Personality Correlates of Flying Dreams
Imagination, Cognition and Personality October 1, 2007 DOI: 10.2190/ic.27.2.d (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 444 |
| Population | Students |
| Topics | Lucid dreaming |
| Keywords | Neuroticism Extraversion and introversion Openness to experience Personality Recall Developmental psychology Cognitive psychology Psychotherapist |
| Citations | 21 |
| Key findings | Flying dreams were related to low neuroticism, openness to experience, boundary thinness, dream recall frequency, and playing an instrument. The authors indicate that psychological factors play a role, supporting the continuity hypothesis at the level of emotions. |
Abstract
Despite the fact that flying unaided is not possible in waking life, flying dreams have been reported fairly often. Over the centuries, a large number of scientists have speculated about the etiology of such dreams. Their occurrence in a student sample ( N = 444) was related to low neuroticism, openness to experience, boundary thinness, dream recall frequency and playing an instrument. The findings of the present study indicate that psychological factors play a role in the explanation of flying dreams. This does not completely rule out any of the physiological theories. The traits associated with flying dreams positively support the continuity hypothesis at the level of emotions. Future studies should measure the current frequency of flying dreams and correlate this variable with the dreamer's current emotional state in waking life.
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 5
- The continuity and discontinuity between waking and dreaming: A Dialogue between Michael Schredl and Allan Hobson concerning the adequacy and completeness of these notions heiDOK (Heidelberg University) 2011
- Continuity between waking life and dreams of psychiatric patients A review and discussion of the implications for dream research University Library Heidelberg 2014
- Financial Stress, Attitudes toward Money, and Scores on a Dream Inventory Psychological Reports August 1, 2010
- Lucid Dreaming: A Diary Study Imagination, Cognition and Personality September 1, 2018
- Arousal in Nocturnal Consciousness: How Dream- and Sleep-Experiences May Inform Us of Poor Sleep Quality, Stress, and Psychopathology. Frontiers in Psychology May 10, 2017
Cites 4
- Factors of home dream recall: a structural equation model Journal of Sleep Research May 12, 2003
- Typical Dreams: Stability and Gender Differences The Journal of Psychology 2004
- Flying dreams and lucidity: An empirical study of their relationship. Dreaming June 1, 1991
- Creativity and Dream Recall The Journal of Creative Behavior March 1, 1995