Thematic, literal and associative dream imagery following a high-impact event.

Abstract

The present study investigated the effect of a high-impact waking stiumulus on adults'dreams. Sixty-seven participants rcorded dreams following viewing of a traumatic digital video disc (DVD); September 11 media coverage) and an education DVD (a Psychology 1 lecture). There was significantly more intense central imagery (Hartmann, 1998, 2011) and negative emotion in the dreams following viewing of the stressful DVD. Scales were developed to assess imagery related to th content of the DVDs. A set of scales loosely based on Garfield's (2001) common dream themes measure thematic content. Significantly higher ratings were obtained for six out of the nine themes identified as relevant (e.g. chased, attached, or threatened) in dreams following viewing the September 11 DVD. The results provided experimental support for connectionist processes in dream production as postulated in Hartmann's (1998, 2011) theory, and other theries prdicting metaphoric dream imagery related to waking concerns.