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Dream

QN1) Outline and explain the similarities and difference among different theories of dreaming

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QN1) Outline and explain the similarities and difference among different theories of dreaming

Jung introduced the concept of the collective unconscious, as he felt that Freud’s formulation of the unconscious was apt when applied to the individual, but incomplete as it could not account for the consistency of certain dream themes and even specific symbols between individuals (Jung, 1981). Jung believed that the consistency of dreams between individuals was best explained by introducing a new level to the unconscious; a communal level where universally relevant archetypal symbols filter in disguised form into the conscious awareness of individuals through dreams. These archetypes are fundamental aspects of life which apply to all people, and as such are ingrained in some way in all cultures, but are expressed differently between cultures in their respective myths, legends and deities. For Jung, archetypal images include that of the mother, to give an idea of the sort of motifs supposedly inherent in the collective unconscious. Although Freud would later acknowledge the idea of a collective unconscious (Jung, 1936), he still did not attribute particular importance to it like Jung did, seeing it as more of an ‘appendix’ to the personal unconscious.

The collective unconscious was of paramount importance in Jung’s theory of dreams; he supposed that many dream images and themes could be interpreted as representing archetypes present in the collective unconscious (Jung, 1981). It is necessary here to delve a little further into Jung’s theory of the general human psyche to fully appreciate his perspective on dreams. Jung believed the ultimate goal of life was ‘individuation’ (Jung, 1923), which refers to the unification of personality, and an acknowledgment of all unconscious impulses. This integration of the unconscious with consciousness can only occur with the two still operating in relative autonomy but with the conscious mind achieving a degree of acceptance of the unconscious; both the collective and personal unconscious that is. Until individuation can be achieved, the individual must continue to attempt to differentiate themselves from the collective consciousness through the establishment of an individual persona. The persona is shaped through the processes of socialization and individual experience and therefore the persona an individual choses to project may not truly reflect how they are feeling or thinking. Jung argued this persona is also shaped by the collective unconsciousness, and this struggle for individuation against the archetypes, and the strain felt by wearing the persona like a ‘mask’ is expressed in dreams (Jung, 1923).

The idea of integrating opposites features heavily in Jung’s theories, and he believed that dreams could be expressions of this internal struggle, which is a perspective shared by Freud. However, it is clear that there is disagreement on the origins of the internal struggles; for Freud they arise only from the pressure of individual desires which are deemed as unacceptable by the conscious mind, whereas Jung saw in dreams the process of socialisation via exposure to the collective unconscious and the archetypes, while at the same time the ego struggles against such influence for the possibility of individuation.

It can be gleamed from this description of the theories of Jung compared to those of Freud that Jung’s had more of a spiritual aspect to them. The idea of a collective unconscious inhabited by concepts that are familiar to all people does have an air of transcendence compared to the personal unconscious, which is concerned only with the unbearable thoughts of the one individual concerned. The objectivist worldview of Freud can be clearly contrasted here with that of Jung who did not discount spiritual perspectives, but saw in them analogies, representations and affirmations of his own concepts, albeit expressed with some artistic licence and cultural influence. The goal of individuation, Jung thought, was at the mystical heart of all religions, whereas the collective unconscious gave rise to all manner of representations in religious texts.

This brings us to another way in which the theories differ. Freud conceptualised the unconscious as being overwhelmingly focused on negative emotions and thoughts concerning the ego. The complex for Freud was always a malevolent phenomenon. Jung did not believe this necessarily had to be the case, and stipulated that the unconscious could contain desires, thoughts and feelings of any emotional valence. Jung believed that the contents of the personal unconscious could have been repressed from consciousness for any number of reasons, which differs drastically from the opinion of Freud who believed that this was only possible through the activation of the defence mechanisms he conceived of. Indeed, Jung saw many of the archetypes as benign abstractions (Jung, 1981) shared by all cultures which are universally effective in shaping the socialisation of all members of a society. Jung’s theory then has greater scope, in encapsulating the macro-level influences which affect all people as well as individual tendencies expressed in dreams; Freud focused to heavily perhaps on the individual and their immediate relations.

Both Freud and Jung believed that unconscious underlying emotions for certain concepts drive external behaviour, the primary disagreement is over the placement of these emotional drives. Jung proposed that images filter up from the collective unconscious and are given individualised guises appropriate to each individual (but they nonetheless represent the same archetype). Feelings regarding this archetype arise from personal experience and inherent inclinations. These feelings are then expressed in the personal unconscious through dreams and take on personal significance in the conscious mind. In Freud’s theory, the process of unconscious expression takes place solely in the personal unconscious and is concerned with emotions, thoughts and desires surrounding personal relationships and experience (Williams, 1963).

Both of these psychodynamic theorists saw dreams as a key diagnostic tool in psychotherapy. However, there was some divergence in interpretative technique; primarily that Jung did not believe that the meaning of one dream symbol could be transferred effectively between people. To reuse the earlier example, to dream of the Eiffel tower could be interpreted completely differently depending on who dreamed it, their personal circumstances and the dream context. The dream image of the Eiffel tower for Jung does not inherently mean anything in and of itself. Although both methods of interpretation have resulted in the lessening of neurotic symptoms for some patients (Freud, 1954; Jung, 1936) the fact that these theories are essentially speculative cannot be overlooked lightly. Both Freud and Jung attached paramount significance to dreams in the functioning of the human mind, reading great meaning into sometimes seemingly arbitrary dream images, but the fact that these theories cannot be empirically tested and rely on mainly neurotic patients for the acquisition of evidence is a serious criticism of both theories.

The purpose of dreams is another area in which these theories put forward different views. Both theorists agree that the unconscious is expressed in dreams, but Jung adds that socialization occurs through exposure to the collective unconscious, and individuation is sought through the establishment of an appropriate place for the ego in relation to the archetypes (Jung, 1936). Therefore, dreaming is a process of growth for Jung, whereas Freud saw dreams as expressive and in need of interpretation for them to really be of use to the dreamer. A common theme in both theories though when it comes to the purpose of dreams is compensation. In psychoanalytic theory, it is assumed that dreams can arise to compensate for a conscious attitude thus balancing the position of the ego, this perspective is shared by both Jung and Freud. In a compensatory dream, the dreamer may be expressing a contrary attitude to one consciously held, although this would occur in disguised form as the manifest content in the dream. This assumption would factor into the psychoanalytic strategy employed by both theorists, where they would most notably differ would be in their interpretation of the meaning of certain symbols; whether they represent archetypes (as in Jung’s theory) or are analogous to personal relationships with people or objects in conscious life (as in Freud’s theory).

To conclude, there initially appears to be many more similarities than differences between the theories of Freud and Jung regarding dreams. Both postulate the existence of an unconscious which expresses itself with symbolic images through dreams for the purpose of compensation; both see the interpretation of the unconscious expression as potentially beneficial, and the pathology of neuroses is seen to have a causal influence in the unconscious desire. Despite these fundamental similarities there is also much divergence. Most of the theoretical difference is created by the proposition of the collective unconscious by Jung. This introduces a spiritual element, and an additional purpose of dreaming, which involves communing with archetypal forms to establish personal identity, and maintain a properly socialised persona. This is mostly incompatible with Freudian theory, which takes a more objective view and focuses on patterns of unconscious expression within the personal unconscious between individuals, seeking to establish a universal method of dream interpretation, something Jungian theory would deem impossible

QN2)  Do you think that we should give intelligence tests? Why or why not? Does it matter to you whether or not the tests. Have been standardized and shown to be reliable and valid?    (10marks)

Yes. The test can help diagnose intellectual disabilities or measure someone’s intellectual potential. Yes the test matters a lot. A test being reliable does not automatically equate to a test’s validity. Psychologist Wayne Weiten states, “IQ tests are valid measures of the kind of intelligence necessary to do well in academic work. But if the purpose is to assess intelligence in a broader sense, the validity of IQ tests is questionable.” Albert Einstein a great scientist had a intelligence test and the outcome of the test proved that he was quite very intelligent .Apparently due to the outcome many scientific studies and discoveries were made by him. It indicated clearly that his IQ was superb and made a change in the science world. Therefore, intelligence tests are very important in understanding people’s capabilities and it becomes very helpful for the present as well as the future.

 

 

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