Brief Report: Frequency of Dream Recall, Creativity, and a Control for Anxiety
Psychological Reports June 1, 1968 DOI: 10.2466/pr0.1968.22.3c.1355 (opens in new tab)
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractPeople who more frequently recall their dreams tend to score higher on a test of creative thinking, the Remote Associates Test (RAT). However, anxiety disrupts this relationship: anxious individuals recall dreams more often but perform worse on the creativity test. After statistically removing the influence of anxiety, the positive link between dream recall frequency and creativity becomes stronger.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Correlational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Dream recall frequency correlates positively with creativity as measured by the RAT, and this correlation increases after controlling for anxiety. |
Abstract
Frequency of dream recall ( f DR ) correlated with a creativity score on the Remote Associates Test (RAT). This correlation was lowered by anxiety which correlated positively with f DR but negatively with the RAT scores. Control for the biasing effect of anxiety was accomplished by a partial correlation which increased the f DR -RAT correlation.