Presleep Determinants of Dream Content: Effects of Two Films

Abstract

Twenty-four Ss were exposed to controlled presleep stimuli. On one experimental night, they saw a violent episode, on the other, a nonviolent episode, from a TV western series. Dreams were collected using Dement and Kleitman's electrophysiological methods, by means of which rapid eye movement (REM) periods were used to identify “dream” periods. REM reports following the violent episode were longer, and more imaginative, vivid, and emotional, but neither more unpleasant nor more violent, than those following the nonviolent film. Direct incorporation of the content of either film was very infrequent. It was also shown that MMPI clinical scales correlated positively with ratings of many “dream-like” features of sleep mentation, and that, although there were stylistic similarities between waking and sleeping fantasy, there was little similarity in instinctual content. Finally, recent findings on the extent and nature of sleep mentation occurring outside REM periods were almost totally confirmed.