Lucid Dreaming Frequency and the Big Five Personality Factors
Imagination, Cognition and Personality March 1, 2017 DOI: 10.1177/0276236616648653 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Online survey Longitudinal Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 2,492 |
| Population | Online survey respondents |
| Topics | Dreaming Lucid dreaming |
| Key findings | Openness to experience correlated positively with lucid dreaming frequency, while agreeableness correlated negatively. The relationship between neuroticism and lucid dreaming frequency disappeared when nightmare frequency was controlled. |
Abstract
Lucid dreaming frequency varies strongly among individuals and, thus, research has focused on identifying what factors affect this phenomenon. The present study, an online survey ( N = 2,492), focused on the relationship between the Big Five personality dimensions and lucid dreaming frequency. Additionally, the personality correlates of the age of the first lucid dream were investigated. In our sample, a small but substantial portion of individual differences concerning lucid dreaming frequency was explained by the Big Five personality factors. Openness to experiences correlated positively with lucid dreaming frequency, whereas the correlation was negative for agreeableness. The relationship between neuroticism and lucid dreaming frequency disappeared when nightmare frequency was controlled. Future researchers should examine the relationship of the Big Five factors with the attitudes toward and the contents of lucid dreams. Moreover, longitudinal studies should investigate the lucid dream socialization of children and the effect of age on the course of interest in lucid dreaming.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on lucid dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Phenomenology of Lucid Dreaming: An Online Survey Respondents to an online survey about lucid dreams | 2014 | Online survey | n = 684 |
| Frequency of Lucid Dreaming in a Representative German Sample Representative sample of German adults | 2011 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 919 |
| Lucid dreaming: an age‐dependent brain dissociation Students aged 6-19 years | 2012 | Survey | |
| Terror and bliss? Commonalities and distinctions between sleep paralysis, lucid dreaming, and their associations with waking life experiences Adults aged 18–82 years | 2016 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 1,928 |
| Increased Lucid Dreaming Frequency in Narcolepsy Patients diagnosed with narcolepsy and healthy control subjects | 2015 | Cross-sectional study | n = 979 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 21
- Lucid dreaming incidence: A quality effects meta-analysis of 50 years of research Consciousness and Cognition June 20, 2016
- Lucid Dreaming, Nightmares, and Sleep Paralysis: Associations With Reality Testing Deficits and Paranormal Experience/Belief. Frontiers in Psychology 2020
- Lucid Dreaming and the Feeling of Being Refreshed in the Morning: A Diary Study. Clocks & Sleep March 1, 2020
- The role of mindful acceptance and lucid dreaming in nightmare frequency and distress. Scientific Reports September 21, 2022
- Dream Recall Frequency, Lucid Dream Frequency, and Personality During the Covid-19 Pandemic. Imagination, Cognition and Personality December 1, 2022
and 16 more in the library
Cites 18
- Lucid Dreaming: a State of Consciousness with Features of Both Waking and Non-Lucid Dreaming Sleep September 1, 2009
- Neural Correlates of Dream Lucidity Obtained from Contrasting Lucid versus Non-Lucid REM Sleep: A Combined EEG/fMRI Case Study Sleep June 29, 2012
- Lucid Dreaming as a Treatment for Recurrent Nightmares Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics February 18, 2010
- The Phenomenology of Lucid Dreaming: An Online Survey The American Journal of Psychology April 21, 2014
- Testing the involvement of the prefrontal cortex in lucid dreaming: A tDCS study Consciousness and Cognition September 8, 2013
and 13 more in the library