Nov 17, 2025

PSY 101      Class 36 Variations in Consciousness II: Dreams and Hypnosis (Outline)

C. Sleeping (cont'd)

Why do we sleep? We don't know, but....      [Not in book]

1. Energy Conservation & Body Healing ???

2. Memory Consolidation !!!!

3. Toxic Waste Removal (Recent)

• Glymphatic system

Additional Comments

• Rats die in 2-3 weeks if totally deprived of sleep
• "Fatal Familial Insomnia"
  

D. Dreams

The Phenomenon of Dreaming

• REM vs. Non-REM
• Bizarre?
• Children
• Cultural differences: West vs. East

Content of Dreams (Domhoff, 2001)

Calvin Hall:

• Few changes over 20th century
• Repetition Principle
• Stable cross-cultural similarities & differences
  • Males, Females
• Continuity Principle

Explanations: Why Do We Dream? There are multiple theories....none of which most psychologists agree on...

Freud	Cartwright	Revonsuo	Hobson	Domhoff

Wish Fulfillment (Sigmund Freud)

Problem-Solving and Emotional Regulation (Rosalind Cartwright, d. 2021)

• Creative thinking applied to problems, especially negative emotional experiences
  

Threat Simulation (Atti Revonsuo & evolutionary psychologists)

• Rehearsing how to cope with threats in the real world
  

Activation-Synthesis (early, J. Allan Hobson, d, 2021)

Protoconsciousness Theory (more recent, J. Allan Hobson, d. 2021)

• Dreams involve multiple brain circuits and networks and rest upon a kind of basic grounding for consciousness that becomes more and more elaborate as we develop from infancy and young childhood.

• REM dreams offer a kind of "virtual reality model of the world" upon which we develop a more realistic understanding when we are awake.
  

Neurocognitive Theory (G. William Domhoff)

• An underlying major brain network discovered only in 2001, the "Default Mode Network," is active during dreaming and turns our daily experiences into stories. This is the part of our brain that is also active when we are "daydreaming" or thinking about the future.
  

• But, there is no overall "adaptive value" to dreams even if they are meaningful and, as a whole, generally reflect our underlying personalities.
  

E. Hypnosis

Franz Anton Mesmer & Mesmerism Franz Mesmer (Vienna, student in Jesuit College)    "animal magnetism" = invisible natural force inside all living creatures      the power of suggestion (also called "the placebo effect").   James Braid coined the term hypnotism to identify the trance-like state induced in subjects by later followers of Mesmer, the "mesmerists".

(Fr. Hell)   (Mesmer)     (Braid)

What is hypnosis?

Textbook's definition of hypnosis: a systematic procedure that typically produces a heightened state of suggestibility

• Different levels of suggestibility: 10-20% don't respond; 15% respond very well
  

Hypnosis is defined by the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis as "a state of inner absorption, concentration and focused attention."

• Anesthesia (pain relief)
• Sensory distortion & hallucinations
• Disinhibition (see below Myth #1)
• Posthypnotic Suggestion & Amnesia (see below Myth #2)

Myths

• Myth #1: Fear that hypnosis will cause a loss of control or a surrender of will to the hypnotist
• Myth #2: Fear that hypnosis will cause a loss of memory or amnesia for what happened during hypnosis. This is true for only a small percentage of subjects and, usually, only if suggested by hypnotist.

What explains hypnosis?

Two rival theories continue to dominate the debate

Role Playing (Nick Spanos, Ted Sarbin) = minority view

Altered State of Consciousness (Ernest "Jack" Hilgard, Martin Orne) = majority view

 

This page was originally posted on 11/14/03