Psychology- Dement(Sleep and Dream)

• Research questions


  • Does dreaming only happen in REM sleep?
  • Is the duration of REM the same as perceived dream duration?
  • Do eye movements correspond to the content of the dream?
• Independent Variable (IV)


  • 41: REM or NREM awakening
  • 42: 5 or 15min REM awakening delay
• Dependent Variable (DV)


  • H1: If dream reported
  • H2: Participant's choice
  • H3: Report of dream content (self-report)
• Design

  1. Wake up people in REM or REM sleep & check which has more dream recall

  2. Laboratory experiment, observations, self-report, correlation

  3. Repeated measure designs
• Sample

  • Opportunity sample, 4 people (3M, 1F), only studied in detail EEG, EDG, EMG used
• Procedure


  1. Woken at different increments of time in REM, then asked to estimate the time they had been dreaming to the nearest min

  2. Woken at 5 or 15 mins after onset of REM, then asked to choose if they had been dreaming for 15 mins

  3. Lasted 2 months, 351 total awakenings, 191 in REM
• Strengths


  • High internal validity, definition of dream clearly operationalized, demand characteristics minimized, high reliability EEG shows quantitative data, both quantitative and qualitative data collected
• Weaknesses


  • Low generalisability, only 4 participants may not represent dream frequency of the general population, low ecological validity sleeping in a laboratory connected to electrodes could be uncomfortable, people used to caffeinated drinks could experience changes in sleep & dream patterns
• Deception: Participant was misled about whether he was woken in NREM or REM
• Mainly focuses on nature, making obtaining evidence through EEG possible
• Dreaming is the mental activity that occurs during sleep, characterized by vivid images, emotions, and sensations.