Despite his often having shown consideration for the manifest dream, Freud warned in all his publications against taking the connections and logical elements (secondary revision) which appear in it seriously.

Federn was the first to devote attention to the role taken by the dreamer himself in the manifest dream, while for a number of other authors increasing attention to the manifest dream was one symptom of a departure from psychoanalytic ideas in the strict sense. Parallel with the development of ego psychology, interest in the manifest dream content increased markedly. The present author is of the opinion that the role of the dreamer in the manifest dream is particularly important as a guide for the construction of one's interpretation, namely in relation to the current conflict.