The Phenomenology of Dream–Reality Confusion: A Quantitative Study
Dagna Skrzypińska, M. Hołda, Barbara Szmigielska, Monika Słodka
Dreaming September 1, 2018 DOI: 10.1037/drm0000078 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 82 |
| Population | General population adults |
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Key findings | 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.
Comparable studies
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| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Survey of entity encounter experiences occasioned by inhaled N,N-dimethyltryptamine: Phenomenology, interpretation, and enduring effects. People who had a memorable entity encounter after taking N,N-dimethyltryptamine | 2020 | Survey | n = 2,561 |
| Future directions in meditation research: Recommendations for expanding the field of contemplative science Meditators | 2018 | Cross-sectional online survey | n = 1,120 |
| The Phenomenology of Lucid Dreaming: An Online Survey Respondents to an online survey about lucid dreams | 2014 | Online survey | n = 684 |
| The neurophenomenology of early psychosis: An integrative empirical study. Ultra-high risk for psychosis patients, first episode psychosis patients, and healthy... | 2019 | Cross-sectional | n = 123 |
| Spontaneous Spiritual Awakenings: Phenomenology, Altered States, Individual Differences, and Well-Being People reporting their most powerful Spontaneous Spiritual or Kundalini Awakening | 2021 | Mixed within and between-participants self-report survey design | n = 152 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 1
Cites 6
- Dream content and personality: Thick vs. Thin boundaries. Dreaming December 1, 1999
- Dream recall frequency, attitude towards dreams and openness to experience. Dreaming September 1, 2003
- Dream-reality confusion in borderline personality disorder: a theoretical analysis Frontiers in Psychology September 15, 2015
- Delusional confusion of dreaming and reality in narcolepsy. Sleep February 1, 2014
- Absorption, psychological boundaries and attitude towards dreams as correlates of dream recall: two decades of research seen through a meta-analysis. Journal of Sleep Research March 1, 2007
and 1 more in the library