Dream Events Research Articles

Make Your Dream Events Real: Creating Value by Connecting the Event Industry with Its Consumers: Interview with Julie Roth Novack, CEO and Cofounder of PartySlate

Make Your Dream Events Real: Creating Value by Connecting the Event Industry with Its Consumers: Interview with Julie Roth Novack, CEO and Cofounder of PartySlate

Elements of the Speech Absurd in the Novel “The Meerkat House” by A. Zhaksylykov

In the theoretical part of the article, a literary review of the study of the category of the absurd in world and Russian literature is provided. Works by S.A. Kharlamova, V.Yu.charskaya-Boyko, G.M. Kruzhkov, W. Tigges, O.D. Burenina, and L.V. Safronova are considered. The practical part of the article describes elements of speech absurd in the novel “The Meerkat House” by A. Zhaksylykov. During the analysis of the verbal elements of the work, homogeneous enumerations are highlighted as elements of verbal absurdity that reach absurd proportions in the text. One important aspect of the work is the use of the “poetics of error” creating an effect of absurdity and unexpectedness in the text, contributing to the sense of the absurd. A technique of absurdity in the verbal organization of the work is the use of a large number of authorial neologisms in the characters’ speech, which are conditionally divided into several categories in the article. Additionally, the technique of “lexical hybridization” is considered in a comparative aspect in the novel’s text. Apart from identifying absurdity in the verbal organization of the novel, the absurdity of the novel’s characters, space and others are examined. The analysis reveals absurd metaphors and expressions, abbreviations understood only within the context of this novel and a large number of phrases with words like “corn”, “jugarn” and “jubuy”. A. Zhaksylykov employs a classic technique of absurdity, blurring the line between dream and reality, where events in dreams are almost indistinguishable from reality. The novel not only blends the dreams of the narrator but also simultaneously describes the protagonist’s past, his childhood spent in the village, his life in various transformations and more.

Dreaming of being chased reflects waking-life experiences related to negative relationships with others metaphorically.

It has long been argued that there are dream metaphors which express waking-life experiences indirectly. Most of empirical evidence concerning this topic was in a qualitative way, while few studies explored the topic in a quantitative way. Under this background, we investigated whether dreaming of the typical theme 'being chased or pursued' was a metaphorical expression for waking-life experiences related to 'negative relationships with others'. One hundred and sixty participants reported their waking-life experiences and dreams for a single day. Following this, two external judges rated whether there were any elements related to 'negative relationships with others' in both waking-life experiences and dreams. In addition, the judges assessed if there was any content related to 'being chased or pursued' in both waking-life experiences and dreams. The frequency of dreaming of 'negative relationships with others' was higher than the frequency of the same topic in waking-life experiences, which in turn was higher than the frequency of typical theme dreaming of 'being chased or pursued'. In addition, 'negative relationships with others' in waking-life experiences were correlated with both dreaming of 'being chased or pursued', and 'negative relationships with others' in dreams. These results suggested that the typical theme 'being chased or pursued' in dreams may represent some waking-life experiences metaphorically. In addition, the results support the threat simulation theory of dreaming, which suggests that threatening events in waking life increase the possibility of threatening events in dreams.

The Manifest Content dan Al-Ru'ya: Kondensasi Mimpi dalam Cerpen “Perempuan Patah Hati Yang Kembali Menemukan Cinta Melalui Mimpi”

This study focuses on the same events that repeatedly appear in the main character's dreams. The contents of the dream are interpreted as instructions, so the main character carries out the instructions according to the contents of her dream and hopes it will come true. This study aims to discover how the manifest content and Al-Ru'ya appear as condensation of dreams in the short story Perempuan Patah Hati Yang Kembali Menemukan Cinta Melalui Mimpi by Eka Kurniawan. The method used in this study is qualitative, utilizing Sigmund Freud's dream interpretation theory. The data used are sentences that show the dream events experienced by the main character. The data analysis technique describes the condensation of dreams experienced by the main character. The study results show the condensation of dreams that first includes the manifest content, namely the repetition of dreams that appear clearly and are easy to remember due to the influence of physical products. The dream recurrence occurs due to a mental disorder characterized by hard feelings of trauma and sadness. Second, Al-Ru'ya, namely the belief in dreams that come true, such as finding a beach location on Pangandaran beach, meeting a handsome man and loving her, then becoming her future love, and the last is meeting the man's dog. Dreams come true because dreams are believed to be a realization of wishes, fulfil desires, perceptions and beliefs, and magical instructions.

Examining the association between cultural self-construal and dream structures in the United States and Japan.

Cultural differences in self-construal, human relationships, and values between Western and East Asian people have been suggested. The aim of this article is to investigate cultural difference in dreamers' self-construal based on their dreams. We examined the dreams sampled via online questionnaires from 300 non-clinical participants from America and Japan, respectively. The free response for the contents of "impressive dreams in childhood" "recent impressive dreams" was categorized into the five general dream structural patterns. Besides, the participants were asked to answer the scales to investigate participants' cultural self-construal. The current results revealed the prevalence of the independent view of self in American participants and the interdependent view of self in Japanese participants. In addition, we found significant cultural differences in the dream length and structural patterns. For American dreams, the dream-ego had a clear will and strong mobility, and there were obvious ends of dream events. Conversely, for Japanese dreams, the weak agency and vague conscious of the dream-ego were shown, and others could play a main role in one's dreams. These results suggested that each characteristic of the American and Japanese samples may be influenced by the differences in self-construal or in the process of self-formation between American and Japanese cultures.

The Body, Experience, and the History of Dream-Science in Artemidorus’Oneirocritica

AbstractThe five books of Artemidorus of Ephesus’ Oneirocritica (c. second century CE) constitute the largest collection of divinatory dream-interpretations to survive from Graeco-Roman antiquity. This article examines Artemidorus’ contribution to longstanding medico-philosophical debates over the ontological and epistemic character of such dreams. As with wider Mediterranean traditions concerning premonitory dreams, Greeks and Romans popularly understood them as phenomena with origins exterior to the dreamer (e.g. a visitation of a god). Presocratic and Hippocratic thinkers, however, initiated an effort to bring at least some dream events within the body as interior processes of a physical soul, a bodily turn which ultimately engendered a split in thinking about the possibility and scope of prophetic and diagnostic dreams (e.g. Hippocrates Regimen 4, Aristotle On Prophecy in Dreams, Rufus of Ephesus, and Galen). Here, I examine the way that Artemidorus meant the Oneirocritica to address seriously questions about the origins of dreams and the powers of empirical science in two, related ways. We will see that his defense of oneirocriticism as a techne unfolds along two main axes. First, Artemidorus constructs a necessary veneer of scientific credibility by mobilizing the tropes and organizational strategies characteristic of contemporary technical literature. Secondly, he anchors that authority upon a materialist account of prophetic dreams as “semiotic movements of the soul.” As Price, S. 1986. “The Future of Dreams: From Freud to Artemidorus.”Past & Present113: 3–36 and Harris-McCoy, D. 2012.Artemidorus’ Oneirocritica: Text, Translation, and Commentary. Oxford: Oxford University Press observed, this explicit commitment to an empirical method of dream-interpretation resembles that of the Hellenistic medical ‘sect’ known as ‘Empiricists,’ who eschewed interest in theoretical etiology in favor of observation, comparison, and compilation of symptoms and outcomes. Pushing beyond similarity, I argue that Artemidorus not only deployed this method to defend empirically grounded accounts of dream-divination (cf. Cicero De div. 1), but endeavored to show that such a scientific method can be used to stabilize and corral productively the potentially infinite number of interpretations any dream-sign might bear without recourse to an underlying, causal theory.

Partial memory reinstatement while (lucid) dreaming to change the dream environment.

Lucid dreams often coincide with having control over dream events in real-time, although the limitations of dream control are not completely understood. The current study probed the ability of lucid dreamers to reinstate waking scene memories while dreaming. After brief exposure to an experimental scene, participants were asked to reinstate the scene while lucid dreaming (i.e., change dream scenery to match real-world scene). Qualitative analysis revealed that successful dream scene reinstatements were overwhelmingly inaccurate with respect to the original experimental scene. Importantly, reinstatement inaccuracies held even when the dreamer was aware of them during the dream, suggesting a dissociation between memory access while dreaming and dream imagery. The ability to change the environment of a dream speaks to the high amount of lucid dream control, yet the inaccuracies speak to a lack of detailed control. Reinstating context during lucid sleep offers an experimental method to investigate sleep, dreams, and memory.

Examining the triggers of lucid insight.

Approximately half the population have experienced a lucid dream. Yet, it is not well understood how an individual realises they are dreaming (i.e. lucid insight). A few studies suggest it can be triggered by a nightmare, or by the identification of inconsistencies/dream-like qualities/peculiarities. The present study aimed to produce a detailed typology of lucidity triggers to inform consideration of the nature of associated thought processes. 91 lucid dreamers were identified in an undergraduate sample of 148. Lucid dreamers were asked to describe what it was, if anything, that had made them realise they were dreaming. Thematic analysis of responses extracted evidence of four overarching triggers consistent with previous research: identification of an abnormality, identification of a dream-like quality, an emotionally-arousing dream event, and miscellaneous. It was uniquely identified that ‘abnormalities’ within the dream were those inconsistent with waking knowledge rather than with the accompanying dream content. Novel triggers were identified that were classifiable as subthemes under the previously-identified triggers, and triggers co-occurred in a third of cases. Novel triggers included ‘deja reve’, the feeling that one has dreamt the experience before, as well as ‘self-comfort/denial’ involving an emotionally-driven denial of the reality of a distressing dream. Nightmare-induced lucidity appeared to arise via qualitatively diverse paths: via self-comfort/denial and/or via the identification of abnormalities/dream-like qualities. The nature of the triggers indicates that higher-order cognition can precede, and promote, lucid insight. This sheds light on a key theoretical issue of whether lucid insight is a pre-requisite for the re-emergence of higher-order cognition. Keywords: lucid dreaming, lucidity, nightmares, higher-order cognition, phenomenology.

Dreaming during REM sleep: autobiographically meaningful or a simple reflection of a Hebbian-based memory consolidation process?

REM sleep is a state of desynchronized electrophysiological activity of the brain. It is usually accompanied by mental activity characterized by a succession of complex visual experiences commonly referred to as dreaming. Although REM sleep and dreaming are not implicitly conjoined, when they co-occur, they have a very distinct phenomenology, as, typically, the dream plot is bizarre and incohesive which is mirrored in heightened brain activation coupled with strongly attenuated coherence levels. At the same time, owing to increased limbic system activity, REM sleep dreams are highly emotional. Moreover, concrete emotions are often unrelated to dream events. Nevertheless, REM sleep dreams are often subjectively perceived as story-like and autobiographically meaningful. Indeed, elements of salient life events, attachment figures, and personally relevant emotions, especially trauma, seem to have a higher probability of re-appearing in dreams, albeit the dream plot itself remains highly distorted. This has prompted several theories on the interpretability of dreams, some authors leaning towards dreams reflecting waking mentation, others suggesting complete dissociation between waking and dreaming, both sides not fully accounting for empirical findings. In this review, we provide an overview of recent findings on the factors mediating REM sleep neurophysiology and dream content. As a first step towards integration of conflicting research results, we introduce a testable model (Trace-Spur-model) based on Hebbian theory of neural networks, proposing that dream bizarreness is a function of state-related modulations in synaptic strength allowing for hyper-associative mental activity, possibly enabling either a restructuring and integrative consolidation or extinction of learning experiences acquired in waking. In this model, dreams are viewed as phenomenological expressions of this neurophysiologic activity where dream recall allows a fragmentary witnessing of such processes, similar to peeking into an enduring and complex networking system. However, the content of the recollected dream is probably strongly deterred by autobiographical memory bias, favoring those images we can form some sort of association with.

Lucid Dreaming: Intensity, But Not Frequency, Is Inversely Related to Psychopathology.

Lucid dreaming (LD) is awareness that one is dreaming, during the dream state. However, some define and assess LD relying also on controlling dream events, although control is present only in a subset of lucid dreams. LD has been claimed to represent well-being, and has even been used as a therapeutic agent. Conversely, LD is associated with mixed sleep-wake states, which are related to bizarre cognitions, stress, and psychopathology, and have been construed as arousal permeating and disrupting sleep. We propose that previous conflicting findings regarding relations between LD and both psychopathology and well-being, stem from the non-differentiated assessment of frequency and control. The present study aimed to develop an expansive measure of several LD characteristics (the Frequency and Intensity Lucid Dream questionnaire; FILD), and explore their relations with symptomatology. Undergraduate students (N = 187) self-reported trait LD, psychopathology (depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, dissociation, and schizotypy), stress, and sleep problems; 2 months later, a subsample (n = 78) reported psychopathology again, and also completed a dream diary each morning for 14 days. Preliminary evidence supports the reliability and validity of the FILD. Items converged into four domains: frequency, intensity (e.g., control, activity, certainty of dreaming), emotional valence, and the use of induction techniques. We report an optimal frequency cutoff score to identify those likely to experience LD within a 2-week period. Whereas LD frequency was unrelated to psychopathology, LD intensity, and positive LD emotions, were inversely associated with several psychopathological symptoms. Use of deliberate induction techniques was positively associated with psychopathology and sleep problems. Additionally, we demonstrated directionality by employing a prospective-longitudinal design, showing that deliberate LD induction predicted an increase in dissociation and schizotypy symptoms across 2 months. We conclude that lucidity should not be considered as necessarily suggestive of well-being; LD may be positive or negative, depending on lucidity characteristics. Additionally, deliberate LD induction may harbor negative long-term risk.

A Survey Focusing on Lucid Dreaming, Metacognition, and Dream Anxiety in Medical Students.

The aim of this study was to examine the level of lucidity and its relation with metacognitive beliefs and dream anxiety in medical students. Nine hundred sixteen medical students were enrolled in the study. The participants were assessed with the Lucidity and Consciousness in Dreams Scale (LuCiD), the Metacognition Questionnaire-30 (MCQ-30), and the Van Dream Anxiety Scale (VDAS). There was no significant difference in mean total lucidity score between females and males, but there were some significant sex differences in subscales of lucidity, and control was significantly higher in male students, while realism, thought, and dissociation were significantly higher in female students. In addition, females had more dream anxiety levels, higher total MCQ-30 scores, and higher cognitive confidence and uncontrollability scores according to Metacognition Questionnaire-30 than males. We also found that the mean lucidity level was positively correlated with the mean total metacognition score and the mean total dream anxiety level. Our results suggest that female medical students tend to have more realistic dreams (p=0.018), have more logical thoughts during dreaming (p=0.011), and have a more dissociative experience during dreaming (p=0.028), while male medical students have more controlled dream events (p=0.002). There seem to be differences according to lucidity features between sexes, and the relationship between subdomains of lucidity and metacognition might lead to new therapeutic approaches to several psychiatric disorders such as anxiety disorders.

Anger held inward, aggressive dream content in craniomandibular disorders and bruxers

Objective. To evaluate means in anger-in and aggressive dream con­tent in craniomandibular disorder/bruxers. Method. Two question­naires to evaluate anger-in and aggressive content in nightmares, clinical examination, and criteria for craniomandibular disorders/ bruxism were used in 70 subjects with craniomandibular disorders/ bruxism (66 females, mean age 31.3); in 28 bruxers without cranio­mandibular disorders (19 females, mean age 32.3); and in 39 controls without such disorders (26 females, mean age 30.6). Results. Anger-inward was not different between craniomandibular disorder/brux­ism (130.7) and non craniomandibular disorder/bruxism (105.6); but it was different when compared with control group (70.1): cra­niomandibular disorder/bruxism versus control group (p<0.001); non craniomandibular disorder/bruxism and control group (p<0.01). Frequencies of aggressive dream content in nightmares were about: craniomandibular disorder/bruxism: 71.4%; non craniomandibular disorder/bruxism: 67.9% and control group: 46.2% (p=0.02). Means in aggressive dream events were not different among the groups. Conclusions. Anger-in was higher in those with craniomandibular disorders/bruxism. Aggressive events in bad dreams and nightmares decreased from the more psychologically disturbed subgroup to the less psychological disturbed one.

Anger held inward, aggressive dream content in craniomandibular disorders and bruxers

Objective. To evaluate means in anger-in and aggressive dream con­tent in craniomandibular disorder/bruxers. Method. Two question­naires to evaluate anger-in and aggressive content in nightmares, clinical examination, and criteria for craniomandibular disorders/ bruxism were used in 70 subjects with craniomandibular disorders/ bruxism (66 females, mean age 31.3); in 28 bruxers without cranio­mandibular disorders (19 females, mean age 32.3); and in 39 controls without such disorders (26 females, mean age 30.6). Results. Anger-inward was not different between craniomandibular disorder/brux­ism (130.7) and non craniomandibular disorder/bruxism (105.6); but it was different when compared with control group (70.1): cra­niomandibular disorder/bruxism versus control group (p<0.001); non craniomandibular disorder/bruxism and control group (p<0.01). Frequencies of aggressive dream content in nightmares were about: craniomandibular disorder/bruxism: 71.4%; non craniomandibular disorder/bruxism: 67.9% and control group: 46.2% (p=0.02). Means in aggressive dream events were not different among the groups. Conclusions. Anger-in was higher in those with craniomandibular disorders/bruxism. Aggressive events in bad dreams and nightmares decreased from the more psychologically disturbed subgroup to the less psychological disturbed one.

What renders dreams more or less narrative? A microstructural study of REM- and Stage 2 dream reports upon morning awakening

A microanalysis of fourteen dream reports was conducted with the aim of understanding which features of these reports rendered them more or less narrative. The result should help us to compare the relative narrative quality of samples of dream reports. The reports described the last dream of the night and they were collected immediately upon spontaneous morning awakening in a sleep laboratory. Half of the dreams reported in our sample were produced in Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and the other half in Stage 2 sleep. The microanalysis dealt with the relationship between each pair of successive temporal units and with the presence of other elements of the dream content likely to influence the narrative character of a dream. The more important findings were the following. First, coherence is the rule in the relationship between pairs of successive units of the reported dream sequences. Second, two categories of relationship, Psychologically causal links and Plausible links appear to be the main building blocks of the sequences of dream events. Third, most dreams comprised one or several complications, that is, events creating change and often tension. Fourth, the combination of a continuity score and a complication score permitted us to rank the reports ac - cording to their narrative nature or quality, whereas emotions and story-like features were not good candidates to that purpose. Fifth, no differences were observed between REM-sleep and Stage 2 reports of similar length in their sequential regulation and other features. This result shows that the process regulating the sequences of dream events is not de - pendent on the sleep stage, a strong argument in favor of the idea of a single generator which produces dreams across the sleep stages. More generally, most sequences of dream events did not correspond to sequences of recent or older experiences stored in memory. The sequential organization of dream events is regulated during dreaming and reveals an important dreaming production process.

Lucid dreams: their advantage and disadvantage in the frame of search activity concept.

Search activity (SA) is the behavioral and mental activity that is oriented to changes of the environment or of the subject's view and approach to the environment according to personal needs without the definite probability forecast of the outcomes of such activity, but with a regular consideration of the outcomes in the process of active behavior. Dream's lucidity (the subject's realization that he/she is dreaming) protects dreamer from awakenings during emotionally disturbing or frustrating dreams, because lucid dreams allow subject to feel separated from the dream events that may cause a feeling of helplessness. Due to such a protection from awakenings that can bring subject back to the frustration in wakefulness, subject can turn in the further sleep to normal non-lucid dreams that are restoring subject's SA in the subsequent wakefulness (activity in the uncertain situation with the feedback between behavior and its outcome). It is the advantage of lucid dreams. Their disadvantage is that due to the separation from the dream events that are in lucid dreams accepted as rationalized dreams, not as real stories where the dreamer acts like in wakefulness, their ability to restore SA is decreased until they are not displaced by the normal non-lucid dreams accepted as real stories.

Ethnobotany of Dreams and Dream Interpretations: A study among the Karbis of India

The Karbi ethnic group of Northeast India associates many meanings of dreams events with real life. Dream interpretation is an integral part of their traditional religion and healthcare practices. Traditional concept of dreams and the role of 35 plants in dream interpretation are discussed here. We conducted group discussions in 51 randomly selected villages across the plain and hill areas of Karbi Anglong district, Assam, during January 2010 to October 2012. This was followed by interviews of 175 select elders. Karbis recognize three types of dreams: (1) mang jangre, dreams which bear positive correlation with real life; (2) mang kai, dream events which are opposite or unrealistic in real life; and (3) mang phumeng, dreams which do not carry any significant meaning in real life. Certain plants that come in dreams carry important messages which have relevance to the individual and his or her family. Karbis also use many plants and their products for preventing nightmares.

Self‐Representation and Perspectives in Dreams

AbstractIntegrative and naturalistic philosophy of mind can both learn from and contribute to the contemporary cognitive sciences of dreaming. Two related phenomena concerning self‐representation in dreams demonstrate the need to bring disparate fields together. In most dreams, the protagonist or dream self who experiences and actively participates in dream events is or represents the dreamer: but in an intriguing minority of cases, self‐representation in dreams is displaced, disrupted, or even absent. Working from dream reports in established databanks, we examine two key forms of polymorphism of self‐representation: dreams (or dream episodes) in which I take an external visuospatial perspective on myself, and those in which I take someone else's perspective on events. In remembering my past experiences or imagining future or possible experiences when awake, I sometimes see myself from an external or ‘observer’ perspective. By relating the issue of perspective in dreams to established research traditions in the study of memory and imagery, and noting the flexibility of perspective in dreams, we identify new lines of enquiry. In other dreams, the dreamer does not appear to figure at all, and the first person perspective on dream events is occupied by someone else, some other person or character. We call these puzzling cases ‘vicarious dreams’ and assess some potential ways to make sense of them. Questions about self‐representation and perspectives in dreams are intriguing in their own right and pose empirical and conceptual problems about the nature of self‐representation with implications beyond the case of dreaming.

Frequency of sport dreams in athletes

Empirical studies largely support the continuity hypothesis of dreaming. For example, it has been shown in past research that sport students dream more often about sports than psychology students do, presumably reflecting their engagement in sport activities and sport theory. The present study tested the hypothesis whether frequency of sport dreams is related to the amount of time spent on waking sport activities for elite athletes. As expected, the amount of time spent with sport activity was directly related to the frequency of sport dreams. Secondly, the amount of competitions was also related. The findings also indicated that other factors such as emotional involvement associated with competitions might be of importance in explaining the relationship between waking activities and dream events. Future studies using longitudinal designs will shed more light on this relationship and will help derive a more precise formulation of the continuity hypothesis.

The threat simulation theory in light of recent empirical evidence: A review

The recently proposed threat simulation theory (TST) states that dreaming about threatening events has a biological function. In the past few years, the TST has led to several dream content analysis studies that empirically test the theory. The predictions of the TST have been investigated mainly with a new content analysis system, the Dream Threat Scale (DTS), a method developed for identifying and classifying threatening events in dreams. In this article we review the studies that have tested the TST with the DTS. We summarize and reevaluate the results based on the dreams of Finnish and Swedish university students, traumatized and nontraumatized Kurdish, Palestinian, and Finnish children, and special dream samples, namely recurrent dreams and nightmares collected from Canadian participants. We sum up other recent research that has relevance for the TST and discuss the extent to which empirical evidence supports or conflicts with the TST. New evidence and new direct tests of the predictions of the TST yield strong support for the theory, and the TST's strengths seem to outweigh its weaknesses.

An association between geomagnetic activity and dream bizarreness

Daily disturbances of the earth's magnetic field produce variations in geomagnetic activity (GMA) that are reportedly associated with widespread effects on human health and behaviour. Some of these effects could be mediated by an established influence of GMA on the secretion of melatonin. There is evidence from unrelated research that melatonin influences dream bizarreness, and it is hypothesised here that there is an association between GMA and dream bizarreness. Also reported is a preliminary test of this hypothesis, a case study in which the dreams recorded over 6.5 years by a young adult male were analysed. Reports of dreams from the second of two consecutive days of either low or high GMA (K index sum < or =6 or > or = 28) were self-rated for bizarreness on a 1-5 scale. Dreams from low GMA periods (n=69, median bizarreness=4) were found to be significantly more bizarre than dreams from high GMA periods (n=85, median bizarreness=3; p=0.006), supporting the hypothesised association between GMA and dream bizarreness. Studies with larger samples are needed to verify this association, and to determine the extent to which melatonin may be involved. Establishing that there is an association between GMA and dream bizarreness would have relevance for neurophysiological theories of dreaming, and for models of psychotic symptoms resembling bizarre dream events.