Developmental Psychology

“I Dreamed A Dream” We all dream, it is inevitable. You dream about people, places, homework, daily doings, and even things you don’t even recognize as being a part of our life. People may often question the significance of dreaming or why humans do it, but it is an essential part for our brain function as you sleep and live day to day. It allows for our minds to process the input it receives. There have been ample researchers who have studied the brain and its relationship with dreaming. Most people are aware of the influence hormones have on the behavior of a person. However, such hormones have also been linked to the dream process and their content. My goal through this research paper is to identify several hormones, naturally secreted
Cortisol is known to increase with age because of its role as a stress response hormone. Stress increases as age increases, therefore the connection between cortisol and dream interruption is also a part of developmental psychology because it is a change that occurs throughout a lifespan. These findings are also relatable to a cognitive psychological perspective since the studies investigate the mental process of dreams and how the brain sorts through new information and past information; simply stated: it is cognitive psychology because it is the brain working as one sleeps. These articles go into depth about the process of dreaming and how it is affect negatively by cortisol. Payne and Nadel also demonstrate social psychology, which is how our behavior is affected by others, in their review. Cortisol can be released by the body as a response to the stress brought about by others meaning that the behavior produced in our dreams is a result of our interactions with those around us. It would not be necessary to cut off contact with the world to decrease stress levels and attempt to control amounts of cortisol secreted by the body, but it can help people understand their own dream process through
Dreaming can be fun as it pertains to enjoyable events, like reliving a date or time with a loved one, or it can be terrifying as through nightmares, where our worst fears seem real. I have experienced both ends of the dream content spectrum as I have dreamt about a cute guy or even about death. Looking back at the findings in these articles, I am better able to understand the context in which these dreams happened and rationalize the occurrence I experienced. As a female, this research brings to light the even greater differences that are seen by scientist between men and women. We already have different physical features and behaviors which are linked to the dreams we experience. These physical features and behaviors are typically tied with hormones like testosterone, progesterone, and cortisol, the same hormones that affect dream processing, content, and vividness. With ovulation, the findings of increased maternal dreams in a sleeping pattern can also help women understand the reasoning behind why they are experiencing more dreams about being a