AP Psychology

Dream Interpretation Activity: Name___________________________________________ Pd._______

Directions: Use the dream interpretation sites to analyze your dream. http://dreambible.com/
You may also use other sites to help with the interpretation such as Dream Analyzer.

1. Briefly describe the manifest content of your dream. (Or you may attach your pre-written, summarized
dream to this handout)

I was in my bed watching youtube, when all of a sudden I saw eight men in orange prision suits that
broke the windows in my room and started to chase after me. I ran upstairs and climbed out the
window of my bathroom to try and escape. I ran as fast as I could and had no idea where I was going.
Somehow I ended up in a McDonalds and hid inside the McDonalds playground. The prisoners caught up
with me and spotted me through the glass windows of the McDonalds. They started getting out guns to
shoot me and then I woke up.

2. Describe the latent content (underlying and censored) of your dream. To do this you will need to look
up the symbols, actions, activities, and people that occurred in your dream. Use one of the sites
provided on our website or at the top of this document.

prison is represented by the feeling of being constricted, or feeling trapped in a situation you can't
get out of.
Guns represented by a bad sitiuation that you fear you could get into.

3. How accurate was the interpretation of the symbols in your dream? Explain.

The part about guns was accurate because one of my biggest fears is getting shot, but the prison
part doesn't make sense. I think I had this dream because when I was yonger I would always be so
afraid to walk home by myslef because I didn't want to get kidnnaped so I think that is why thoes
eight guys were chasing me.
 4. Many theorists have developed ideas to explain our dreams. Which dream theory or theories do you feel
there is the strongest evidence for and why? You are responsible for knowing and being able to discern
between the following theories.

a. Freud’s Wish Fulfillment

b. Information-processing
c. Physiological function
d. Activation-Synthesis
e. Cognitive Development

I think that activation-synethesis and physiological function explains our dreams because in my previous
dreams they have all been about something that has occurred in my life but they are twisted into make-
believe events. For example in the dream I discussed above I was never chased by prisoners, however that
same day I saw on the news this girl got kidnapped, so the dream did tie into my life. The events in my
dreams sometimes do send a message. One time I had a dream that I forgot to do all my homework and I
went to school and the teacher screamed at me. This could have been my self-conscious telling me that I
was overworked with homework and I needed to take a break.

5.) What is lucid dreaming?

It is when the dreamer is aware that they are sleeping /dreaming and they have some control over what they do
in their dreams.