AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -The main idea behind activation-synthesis theory is that dreams are just the brain’s efforts to make sense out of meaningless patterns of firing in the brain as we sleep. Certain circuits in the brain become activated during REM sleep.

Detailed explanation-2: -The Activation-Synthesis Theory, also called the neural activation theory, is a neurobiological approach to explain why humans have dreams. It states that a dream is the cerebral cortex processing nerve impulses being sent from the body to the brain stem into something that makes sense.

Detailed explanation-3: -There are three major theories: the psychodynamic theory of dreaming, the physiological theory of dreaming, and the cognitive theory.

Detailed explanation-4: -This section discusses the main assumptions, hypotheses, and findings with regard to four other contemporary theories of dreaming-Freudian theory, activation-synthesis theory, memory-consolidation theory, and threat-simulation theory.

Detailed explanation-5: -The theory of dreaming most generally accepted, which offers an explanation of dreaming based on the physiology of REM sleep, is Hobson and McCarly’s (1977) activation-synthesis hypothesis. According to this hypothesis, dreams are the result of the forebrain responding to random activity initiated at the brainstem.