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The relation between the reality ego and the dream is by no means limited to the matter of stimuli or expression of latent wishes. Greater understanding of dream function is achieved only if one studies the effect of the dream on the waking ego, not merely the ego's influence on the dream. Dreams often have a teleological purpose and an effect on the individual's welfare which are of vastly
greater significance than the traditional stress on dreamwork and goals suggests. The hungry man who dreams of a banquet is not only protecting sleep; on the contrary, a more effective result of this constellation is increased motivation to get real food. The dream serves to augment adaptation to reality by the ego; it is also a protector against external or internal hazard.