DAY DREAMS

Waikato Times, Volume 118, Issue 19762, 18 December 1935, Page 12

DAY DREAMS

A WAY OF ESCAPE. ADDRESS ON PSYCHOLOGY. Day dreams are common to most people, says Dr. A. 11. Martin, honorary director of the Australian Institute of Industrial Phychology. They offer a way of escape from the unpleasant aspects of reality and an opportunity to achieve in imagination unfulfilled desires. “Up to a certain point they give exercise to the imagination, and are sometimes a stimulus to ambition," he said. “It is easy, however, for the day dreams to gain so strong a hold on the young person that he becomes satisfied with them, and makes no attempt to translate them into reality.” Dr. Martin pointed out that in extreme cases day dreams may lead to a complete breaking away from the things of everyday life and the isolation of the dreamer in a world of phantasy. A puny child invariably compensates for his lack of success in athletics by painting a picture in which he llguros as the captain of the victorious side, who is cheered to the echo for his prowess. Refuge Against Facts. “This Is particularly likely to occur with the child of low or mediocre ability. The day dream remains to him a refuge against the admission of his inferiority. “The child who lacks the ability to win at games can still be happy if he is given an opportunity to show his mettle either in school work or at hobbies,” said Dr. Martin. “Adults, too, sometimes require to escape from pressure of their surroundings, and the commonest way is in fiction and the cinema. “Here they identify themselves with the hero or heroine, and, just as in the day dream, achieve in phantasy many adventures for which they have longed." Dr. Martin said that Rudyard Kipling described day dreaming aptly when he wrote: “If you can dream and not make dreams your master.”