The Psychology of Dreams

Our dreams fascinate us as individuals and as a society. What do surveys report people dream about? How about the dreams of the blind? The mentally ill? What does research show about the possibility of dream telepathy? How did the ancient people view dreams? This wide-ranging book also discusses such topics as REM studies, the effects of experimental stimulation on dream content, research on dreams and creativity, symbolism, and nightmares. The book explores a number of techniques used to analyze dreams, illustrating these approaches with dream examples and case studies.

Psychologist Paul R. Robbins practiced psychotherapy in Silver Spring, Maryland for many years. He has had a long career as a researcher, publishing numerous scientific papers in psychological and psychiatric journals and is the author of 17 books, among them the Choice Outstanding Academic Title Romantic Relationships.

by Paul R. Robbins

Format: softcover (6×9)
Pages: 184
Bibliographic Info: photos, tables, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2005 [1988]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-2441-2
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1055-9
Imprint: McFarland

Introduction      ix

I. The Nature of Dreams      1

1. A Look at Dreams in the Ancient World and Primitive Cultures      3
2. Some Modern Theories of Dreaming      14
3. The Scientific Study of Dreaming      22
4. The Manifest Content of Dreams      33
5. The Stimulus and the Dream      42
6. Dream Recall      52
7. Dreams and Mental Illness      60
8. Symbolism      67
9. Dreams and Creativity      73
10. Nightmares      80
11. Telepathic and Paranormal Dreams      90

II. The Analysis of Dreams      99

12. The Many Faces of Dreams      101
13. Drawing, Visualizing, and Dramatizing Dreams      105
14. Dream Association      121
15. The Dream Incident Technique      128
16. Using Dreams in Your Life      142

Notes      147
Bibliography      161
Index      169

“Highly recommended”—Journal of the Society for Psychical Research

“A good introduction”—SciTech Book News