Meanwhile psychologists struggle to understand what dreams mean, the rest of the people seem to have solved the mystery: they are convinced that dreams contain essential truths. But ... why do people of such different cultures accept the psychoanalytic theories of Freud in relation to dreams? Can a dream determine our decisions and behaviors?
Researchers ofHarvard University and Carnegie Mellon interviewed a total of 1100 people in the United States, India and South Korea to find out what the interpretation they gave to their dreams and thus analyze whether they affected their decisions. The people interviewed believed that dreams reveal hidden truths about themselves and the world around them are considered as a form of insight. On the other hand, respondents acknowledged that they did not take an official warning about the possible danger of boarding a plane as seriously as if they had instead dreamed of an air catastrophe. In the latter case, 100% of people would not take the plane in question. As a curious fact, I add that: dreaming of an air catastrophe produces the same anxiety as if it really happened. In short, people have a tendency to regard dreams as a more credible source of information than conscious thought. Eventually the researchers asked whether all dreams were equally meaningful. Results? Interviewees placed more importance on pleasant dreams when people they valued were involved; however, unpleasant dreams and dreams with people they did not esteem took on greater significance. What happens with unrealizable or bizarre dreams? It seems that people also attribute meaning to these even if they understand that they can never literally be fulfilled, their desire to make sense of them leads them to find meaning where there is none.In other words, we attribute meanings to our dreams by following our beliefs and our wishes. So we create self-fulfilling prophecies by following the Thomas theorem: “Think that a fact is certain and will be real in its consequences”. A few last words to reassure: dreams represent our daytime fears, worries and beliefs; on a few occasions they represent warnings for the future. In addition, there are studies that ensure that people have nightmares mostly when they are under stress. Let's remember these details next time we try to give meaning to dream images.
