<p>Let's first dispel this myth: "all the things that could happen in a dream are made up by us, and should be utterly predictable".  This is a common fallacy known as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Introspection_illusion" rel="nofollow noreferrer">introspection illusion</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The introspection illusion is a cognitive bias in which people wrongly
  think they have direct insight into the origins of their mental
  states. ... In certain situations, this illusion leads people to make
  confident but false explanations of their own behavior (called "causal
  theories") or inaccurate predictions of their future mental states.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>This is a common notion in psychology research.  So the more interesting question is not why are we surprised by our dreams, so much as why are we not surprised by our non-dreams.  But I digress.</p>

<p>Dream imagery is often <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_consolidation#Sleep_consolidation" rel="nofollow noreferrer">generated partly from long-term memory</a> rather than external stimuli.  Unlike normal perception, which is continuous and generally sensical, dream imagery is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream#Evolutionary_psychology_theories_of_dreams" rel="nofollow noreferrer">disjointed and not sensical</a>.  Interestingly however, subjects of dream research report only realizing the bizarre nature of their dreams <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream#Neurobiology" rel="nofollow noreferrer">after they wake</a> - they are not "surprised" by the imagery during the dream:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>During most dreams, the person dreaming is not aware that they are
  dreaming, no matter how absurd or eccentric the dream is. The reason
  for this may be that the prefrontal cortex, the region of the brain
  responsible for logic and planning, exhibits decreased activity during
  dreams.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-14T08:51:22.543Z
2017-03-05T21:35:18.077Z
2017-03-05T21:35:18.077Z
Arnon Weinberg
<p>Although both daydreaming and dreaming are created by our own mind, they happen in different mental states. Daydreaming happens in wakefulness, there is still some awareness involved, it's one actively imagine things; while dreaming occurs in sleep usually we are not aware of that we are dreaming unless in lucid dream (LaBerge, 1980). Hope this answers your question why daydream doesn't surprise us but dream does. </p>

<p>LaBerge, S. P. (1980). Lucid dreaming as a learnable skill: A case study. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 51(3f), 1039-1042.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-07T01:16:25.950Z
2014-12-07T01:16:25.950Z
Sophy
<p>If we all agree that dreams are created by our own minds, then how could some dreams surprise us, since, after all, all the things that could happen in a dream are made up by us, and should be utterly predictable and be of no surprise at all?  For example, if you are awake and doing some day dreaming, you would never be surprised by what you are imagining, right?</p>

<p>Then why some dreams are surprising, and kind of unpredictable?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-23T18:58:56.640Z
Conscious thoughts can be plenty surprising too.
Nick Stauner
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-10-11T03:13:46.233Z
I have managed to hide the answer to a puzzle on a dream, like someone doing something and I need to figure why he is doing it and for what purpose, and eventually I find a solution that totally fits. Some illogical thing is going here (unless the brain can isolate two things and process it separately), but then again, there are people with multiple personalities, so everything is possible.
ajax333221
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-07T04:53:39.143Z
If you exercise mindfulness while awake then daydreaming isn't going to surprise you. However, in general, both daydreaming as well as dreaming reflect your unconscious. Dreams therefore are not random, as their content reflects the unconscious. If you dream about something anxiety inducing, it is for a reason. However, you could also say that thoughts you have during the day, as well as while dreaming, are themselves just byproducts of the brain's processing, but despite this fact, the unconscious is a huge pool of things that are relevant, and are as significant as the conscious.
jiniyt
<dreams>
Why dreams can be surprising?
D.F.J.
# Why dreams can be surprising?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-08-23)

If we all agree that dreams are created by our own minds, then how could some dreams surprise us, since, after all, all the things that could happen in a dream are made up by us, and should be utterly predictable and be of no surprise at all? For example, if you are awake and doing some day dreaming, you would never be surprised by what you are imagining, right?

Then why some dreams are surprising, and kind of unpredictable?

**Tags:** dreams

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Conscious thoughts can be plenty surprising too.  
> **username_2**: I have managed to hide the answer to a puzzle on a dream, like someone doing something and I need to figure why he is doing it and for what purpose, and eventually I find a solution that totally fits. Some illogical thing is going here (unless the brain can isolate two things and process it separately), but then again, there are people with multiple personalities, so everything is possible.  
> **username_3**: If you exercise mindfulness while awake then daydreaming isn't going to surprise you. However, in general, both daydreaming as well as dreaming reflect your unconscious. Dreams therefore are not random, as their content reflects the unconscious. If you dream about something anxiety inducing, it is for a reason. However, you could also say that thoughts you have during the day, as well as while dreaming, are themselves just byproducts of the brain's processing, but despite this fact, the unconscious is a huge pool of things that are relevant, and are as significant as the conscious.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2014-12-14. Score: 8

Let's first dispel this myth: "all the things that could happen in a dream are made up by us, and should be utterly predictable". This is a common fallacy known as the [introspection illusion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Introspection_illusion):

> The introspection illusion is a cognitive bias in which people wrongly
> think they have direct insight into the origins of their mental
> states. ... In certain situations, this illusion leads people to make
> confident but false explanations of their own behavior (called "causal
> theories") or inaccurate predictions of their future mental states.

This is a common notion in psychology research. So the more interesting question is not why are we surprised by our dreams, so much as why are we not surprised by our non-dreams. But I digress.

Dream imagery is often [generated partly from long-term memory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_consolidation#Sleep_consolidation) rather than external stimuli. Unlike normal perception, which is continuous and generally sensical, dream imagery is [disjointed and not sensical](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream#Evolutionary_psychology_theories_of_dreams). Interestingly however, subjects of dream research report only realizing the bizarre nature of their dreams [after they wake](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream#Neurobiology) - they are not "surprised" by the imagery during the dream:

> During most dreams, the person dreaming is not aware that they are
> dreaming, no matter how absurd or eccentric the dream is. The reason
> for this may be that the prefrontal cortex, the region of the brain
> responsible for logic and planning, exhibits decreased activity during
> dreams.


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### Answer by username_5 on 2014-12-07. Score: 3

Although both daydreaming and dreaming are created by our own mind, they happen in different mental states. Daydreaming happens in wakefulness, there is still some awareness involved, it's one actively imagine things; while dreaming occurs in sleep usually we are not aware of that we are dreaming unless in lucid dream (LaBerge, 1980). Hope this answers your question why daydream doesn't surprise us but dream does.

LaBerge, S. P. (1980). Lucid dreaming as a learnable skill: A case study. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 51(3f), 1039-1042.


---

