Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 exam•Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Definition
Information-processing theories are psychological theories that propose that dreaming is a way for the brain to process and organize information from daily experiences and memories during sleep.
Related terms
Activation-synthesis theory: This theory suggests that dreams are a result of random brain activity during REM sleep, which is then synthesized by the brain into coherent stories or images.
Cognitive psychology: This field of psychology focuses on studying mental processes such as perception, attention, memory, and problem-solving, which are also key components in understanding information processing in dreams.
Memory consolidation: The process of transferring newly acquired information from short-term memory to long-term memory during sleep. This process is closely related to the idea of information processing in dreams.