The Activation Synthesis Theory of Dreaming

• Background: What was the study based on?

  • The study was based on the assumption that the strange nature of some dreams correlates with the neurobiology of REM sleep.
  • The researchers believed that 2 brain states - being awake and being in REM sleep- were so different psychologically that they must be different cognitively.
  • The researchers predicted that the bizarre content of dreams would be different from the bizarre content of fantasies because of the Activity associated with REM sleep.
• What was the aim of the study?

  • The aim of the study was to asses the bizarreness in dreams and fantasies as a way of showing support for the Activation synthesis hypothesis of dreaming.
• Method: What was the design?

  • The researchers used a natural experiment comparing peoples experiences of dreams and fantasies (the independent variable) using a self report method.
• Method: What where the Participants?

  • The participants were 12 students enrolled in a biopsychology course at Harvard University. 2 subjects were male and 10 were female; the age range was 23-45
• Method: What were the materials?

  • Writing materials for participants to record experience's.
  • A scale for measuring bizarreness of experience's.