People’s views on dreaming: Attitudes and subjective dream theories, with regard to age, education, and sex.
The study investigated subjective theories of dream function (why do we dream)—measured as level of agreement with selected prescientific and contemporary views of science (N = 667) and thus explored differences in dream attitude with respect to age, educational level, and sex. A factor analysis revealed 3 factors. One can be described as seeing dreams as meaningful information processing (memory consolidation, sorting inputs, and solving problems), a 2nd included prescientific dream theory (dreams as messages from outside and/or from deceased, or dreams as prophecies). A 3rd factor included viewing dreams as insignifica...
Source: Dreaming - March 23, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Olsen, Michael Rohde; Schredl, Michael; Carlsson, Ingegerd Source Type: research
Reflections on the study of dream speech.
Dream speech is an understudied area of dream research worthy of attention for its potential to shed light on the nature of the interactions between the dream-self and dream-others, the patterns of discourse that occur among dream characters, and the structure and content of dream speech itself. The history of the study of dream speech is surveyed. Investigation of the structure and content of dream speech points to interesting similarities and differences in waking, imagined, and dreamed speech. Dream speech data support recent evidence that higher-order cognitive activity is a feature of dreaming no less than of waking t...
Source: Dreaming - March 23, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Kilroe, Patricia A. Source Type: research
The continuity between waking-life musical activities and music dreams.
Discussion section, second paragraph, the last phrase of the first sentence should read: but much higher compared with the sample of Schredl et al. (2015). In the Discussion section, the last phrase of the third paragraph should read: were much higher and, thus, detecting a substantial relationship was more likely. In the Discussion section, seventh paragraph, the second to the last sentence should read: This relationship has been shown for athletes.] As expressed in anecdotal reports, dreams have provided inspiration to both classical and popular musicians. According to the continuity hypothesis, engaging in music activit...
Source: Dreaming - March 23, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Vogelsang, Lukas; Anold, Sena; Schormann, Jannik; Wübbelmann, Silja; Schredl, Michael Source Type: research
A protocol for eliciting dream associations oriented to the recognition of episodic dream sources.
The use of associations with dream reports, although diffused and greatly useful in psychotherapy, has so far played a limited role in dream research not directly finalized to therapy. On the other hand, it is difficult to investigate a basic property of dreaming, that of establishing connections, without searching for information beyond the dream report: indeed, the simplest and likely most effective way of obtaining this information consists in asking the dreamer for associations. Well-defined and rigorous methods are however necessary for research approaches which aim to achieve a better understanding of how the dreamin...
Source: Dreaming - March 23, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Barcaro, Umberto; Delogu, Anna; Righi, Marco; Virgillito, Alessandra; Carboncini, Maria Chiara Source Type: research
The development of cognitive and emotional processing as reflected in children’s dreams: Active self in an eventful dream signals better neuropsychological skills.
The development of dreaming and its association with brain maturation and cognitive development are rarely studied in spite of adult studies showing a close relationship between dreaming and cognitive functioning. In order to bridge this gap in the literature we aimed to depict the associations between individual differences in neurocognitive maturation and the formal and content related characteristics of children’s dream reports. We analyzed the dream reports of 40 children between the ages of 4 to 8 years. Specific dream content categories, found to change significantly throughout development, were correlated with cog...
Source: Dreaming - March 23, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Sándor, Piroska; Szakadát, Sára; Bódizs, Róbert Source Type: research
Cthulhu Fhtagn: Dreams and nightmares in the fantasy fiction of H. P. Lovecraft.
This article discusses the central role of dreaming in the life and fiction of the American writer H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937). Many of Lovecraft’s stories were directly inspired by his own personal dreams and nightmares. Lovecraft was not particularly well known during his lifetime, but his reputation as a master of short horror fiction has cast enormous influence on the fantasy and science fiction genres for many decades. Almost all of his stories create a “dreamy” atmosphere of uncertainty, mystery, and potential danger, and several of them use dreams as key elements in the plot. The article suggests that Lovecr...
Source: Dreaming - March 23, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Bulkeley, Kelly Source Type: research
The behavioral effects of frequent nightmares on objective stress tolerance.
This study confirms previous findings linking nightmares and daily distress and extends the literature by providing objective evidence for the link between nightmares and reduced stress tolerance through behavioral testing. These findings highlight nightmares as a salient target for clinical intervention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: Dreaming)
Source: Dreaming - March 23, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Hochard, Kevin D.; Heym, Nadja; Townsend, Ellen Source Type: research
Nightmare protection, gender, and video game play.
This study utilized an online survey containing 5 questionnaires to address the different hypotheses, including gathering a recent nightmare and coping response to this nightmare. Results, which are consistent with previous research, indicate that males and females are playing different types of video games. Males were playing more combat-centric games, which may be nightmare inoculating. For females, casual games may not be providing the nightmare protection as they do in males. No support was found for stereotype threat with the current measure. Early support was found for differences in waking and in-dream coping styles...
Source: Dreaming - March 23, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Boyes, Arielle; Gackenbach, Jayne Source Type: research
Posttraumatic nightmares of traumatized refugees: Dream work integrating cultural values.
This study examines the mental health function of dreams and dream work in integrative psychotherapy with 2 refugee women. The clients were from West Africa and the Middle East, and both suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and repetitive nightmares. In a culturally sensitive integrative psychotherapy dreams were interpreted with respect for cultural meanings. The dream work initiated a mutual exploration of the dream images and led to an insightful processing of traumatic experiences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: Dreaming)
Source: Dreaming - March 23, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Schubert, Carla C.; Punamäki, Raija-Leena Source Type: research
Dream recall, nightmare frequency, and spirituality.
Dreaming plays a role in all major world religions, so it was expected that dream recall frequency was positively related to a measure of spirituality (“Transpersonal Trust”). The findings of the online survey (N = 528) indicate that there is a relationship between spirituality and dream recall, possibly mediated by mindfulness skills. Two factors might explain this relationship: First, dreams can provide spiritual inspiration and, second, spiritual practices like meditation can increase dream recall. Interestingly, mindfulness was related to lower nightmare frequencies. It would be very interesting to study dreaming i...
Source: Dreaming - March 23, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Schredl, Michael; Stumbrys, Tadas; Erlacher, Daniel Source Type: research
A dreamland of death: From oneirography to oneirofiction in William S. Burroughs’s My education and The Western lands.
I propose a very descriptive analysis of the Land of the Dead, as it appears in 2 books by William S. Burroughs: the novel The Western Lands (1987) and My Education: A Book of Dreams (1995). Some dream reports already transposed in his diary are rewritten for the 1st volume and then later presented in the 2nd. I do not fully embrace any dream interpretation theory, but I come with various insights following different approaches, such as the ones of Carl Gustav Jung, Francis Crick, or Michel Jouvet. To carry on the comparative approach, in some points of my account I make references to Jack Kerouac, another beatnik who publ...
Source: Dreaming - December 28, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Malomfălean, Laurenţiu Source Type: research
The vicissitudes of affective valence across the night: A high-density electroencephalographic study.
This study, therefore, made use of the high-density electroencephalogram and progressive-awakening protocol to maximize dream retrieval and to chart the vicissitudes of both positive and negative affect across all sleep cycles of the night for ordinary people. Twenty young adult subjects slept at the laboratory for electroencephalographic and REM-mentation recordings. Mentation reports were obtained from 96.4% of REM awakenings. Most dreams were characterized by mixed feelings or were positively toned. Positive emotions were stronger than negative emotions across all waking and REM stages. The intensities of both positive ...
Source: Dreaming - December 28, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Yu, Calvin Kai-Ching Source Type: research
Lucid dreaming frequency and alarm clock snooze button use.
There have been suggestions that the deliberate alteration of sleep-related behaviors, such as briefly going back to sleep after waking, can be used to induce lucid dreams. The current study extends this work by investigating the association between lucid dream frequency and alarm clock use. Eighty-four participants (44 females, 39 males, 1 not stated, mean age = 33.80 years, SD = 15.00) completed an online retrospective questionnaire that measured lucid dreaming frequency, frequency of alarm clock use, frequency of snooze button use per morning, and average number of awakenings per night. Significant positive relationship...
Source: Dreaming - November 30, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Smith, Bethan Victoria; Blagrove, Mark Source Type: research
Dreaming and nightmares in REM sleep behavior disorder.
Though central to the sometimes injurious behaviors of REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), the dreams and nightmares experienced by these patients remain largely unstudied. The present work applies the Typical Dreams Questionnaire (TDQ) to assess several aspects of the content and recall of dreams and nightmares among large cohorts of RBD patients and matched controls. Sixty-eight polysomnographically diagnosed RBD patients (49 men; 63.7 ± 10.9 y.o.) and 44 healthy controls (28 men; 62.0 ± 12.2 y.o.) completed the 56-item TDQ and a night of polysomnography. Phasic EMG% in REM sleep and tonic REM sleep% were both assessed....
Source: Dreaming - November 30, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Godin, Isabelle; Montplaisir, Jacques; Nielsen, Tore Source Type: research
Nightmares and their consequences in relation to state factors, absorption, and boundaries.
This study aims to investigate whether the experiencing of nightmare distress and nightmare effects is associated with trait factors, specifically with thin boundaries and absorption, and state factors, to be precise with perceived symptoms of depression, anxiety, distress, and somatization in the last 7 days. The participants (N = 344; 217 nightmare sufferers; 127 nonsufferers) filled in an online survey consisting of the Nightmare Severity Index, Nightmare Distress Questionnaire, Nightmare Effect Survey, Four-Dimensional Symptom Questionnaire, Modified Tellegen’s Absorption Scale, and Boundary Questionnaire-18. It was ...
Source: Dreaming - September 7, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Klůzová Kráčmarová, Lucie; Plháková, Alena Source Type: research
