FREUD’S
INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS
Activity
Discussion Questions
1. Discuss how our dreams tell us about ourselves. Why did Freud believe that
studying dreams was important?
2. By the end of the 19th century, Freud and other scientists were beginning to
understand that behind all psychological function, there had to be a physical
origin – biological cause. Discuss contributions Freud’s work made to the
treatment of mental illness.
3. Discuss the continued importance of Freud’s book, The Interpretation of
Dreams. What makes this book “great?”
4. According to Freud, what is the purpose of dreams?
5. What does dream interpretation involve?
Freud meets Alice in Wonderland
After viewing the movie, Alice in Wonderland, please answer the following questions.
1. How would Freud have interpreted Alice’s dream of wonderland?
2. Citing supporting examples from both (Interpretation of Dreams and Alice in
Wonderland), how is a dream like a journey?
3. If Alice had been a patient of Freud’s what might he have told her?
Vocabulary
Ego – one of the three basic elements of personality in psychoanalytic theory. The ego
expresses the conscious, rational component that most directly controls our behavior.
The ego is our rational self.
Hysteria – a state of uncontrolled emotional excitement, panic, fear, or anger
Freud was seeing a number of young women who were suffering from what was then
called hysteria.
Id – one of the three basic elements of personality in psychoanalytic theory. The id is the
unconscious self primarily responsible for the fulfillment of pleasure.
This animal self which contains the core of the psyche, Freud called the Id.
Psyche – in psychology, the mind and sense of self.
These unconscious desires do not rest quietly in the human psyche.
Psychoanalysis – the method of investigating mental processes, based on the relationship
between the conscious and unconscious self.
Psychoanalysis in Freud’s hands opened up that question.
Repress – to prevent the natural, normal expression of feelings. In psychology, to
exclude from the conscious mind.
…learn how to repress as we grow up so as to get along in society.