The Phenomenology of Dream–Reality Confusion: A Quantitative Study
D. Skrzypińska, M. Hołda, Barbara Szmigielska, Monika Słodka
Dreaming (New York, N.Y.) September 1, 2018 DOI: 10.1037/drm0000078 (opens in new tab) via Semantic Scholar
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractPeople who often confuse dreams with reality tend to have higher neuroticism, thinner psychological boundaries, more frequent dream recall, and more involved attitudes toward dreams. They also experience more sleep-related phenomena. Trends suggest that borderline personality features, fantasy proneness, and dissociative symptoms may increase the likelihood of dream–reality confusion. The study compared 82 participants from the general population who often experience DRC with those who rarely or never do.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 82 |
| Population | General population adults |
| Keywords | Psychology |
| Key finding | Individuals prone to dream–reality confusion more often experience sleep-related phenomena and have higher neuroticism, thinner boundaries, higher dream recall frequency, and more involved attitudes toward dreams. |
Abstract
Dream–reality confusion (DRC) is a difficulty or an impossibility to determine whether an event or an experience took place during wakefulness or if it was the content of a dream. The main goal of the present study was to explore characteristics of participants from the general population who often/very often experience DRC in comparison with those who never/almost never experience it. Altogether, 82 participants were investigated with a set of questionnaires. Results of the study indicate that individuals prone to DRC—in comparison with those who rarely or do not at all experience DRC—more often experience various sleep-related phenomena, and they also have higher neuroticism, thinner boundaries, higher dream recall frequency, and more involved attitudes toward dreams. Furthermore, some trends were revealed, suggesting that high level of borderline personality disorder features, fantasy proneness, and dissociative symptoms may be related to higher probability of experiencing DRC. The limitations of the study and future research directions were also discussed.