Biology:Emotional selection (dreaming)
Emotional selection is a psychological theory of dreaming that describes dreams as modifiers and tests of mental schemas that improve their fitness to meet waking human needs. It was introduced in 2008[1] and extended in 2010.[2] According to emotional selection, during non-REM sleep, the mind processes dreams with content intended to improve the adaptability of mental schemas. For example, individuals struggling with self-perceptions of incompetence may process dreams in which they successfully navigate complex situations, those who struggle to meet belongingness needs may have dreams of entering a partner relationship, and so forth.[3] The theme of the non-REM dream is tentatively accommodated by mental schemas. Because schemas coexist as a network,[4] accommodations can introduce accidental, maladaptive conflicts[5] and therefore are ideally tested prior to full integration. Therefore, during subsequent REM sleep, a second set of dreams is executed in the form of test scenarios. If schema accommodations alleviate anxiety, frustration, sadness, or in other ways appear emotionally adaptive during REM dream tests, they are selected for retention. Those accommodations that compare negatively to existing, unchanged schemas are abandoned or further modified and tested.
REM dreams are often described in the academic literature as having bizarre themes.[6] This description fits neatly in emotional selection. During the development of complex systems, engineers often test with rigorous, outwardly bizarre scenarios, such as intentionally crashing expensive automobiles, dropping functioning electronics onto hard surfaces, or vibrating scale models of buildings on shake tables.[7] Such extreme, costly tests assure that designs meet specifications. The themes of REM dreams are often likewise extreme and bizarre, such as being chase down an alley by a monster, finding oneself naked in the presence of a crowd of people, or realizing that one's teeth or hair are falling out. When such themes are reviewed as tests of the ability of mental schemas to cope with extreme stress, they appear rational.
According to emotional selection, pleasant dreams, such as having sex, finding riches, or suddenly being able to fly, are tests that evaluate a person's ability to cope with happiness. This concept of coping with happiness may seem like an oxymoron. However, the challenges of coping with happiness and success are often poignantly depicted by people with self-destructive behaviors, such as substance abuse.[8] Success thrust upon those with a poor self-image can cause such people to reject the notion that they are worthy of good fortune, which is why related schemas must be modified and tested with dreams.
The schemas targeted by emotional selection are those essential for meeting human needs, such as those define by Abraham Maslow and Henry Murray. Consequently, emotional selection theory agrees with evolutionary forces by describing a role for dreams as adaptively enhancing mental schemas.
References
- ↑ Coutts, Richard (2008). "Dreams as modifiers and tests of mental schemas: an emotional selection hypothesis". Psychological Reports 102 (2): 561–74. doi:10.2466/pr0.102.2.561-574. PMID 18567225.
- ↑ Coutts, Richard (2010). "A Pilot Study for the Analysis of Dream Reports Using Maslow's Need Categories: An Extension to the Emotional Selection Hypothesis". Psychological Reports 107 (2): 659–73. doi:10.2466/09.PR0.107.5.659-673. PMID 21117494.
- ↑ Coutts, Richard (2015). "Variation in the Frequency of Relationship Characters in the Dream Reports of Singles: A Survey of 15,657 Visitors to an Online Dating Website". Comprehensive Psychology 4: 09.CP.4.22. doi:10.2466/09.CP.4.22.
- ↑ Arbib, M.A.; Hesse, M.B. (1986). The construction of reality. Cambridge University Press.
- ↑ Piaget, J. (1975). The equilibration of cognitive structures: the central problem of intellectual development. University of Chicago Press.
- ↑ Revonsuo, A.; Salmivalli, C. (1995). "A content analysis of bizarre elements in dreams". Dreaming 5 (3): 169–187. doi:10.1037/h0094433.
- ↑ Adams, J. L. (1991). Flying buttresses, entropy, and o-rings: the world of an engineer. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674306899.
- ↑ Beck, Aaron (1995). Cognitive therapy: the basics and beyond. The Guilford Press. ISBN 978-1609185046.
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