Prof. shares insight on dream analysis

By Tara Sharma

For the Daily

As life becomes more complicated, dream analysis can offer helpful understanding as to what is going on inside someone's head.

"While people are interested in dreams, very few know what their dreams mean," Pyschology emeritus Prof. Howard Wolowitz told students last night at a lecture about dreams at Angell Hall.

Wolowitz, who teaches at the University and teaches classes on the psychoanalysis of dreams, began the lecture by delving into his own interest in the study of dreams.

"I never succumbed to pressures to do what other people were doing," Wolowitz said.

He said his interest in dreams was sparked by a book by Sigmund Freud on the psychoanalysis of dreams that he read during his undergraduate career, adding that he hoped those in the audience can discover Freud's genius.

"People are always excited about people interpreting their dreams," said LSA junior Elenora Priest, chairwoman of the committee that organized the lecture, which was sponsored by the LSA Student Government as part of the Distinguished Faculty Lecture Series.

Wolowitz said his relationship with his father was relevant to his interest in the study of dreams, as many of his dreams eluded to his father - something he realized later in life.

Wolowitz stressed the importance of keeping a dream journal, adding that it is easier to understand their complexities when kept track of.

Also, when the meanings of dreams are comprehended, the complexities of the mind and of life are better understood, he said.

Like a poem, the structure of a dream is integral to its meaning, Wolowitz said.

The dream does not necessarily mean much itself, but its latent content does means something, he said. "There's more to the surface than what meets the eye," he said.

Wolowitz explained Freud's basis for the interpretation of dreams. Freud's Conflict Model is a model of dreams and identifies the common elements of all dreams, based on the idea that "we harbor morally reprehensible issues which manifest in our dreams," Wolowitz said.

After intensely studying one of his patient's dreams, Wolowitz created his Dream Algorithm, which defines the different stages of dreams. "I had to find convincing evidence," said Wolowitz, who was unconvinced by some psychologists' statements without support of their findings.

Wolowitz ended the lecture by encouraging the study of dreams. "There is room for research," he said, such as on the difference in the dreams of men and women.

Wolowitz inspired the audience to delve deeper into their dreams. "You can to some degree become you own therapist by learning to read your dreams," Wolowitz said.

Engineering freshman Courtney Liddle said she found the lecture very interesting and would try some of the professor's suggestions.

"I'm thinking about beginning a dream journal," she said. "I'm intrigued by the complexity of my dreams and what they might mean.

PETER CORNUE/Daily

Psychology emeritus Prof. Howard Wolowitz lectures on the meaning of dreams in Angell Hall Auditorium B last night.