| Theory | Explanation | Critical Considerations |
|---|
| Freud’s wish-fulfillment | Dreams preserve sleep and provide a “psychic safety valve”—expressing otherwise unacceptable feelings; contain manifest (remembered) content and a deeper layer of latent content (a hidden meaning). | Lacks any scientific support; dreams may be interpreted in many different ways. |
| Information-processing | Dreams help us sort out the day’s events and consolidate our memories. | But why do we sometimes dream about things we have not experienced and about past events? |
| Physiological function | Regular brain stimulation from REM sleep may help develop and preserve neural pathways. | This does not explain why we experience meaningful dreams. |
| Neural activation | REM sleep triggers neural activity that evokes random visual memories, which our sleeping brain weaves into stories. | The individual’s brain is weaving the stories, which still tells us something about the dreamer. |
| Cognitive development | Dream content reflects dreamers’ level of cognitive development—their knowledge and understanding. Dreams simulate our lives, including worst-case scenarios. | Does not propose an adaptive function of dreams. |