Final answer:
Unlike Freud's psychoanalytic perspective or the random neural activity interpretation of activation-synthesis theory, Gestalt therapy sees dreams as meaningful reflections of self and uses proactive analysis to uncover emotional insights and behaviors for therapeutic purposes. The correct option is C.
Step-by-step explanation:
Perl's Gestalt approach to dreams suggests that dreams contain hidden messages and insights, meaning the correct answer is C) Dreams contain hidden messages and insights. Gestalt psychology is an approach that looks at the human mind and behavior as a whole.
The theory posits that when trying to make sense of the world, humans naturally organize the information into an ordered whole, rather than just the sum of its parts. This belief aligns with the idea that dreams are significant and meaningful, unlike the views that they are without psychological significance or purely chaotic.
Within Gestalt therapy, dreams are viewed as projections of parts of the self that have been ignored, rejected, or suppressed, and as opportunities to integrate these aspects into a more cohesive self-understanding.
Dream analysis within Gestalt therapy is an interactive process. The dreamer recounts the dream as if it were happening in the present and plays various roles within the dream.
This active engagement hopes to illuminate patterns of behavior in the dreamer's life and provide insight into their emotional state and underlying thoughts, which can be used therapeutically to work through personal issues.
Comparatively, Freud's psychoanalytic approach digs into the manifest content and latent content of dreams, suggesting that dreams provide insight into our unconscious mind. However, this approach has faced criticisms for being too speculative and lacking in empirical support.
Other theories, like Carl Jung's, focus on the collective unconscious, and Rosalind Cartwright's research reflects a more empirical approach, correlating dreams with life events. Conversely, the activation-synthesis theory postulates that dreams are the brain's attempt to interpret random neural activity. The correct option is C.