Human Sciences Press, Inc., New York City

Volume 2, Number 4, December 1992

Just How Lucid Are Lucid Dreams?
Deirdre Barrett
Page 221

The Effects of Dreaming on Awake Behavior
J.F. Pagel and B.H. Vann
Page 229

Examining the Effects of Brief Individual Dream Interpretation
Mary C. Cogar and Clara E. Hill
Page 239

The Meaning of Dreams
Bert O. States
Page 249
Available online

Coleridge and Dream Sharing
Carlotta Dyer Zilliax
Page 263

Blagrove, Mark.
Dreams as the reflection of our waking concerns and abilities: A critique of the problem-solving paradigm in dream research.
Dreaming: Journal of the Association for the Study of Dreams. Vol 2(4) 205-220, Dec 1992.

Abstract:

Much work in dream psychology is based on the assumption that dreams can solve waking problems, often through the use of metaphors. This paradigm partly relies upon doubtful theories of creative incubation and of REM sleep function. In the paradigm dreams which depict the waking problems of the dreamer are unjustifiably interpreted as also working towards solutions of those problems. Distinctions are needed between first, apparently adaptive dreams; second, dreams which solve problems within their own world, but with no relevance to the waking world; and third, dreams which translate already known solutions into the dream-language. It is proposed that waking concerns, but not waking cognitive abilities, are translated into the dream-rebus, which is hence meaningful but not adaptive. Frequent reports of correlations between dream variables and post-sleep variables are more parsimoniously shown to be the result of a third variable, the pre-sleep state. The unfalsifiability of claims that particular dreams are adaptive is explored.

Key Words: dream; problem-solving; adaptation.

Barrett, Deirdre.
Just how lucid are lucid dreams?
Dreaming: Journal of the Association for the Study of Dreams. Vol 2(4) 221-228, Dec 1992.

Abstract:

This study examined the lucid dreams of 50 subjects as to whether they are also fully lucid for the following corollaries: 1) people in the dreams are dream characters, 2) dream objects are not real, i.e., actions will not carry over concretely upon awakening, 3) the dreamer does not need to obey waking-life physics to achieve a goal, and 4) memory of the waking world is intact rather than amnestic or fictitious. Many lucid dreams were too brief to evaluate on all corollaries. Only about half of the lengthier accounts were lucid for any particular corollary and less than a quarter were lucid on all four. There was trend for more experienced lucid dreamers to be lucid about more corollaries. A related and reciprocal category of dreams that are lucid in terms of some of these four corollaries, but miss the realization that "I'm dreaming" were also examined. Implications for this persistence of irrational thought within lucid dreams will be discussed.

Key Words: lucid dreaming; memory; dream characters.

Pagel, J. F.; Vann, B. H.
The effects of dreaming on awake behavior.
Dreaming: Journal of the Association for the Study of Dreams. Vol 2(4)229-237, Dec 1992.

Abstract:

Reports of the incorporation of dream mentation into a spectrum of awake behaviors were obtained from a heterogeneous awake population group through the utilization of self reporting questionnaires (N=265). Results were analyzed to determine associations between age, gender, race, and the dream use variables. Significantly higher dream use was found in females for a majority of behaviors, and a negative correlation was found between increasing age and all dream questions studied. No significant racial/ethnic variation was found in the responses of the sample. These findings suggest that such a sociological approach to the study of the effects of dream mentation on awake behavior can provide insight into the sleep/dream states.

Key Words: dream; dream use; behavior; age; gender; race; sleep; questionnaire.

Cogar, Mary C.; Hill, Clara E.
Examining the effects of brief individual dream interpretation.
Dreaming: Journal of the Association for the Study of Dreams. Vol 2(4) 239-248, Dec 1992.

Abstract:

Sixty-seven volunteers were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: six weeks of dream interpretation and monitoring in an individual counseling setting, six weeks of dream monitoring, and wait list control. Although clients and therapists were all satisfied and clients indicated gaining greater self-understanding in the dream interpretation condition, dream interpretation was not found to be significantly better than the other two conditions in promoting changes in self-esteem or symptomatology. Further, psychological mindedness and the verbalizer-visualizer dimension did not predict post-session scores on symptomatology and self-esteem for the dream interpretation condition. Methodological problems that may have influenced the results are discussed and suggestions made for future research.

Key Words: dream interpretation; individual counseling.

States, Bert O.
The meaning of dreams.
Dreaming: Journal of the Association for the Study of Dreams. Vol 2(4) 249-262, Dec 1992.

Abstract:

A literary and phenomenological approach to the possible meaningfulness of dreams and fictions that would include both "unifying concepts" (Globus, 1991) and the unspecifiable emotional meanings carried by experience itself. The essay examines the difficulty of pinning down the term meaning in metaphorical constructions. An attempt is made to apply Gadamer's concept of the unity of experience and Gendlin's notion of "felt meanings" to both fictions (Hamlet) and dreams.

Key Words: meaning; bizarreness; experience; emotions; metaphors; dreams.

Available online

Zilliax, Carlotta Dyer.
Coleridge and dream sharing.
Dreaming: Journal of the Association for the Study of Dreams. Vol 2(4) 263-278, Dec 1992.

Abstract:

Samuel Taylor Coleridge promised, but never wrote, a work to explain his speculations on dreaming. He discussed dreaming frequently, but he seldom shared the contents of his dreams. Rather, his published prose and poetry can be seen to contain cautions about assigning a purpose to dreams and warnings against dreamsharing. Only since the publication of his private notebooks have we been able to appreciate the care he took with subjective observation and the ways in which his ideas differ from Romantic views and reflect instead an interest in formal analysis. In addition, the notebooks demonstrate Coleridge's appreciation of the complexity of the problem of dreaming as well as his personally conflicted response to issues raised by his dreams: issues concerning religion, morality, drug addiction, and sexuality.

Key Words: Coleridge; romantic poetry; dream sharing.