Evolutionary Psychology Co-Editors: Steven M. Platek, Benedict C. Jones, and Todd K. Shackelford

Strengths and weaknesses of McNamara’s evolutionary psychological model of dreaming

Abstract

This article includes a brief overview of McNamara’s (2004) evolutionary model of dreaming. The strengths and weaknesses of this model are then evaluated in terms of its consonance with measurable neurological and biological properties of dreaming, its fit within the tenets of evolutionary theories of dreams, and its alignment with evolutionary concepts of cooperation and spirituality. McNamara’s model focuses primarily on dreaming that occurs during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep; therefore this article also focuses on REM dreaming.

Keywords

McNamara, costly signaling, dreaming, REM, cooperation, spirituality

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