Theories that attempt to explain sleep and dreaming
Theories that attempt to explain sleep and dreaming
Compare and contrast two theories that attempt to explain sleep and dreaming. Make sure you know what it means to compare and contrast two theories NOTE – your essay MUST be psychological and based on recent (within the past five years) psychological journals and articles.
Preparation:
Scan relevant journals and use library database searches to locate at
least ten (10) recent journal articles which you cite in your
assignment.
Presentation: The literature review must be presented in APA style. This is the standard
professional presentation format for psychologists worldwide. Include a
reference list in APA format. Any manuscripts not presented in this
format will be penalised.
2. Nature and evolution of sleep
•Behavioural
characteristics of sleep:
–Minimal movement
–Stereotyped posture
–Require a high degree of stimulation to arouse organism
•Duration of sleep needed varies amongst species.
Functions of sleep
•Behavioural
characteristics of sleep:
–Minimal movement
–Stereotyped posture
–Require a high degree of stimulation to arouse organism
•Duration of sleep needed varies amongst species.
Dreaming
•Psychodynamic
view: Dreams represent a window into the unconscious where latent content (meaning) can be inferred from manifest content (the actual dream).
•Cognitive
view: Dreams are constructed from the daily issues of the dreamer.
•Biological
view: Dreams represent the attempt of the cortex to interpret the random neural firing of the brain during sleep or the consolidation of newly learnt material.
