An Introduction to the Psychology of Dreaming, second revised edition (2017)
By Kelly Bulkeley, Ph.D.
Description
This book is an introduction to the major psychological theories about dreams and dreaming. It offers a history of how these theories have developed from 1900 to the present, along with an extensive bibliography of key books and articles on modern dream research. The theories are presented in chronological order, to give readers a sense of how each new approach depends (in complex and varying ways) on those approaches that preceded it. The psychoanalytic work of Sigmund Freud is described first, followed by chapters on the archetypal theory of Carl G. Jung, the clinical practices of people like Alfred Adler and Medard Boss, the psycho-physiological studies of dreaming in the sleep laboratory, experimental studies of dream content, and “pop psychology” efforts to educate the broader public about dream research.
The book helps readers make sense of all these different areas by focusing on three basic questions: How are dreams formed? What functions do they serve? How can they be interpreted? Each chapter looks at how the leading dream psychologists of the 20th and 21st centuries answer these questions. The distinct identity of each theory is clearly illustrated by its responses to the questions of dream formation, function, and interpretation. By carefully examining the answers given by modern psychologists who have studied dreams from a wide variety of perspectives, readers will be in a good position to evaluate the field as a whole—and then to formulate their own answers.
Table of Contents
Preface to the second edition
1. Three Basic Questions about Dreaming: Formation, Function, Interpretation
2. Sigmund Freud Discovers “The Secret of Dreams”
3. C.G. Jung Descends into the Collective Unconscious
4. Alternative Clinical Theories about Dreams
5. Sleep Laboratories, REM Sleep, and Dreaming
6. Experimental Psychology and Dreaming
7. Popular Psychology: Bringing Dreams to the Masses
8. Modern Psychology’s Answers to the Three Basic Questions About Dreaming
Bibliography
Index
Blurbs and Reviews
“Probably the best introduction to the psychology of dreaming to date. The author summarizes with remarkable clarity the various approaches to this topic…. Even though this text is intended as an introduction to the topic, it provides a sufficiently in-depth approach to satisfy the needs of the busy practitioner.”
—Rama Coomaraswamy, American Journal of Psychotherapy
“A superb introduction. It is remarkably comprehensive and comprehensible….[It] covers all of the important landmarks in the area of dreams [in an] understandable fashion. It would be a magnificent book for a course on dreaming. One of the truly amazing characteristics of the book is the author’s capacity to present the widely diverse material in such an even-handed fashion.”
— Wilse B. Webb, Professor Emiritus of Psychology, University of Florida
“This is an easy-to-read, elegant, and well-organized text on an important but often neglected topic. Kelly Bulkeley has written a dream of an introduction to dreaming!”
— Ernest Hartmann, Professor of Psychology, Tufts University School of Medicine
“This book by Kelly Bulkeley lives up to the readers’ expectations. The author has condensed his profound knowledge about dreaming in an easily readable introduction.”
— Michael Schredl, Dreaming
