-120 minutes. It is when most dreams occur. A lack of REM sleep has been shown to impair the ability to learn complex tasks.
Describe what is meant by Non-REM sleep
Non-REM sleep is any sleep that is not REM sleep which is typically made up of 4 stages of sleep.
Explain Oswald’s (1966) restoration theory of sleep
This theory suggests the main purpose of sleep is to restore the body. The theory says sleep does this by repairing cells, restoring energy sources and aiding the removal of waste chemicals built up during the day. It also suggests that sleep restores the brain by aiding in psychological recovery, restoring supplies of neurotransmitters and retaining supplies of brain proteins.
Give Strengths and Weaknesses of Oswald’s (1966) restoration theory of sleep
Strength: This theory is supported by a lot of evidence such as the rat study.
Strength: Further findings that major restorative functions like muscle growth or tissue repair happen mostly during sleep supports this theory.
Weakness: Most of the evidence of the theory comes from correlational studies and not cause and effect studies
Weakness: Horne (1978) reported that sleep deprivation didn’t interfere with participant’s ability to play sports or make them ill.
Aims of Dement and Kleitman (1957)
To study the correlation between eye movement and dream content as well as the correlation between eye movement and dreaming and the function of REM sleep.
Method of Dement and Kleitman (1957)
Lab experiment, 9 participants (7 male, 2 female) went to lab for polysomnography and were told not to drink caffeine or alcohol that day. They wore an EEG cap to monitor eye and brain activity. They were woken up several times during the night and asked if they were dreaming, the content of the dreams and the length of their dreams.
Results of Dement and Kleitman (1957)
Participants were much more likely to say they were dreaming when woken up during REM sleep (80% of the time) than when they were woken up during Non-REM sleep (9% of the time). There was also a correlation between eye movement and dream content as someone who was having left to right eye movement dreamt of people throwing tomatoes.
Strengths and Weaknesses of Dement and Kleitman (1957)
Strength: Sleep lab could control variables so that participants were only woken up on purpose.
Strength: Participants weren’t told whether they were woken up during REM sleep or nREM sleep before recording their dreams.
Weakness: Study used a small sample size so it’s hard to generalise results.
Weakness: The artificial setting could have affected the content of dreams.
Explain conscious, preconscious and unconscious processes of the mind
Conscious mind: Consists of thoughts we are aware of.
Preconscious: Consists of thoughts that we are able to easily bring into the conscious mind.
Unconscious: Mental processes that we are unaware of that influence our thoughts and behaviour.
Explain the ego, superego and the id
The id: The unconscious mind, focuses on pleasure and gratification and doesn’t understand rules or consequences.
The ego: The conscious mind, mediates between the id’s desires and the superego’s morality
The superego: Is aware of society’s rules and knows whats morally right and wrong.
Explain the manifest and latent content of dreams
Manifest content: What appears in the dream, the story of the dream
Latent content: The hidden meaning behind the dream
Aim of Little Hans (1909)
To provide evidence for Freud’s oedipus complex
Method of Little Hans (1909)
Freud’s study was a case study. He exchanged letters with the father of Hans which talked about his son’s behaviour instead of studying him in person.
Results of Little Hans (1909)
Hans had three dreams,
1: He married his mother which Freud took to mean that Hans had romantic feelings for his mother
2: A crumpled giraffe was crushed by another giraffe which Freud thought represented Hans’ fear of his father.
3: A plumber came to his house and removed Hans’ penis and replaced it with a larger one which Freud believed represented Hans’ desire to be a grown man.
Strengths and Weaknesses of Little Hans (1909)
Strength: Due to this being a case study Freud could collect detailed notes abouts Hans over a period of time
Weakness: The results of one person cannot be generalised to everyone else.
Weakness: Freud used Hans’ issues as evidence for his oedipus complex but it is possible that he and the father changed the evidence to fit his theory.
Weakness: When he was older Hans had no recollection of any of this
