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Dreaming, Lucid Dreaming and Personality

Evelyn Doll, Georg Gittler, Brigitte Holzinger

heiDOK (Heidelberg University) 2009 DOI: 10.11588/ijodr.2009.2.142 (opens in new tab)

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Observational cohort Peer reviewed
Sample size 89
Population Subjects categorized as frequent, rare, or non-lucid dreamers
Topics Lucid dreaming Dreaming
Keywords Personality Autonomy Mental health Psychoanalysis Developmental psychology Psychotherapist
Citations 27
Key findings Frequent lucid dreamers scored higher on mental health, freedom from complaints, expansivity, autonomy, and self-esteem than rare or non-lucid dreamers, with no differences in behavioral control, decision behavior, or spatial abilities.

Abstract

The term "lucid dream" describes a dream during which the dreamer is aware of being in a dream while the dream is ongoing. Our investigation focused on the frequency of the lucid dream experience and its relationship to mental health, behavioural control (TPF; Becker, 1989), decision behaviour (EQS; Wolfram, 1982), and spatial abilities (3DW; Gittler, 1990). Data analysis of 89 subjects suggested that frequent lucid dreamers (n=27) differ from rare (n=33) and non-lucid dreamers (n=29) by higher scores in the scales of mental health, freedom from complaints, expansivity, autonomy and self-esteem. With regard to behavioural control, decision behaviour and spatial abilities, there were no significant differences between the three lucidity groups.

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