| Abstract: | Video-game play offers the opportunity to investigate the continuity hypothesis. Using interactive video games rather than passive films as a controlled manipulation allows for an engaging presleep experience. Several researchers have successfully used video games to investigate dream incorporation. In this study, interactivity and fidelity were the independent measures that manipulated immersion in a commercially available video game. Interactivity was either passive or active, whereas fidelity was high-screen resolution and stereophonic headset audio versus low. The highest dream incorporation in the high-fidelity–high-interactivity condition was expected. Incorporation was assessed by participant self-report and judges' evaluations. The independent variable of fidelity was especially strong in both the manipulation and the subsequent dream incorporation for self-report. Interactivity became the dominant variable when viewed from the judges' perspectives. The effects of demand characteristics and emotionality were also considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved) |
