Reading books about dream interpretation: Gender differences.

The vast variety of books on dreamwork and dream interpretation suggests that a considerable percentage of the general population is interested in reading these books. Empirical research in this area is relatively scarce. The present representative survey (N = 2,019) indicated that about 8% of the general population have read about dream interpretation in order to learn more about their dreams, with women reading about dream interpretation more often than men. This gender difference was not explained by differences in dream recall frequency. In addition, single people as well as people with high nightmare frequencies read about dreams more often. Future research should focus on the possible benefits of reading about dream interpretation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Explaining the gender difference in dream recall frequency.

A recent meta-analysis showed a substantial and robust gender difference in dream recall frequency of medium effect size, that is, women tend to recall their dreams more often than men. The question arises as to what factors might explain this difference. Two previous studies indicate that interest in dreams plays an important role. The present study found a significant effect of frequency of nocturnal awakenings and interest in dreams on the gender difference in dream recall frequency. In addition, neuroticism and depressive mood were associated with the gender difference on the aspects of a dream recall scale and interest in dreams. Longitudinal studies are necessary to validate the present findings, especially regarding their causality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Facilitating dream recall in Chinese people.

The aim of this study was to examine the frequency of dream recall in Chinese people and to develop nonintrusive procedures to facilitate dream recall. Guidelines for remembering dreams (dream recall instructions) were established based on a review of the existing literature on dream recall and its associated factors. The efficacy of the dream recall experience was explored using this procedure in neurologically healthy individuals. One hundred seventy Chinese participants were included in the study: 100 received the dream recall instructions, and 70 did not. The recall instructions were shown to be effective in triggering dream recall in the participants. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of mood congruency memory effects in dream recall: A pilot study.

A methodological issue in research relating daytime mood to dream content is the question of whether mood congruency effects—that is, recalling more negative events if the current mood is more negative—also play a role in the dream recall process. This study adopted an indirect approach by testing the hypothesis that interindividual differences in mood congruency effects in a memory task carried out in the daytime correlate with mood congruency effects in dream recall (recalling more negative dream emotions, as one would predict on the basis of the current stress level or overall mood state). The findings, however, did not support the hypothesis of mood congruency effects and, thus, rule out that the findings regarding the continuity hypothesis of dreaming are biased by selective recall. Studies with different methodological approaches are necessary to validate this study’s findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The dream world in Dominica.

To the natives of the Caribbean island of Dominica, the dream is proclaimed la konpanyi la nuit (the companion of the night). Belief in dreams is grounded in diverse cultural influences, including those of the French, West African, British, and the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. In this richly imaginative dream world, myths and truths are finely interwoven to create an unwritten glossary of dream symbol interpretation. Although these interpretations have not enjoyed scientific validation, practical, historical, and psychological data are found to resonate with these traditional Dominican interpretations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reliability and stability of dream recall frequency.

Although a large number of studies investigating factors affecting dream recall frequency (DRF) have been carried out, research investigating the reliability and stability of DRF is scarce. Dream diaries of 196 participants kept over at least 28 days were analyzed. The results of the present study indicate that a time period of 2 weeks was sufficient to obtain reliable measurements of interindividual differences in DRF. Despite the high day-to-day fluctuations of dream recall, the stability of this variable was very high. Studies that investigate the stability of DRF by means of other methodological approaches (e.g., questionnaire scales, laboratory awakenings) and over longer time periods (e.g., 1 year) should be carried out to complement the present findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of gender and age in aggressive dream content of Spanish children and adolescents.

This study investigated the aggressive components of the dream content of 120 Spanish children and adolescents of 4 different age groups. The C. S. Hall and R. L. Van de Castle (1966) coding system was used to rate the number of dream characters and aggressions, and the content findings were analyzed via the indicators presented by G. W. Domhoff (1993, 1996, 2003). Results confirm the findings of previous studies of gender and age differences in dream content: Boys tend to have more aggressive dream content, which tends to decrease with age until reaching a pattern similar to the normative group; younger children, especially boys, tend to be victims of aggression more frequently than do older children. In addition, a data analysis procedure involving cumulative scoring of the aggression scale as well as nonparametric statistics yielded significant differences between boys and girls of the youngest group for severity of aggression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in dreams: Applications to dream work with male clients.

Differences between the dreams of men and women have been a topic of interest and research in the field of dream science. This article focuses on three such gender differences in dreaming, namely, dream recall frequency, sex of dream character and dream aggression. For each gender difference, a review of literature is presented, along with a discussion of possible causes for the difference between genders. In addition, suggestions are made for applications to clinical practice with a focus on gender-specific dream work strategies for work with male clients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of a two-week reflection-intention training program on lucid dream recall.

Previous research in the field of lucid dreams has produced several techniques which are claimed to be a means of inducing lucid dreams, but there have been only a small number of reported studies which have evaluated their effectiveness. The present study investigated the effects of one of the most promising of these, the reflection-intention technique, which is specifically designed to increase the frequency of dream and lucid dream recall. The sample here consisted of 20 participants whose frequencies of normal dream recall and lucid dream recall were recorded before, during and after a two week training program by using a dream questionnaire and a dream journal: A one-way repeated measures analysis of variance showed a significant increase in both dream recall frequency (F2,38 = 22.09, p2,38 = 5.96, p     

Review of The dream experience: A systematic exploration..

Reviews the book, The dream experience: A systematic exploration by Milton Kramer (see record 2007-01084-000). This book was written by an exceptional scientist and clinician and is based on 46 years of productive work in the field of dream research and sleep medicine. Milton Kramer presents some preliminary data about two patterns that describe changes in dream content over one night: the progressive-sequential dream pattern and the repetitive-traumatic dream pattern, each illustrated with an example. The first pattern reflects some kind of progression reflecting a successful coping with the problem of the first dream. The second pattern repeats one topic but without introducing successful coping strategies. Milton Kramer's book is a comprehensive overview of dream research over the last 50 years and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in pursuing this field of research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dream interpretation sessions for college students in Taiwan: Who benefits and what volunteer clients view as most and least helpful.

The purpose of the study was to assess the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the Attitudes Toward Dream measure (ATD) and examine the outcome of dream interpretation for college students in Taiwan. In a sample of 574 college students, factor analysis revealed a single factor for the ATD-Chinese. In the second stage, 60 volunteer clients were assigned randomly to an experimental or control condition. Significant differences were found between experimental and control conditions for postsession ATD-Chinese scores. Initial attitudes toward dreams did not influence perceived gains from dream sessions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

“Gender, sex role orientation and dream recall frequency”: Correction.

Reports an error in "Gender, sex role orientation, and dream recall frequency" by Michael Schredl and Olaf Lahl (Dreaming, 2010[Mar], Vol 20[1], 19-24). In the article, a third author was not listed in the byline and some acknowledgment information was also missing: Third Co-Author: Anja S. G?ritz, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany. The name appears in this record. Additional Acknowledgment: We thank the operators of the sites www.panopia.de, www.yougov.de, and www.studivz.net for providing participants. This work was in part supported by DFG grant GO 1107/4-1 to G?ritz. The online version of the article has been corrected. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2010-05656-002.) Recently, a large meta-analysis showed that women tend to recall their dreams more often than men. Despite this robust finding, studies focused on explaining the gender difference in dream recall frequency are scarce. The present findings of an online survey indicate that sex role orientation—expressivity/femininity—was related to dream recall frequency but did not fully explain the gender difference in dream recall frequency. Future studies should investigate other variables—in addition to sex role orientation—like verbal memory, recall of emotional experiences, and/or frequency of talking about emotional matters that might play a role in explaining the gender difference in dream recall. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive differences in dream content between Argentine males and females using quantitative content analysis.

This study asked the question, Are there significant content differences between male and female dream reports obtained in seminars conducted in Argentina? Each of the 100 female and 100 male participants contributed one recent dream report during dream seminars held in Argentina between 1990 and 1998. Dream reports were scored using Hall and Van de Castle's System of Content Analysis. Major findings revealed that Argentine males reported significantly more aggressions per character and a higher percentage of dreamers as the aggressor than reported by females. They also reported more dreams with at least one success than reported by females. In contrast, females scored significantly higher on both the Self-Negativity index and the Negative Emotions index compared to males. Although some findings were similar to past studies using American participants, others were unique to this study and may be attributable to the particular sample used, or may suggest actual underlying cultural patterns of contemporary Argentine men and women. Results are discussed in terms of Hall's continuity hypothesis and Domhoff's cognitive model of dreaming. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Boundary Questionnaire Results in the Mentally Healthy Elderly

The Hartmann Boundary Questionnaire was administered twice, with six months in between, to 61 Swiss subjects over 60 years of age taking part in an investigation into the effects of dream-telling on five variables: well-being, sleep quality, sleep duration, dream recall and dream tone. In addition, dream epoch, i.e., the age of life of the dreamer as perceived in the dream, was recorded for those who told dreams. In addition to this study group in which the members told dreams there were two control groups. Those in the first control group were asked about well-being and sleep quality but not about dreams or dreaming, while those in the second control group were additionally asked how many dreams they had retained, how frequently they had occurred and about the dream tone (pleasant/unpleasant). All study participants were given the Hartmann Boundary Questionnaire at the beginning (pre-test) and again at the end of the six month study period (post-test). The retest reliability was high (r = 0.872 for the whole sample). We report here the relationships obtained between the questionnaire scores and age, group membership, gender and the number of dreams that were retained over a 26 week testing period. No significant correlations were found for age, group membership or dream recall. There was, however, a small, significant boundary score difference between women and men for the pre-test, indicating thinner boundaries for women, but this difference was no longer significant in the post-test.     

Confirming the factor structure of the dream intensity inventory.

This study’s primary purpose was to examine the overall quality of the factorial structure of the Dream Intensity Inventory (DII). It was hypothesized that dream intensity was a multifaceted construct that could be accounted for by 3 latent factors, namely Dream Quantity, Dream Vividness, and Altered Dream Episodes. The 1st-order oblique, 1st-order orthogonal, and 2nd-order models, which represented 3 possible versions of the structural relations among the 3 latent factors, were subjected to the confirmatory statistical procedures. The goodness-of-fit indices indicated that the 2nd-order model and the 1st-order model hypothesizing 3 oblique factors were superior to that hypothesizing 3 orthogonal factors. The factorial characteristics of the two well-fitting DII models were shown to be equivalent across 2 samples. These results suggest that the theoretical construct of dream intensity can be pertinently described by the 3-factor measurement model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality and Dream Recall Frequency: Still Further Negative Findings

In order to investigate the relationship between dream recall frequency and personality, 116 college undergraduates kept a dream log for 21 consecutive nights and completed self-report measures assessing fantasy-proneness, psychological absorption, and imaginative involvement. Consistent with most previous literature in this area, with one exception, there were no significant associations found between dream recall and the personality measures. The one exception to this pattern was for fantasy proneness and this correlation was of a small magnitude and only obtained for women. We conclude that dream recall frequency is largely independent from stable personality traits and can better be understood in terms of expectancy and attitudinal factors.     

A structural and functional analysis of dream narratives.

This article demonstrates that elicited dream narratives use a differing narrative structural and functional framework, as proposed by Labov and Waletzky's (1967) narrative framework on elicited personal narratives. A quantitative structural and functional analysis of five male and female collected samples showed that dream narratives follow a homogenous structure of (1) Topic introduction, (2) Orientation, (3) Complication, (4) Evaluation, and (5) Coda, consequently reflecting the omission of Labov and Waletzky's (1967) proposed resolution unit, which confirms Labov's (1997) suggestion of the difficulty to distinguish between resolution and coda. Moreover, this article devotes attention to specific structural particularities, proposing that analepses and prolepses might indicate, firstly, the simultaneous processing of new spatial information and new protagonists, and secondly, reflecting indirectly the experience of dream bizarreness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)