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which must be always kept in mind:
1. The dream is a creation of the dreamer's own mind and tells him how he sees himself, others, the world, his impulses, etc. It is a picture of how things appear to us. 2. The dreamer is responsible for everything that appears in his dream. 3. The dreamer usually has more than one conception of himself, others, the world, and his impulses. These multiple conceptions will appear in his dreams. They tell him how he sees something at a particular point of time in his life. 4. Hall advises that dreams be read in a series rather than in isolation—to see how the thoughts of a person are tied together. Here is an example of a dream and its interpretation: One lady dreamed of a man running down a street dressed in chain mail. He bumped into her, knocked her down, and bruised her slightly. He continued running as though nothing had happened. The client was furious with him for his roughness and disregard for her and decided to feign much greater injury than she had actually received, in order to get compensation for which he would have to pay. Interpretation: The lady reported that in real life her husband had just informed her that he was having a love affair with another woman, whom he wanted to marry. The lady was terribly upset, particularly with her husband's apparent unconcern for her welfare. She quickly identified the dream figure as her husband, and expressed surprise that she had ever thought of him as a "chained male." She was also horrified to learn that she was more angry than hurt at his behavior and fully intended to make him pay for it. Now feel free to look over the accompanying script if you feel the need to clarify any of the information presented. After you review the material, we would like you to tell your dream into the microphone. Go into as much detail as you wish. After you tell your dream, try to relate the Hall information to it. In other words, attempt a brief analysis using the Hall model. For example, Hall feels that the dream reflects how the dreamer sees himself. If, in your dream, you are very aggressive, and if you identify with this quality in your present life space, tell this into the microphone. You need not cover all aspects of your dream. Go into as much or as little detail as you wish. Your dream and analysis will be erased at the end of this experiment. Thank you for your participation. After Hall's position was presented, the participant was told to feel free to stop the recorder if he felt the need to clarify any of the information presented. He was then directed to tell his dream into the microphone and to attempt a brief analysis using Hall's model. At this point, the experimenter left the room. Control Group: Participants in this group were instructed to simply tell their dream into the microphone, not attempting to offer any analysis or associations to the dream. Finally, in all three groups, when the participant signaled that he had finished the dreamwork, the experimenter returned to the room. The participant was then given a questionnaire to fill out that concerned his reactions to the dreamwork exercise. There were ten questions, each requiring a rating on a 1-5 point scale, concerning the dreamwork experience: 1. How pleasant was the dream you brought to the experiment? 76
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