A client tells his therapist about a dream of riding on a train with his boss. At the end of the journey, the boss gets off the train at a terminal. The therapist suggests that the "terminal" in the dream suggests an unconscious desire by the client to "terminate" his boss. This desire to terminate the boss, if it exists, would reflect what Freud called the ________ content of the dream.

Question

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The therapist's suggestion that the "terminal" in the dream represents an unconscious desire to "terminate" his boss reflects the latent content of the dream. The manifest content of the dream is what the client actually experienced (riding on a train with his boss and seeing him get off at a terminal), while the latent content refers to the unconscious desires or wishes that are concealed or disguised within the dream. Freud argued that dreams have both manifest and latent content and that it is important to explore the latent content in order to gain insight into a person's motivations and conflicts.

A Client Tells His Therapist About a Dream of Riding