Modeling precognitive dreams as meaningful coincidences.
Psychological Reports December 1, 1998 DOI: 10.2466/pr0.1998.83.3f.1411 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Path analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 50 |
| Population | College students |
| Key points | Precognitive dreams can be modeled as accidental 'hits' where increased dream recall and belief in the paranormal facilitate interpreting such hits as meaningful coincidences, with tolerance of ambiguity affecting both factors. |
Abstract
50 college students completed the Anomalous Experiences Inventory, the AT-20 measure of tolerance of ambiguity, and a frequency of dream recall questionnaire. Using path analysis we show that precognitive dreams can be modeled as accidental 'hits' with increased dream recall and the interpretation of such hits as 'meaningful coincidences' seems facilitated by a belief in the paranormal. As predicted, both factors are affected by tolerance of ambiguity, which provides the flexibility required to store and recall ambiguous dream information while simultaneously allowing dream recallers to assume a paranormal origin of their 'precognitive' dreams. Moreover, the fit of the proposed model did not depend on sex or age. Alternative models that provided a better fit to the data validated the roles of tolerance of ambiguity and belief in the paranormal in eliciting experiences of precognitive dreaming, but frequency of dream recall was not confirmed as a crucial factor.