Personality and Dreaming. Thick and Thin Boundaries
Oxford University Press eBooks November 24, 2010 DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199751778.003.0010 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Argues that the personality dimension of thick versus thin boundaries is intimately related to dreaming, with a close correspondence to a continuum of mental functioning from focused waking thought to dreaming. |
Abstract
Dreaming, daydreaming, and thinking are done by people, and people differ in all sorts of ways. Different people think differently and they dream differently as well. This is so obvious as to hardly be worth mentioning. But are there systematic differences? Can aspects of personality be related to dreaming? Early studies suggested little relation between dreaming and measures of personality. However, it now turns out that there is a systematic difference in dream recall and dreaming style, which corresponds closely to a dimension of personality. This is worth discussing, since it suggests some correspondence in underlying organization. This chapter describes the personality dimension thick vs. thin boundaries, and shows that the personality continuum running from very thick to very thin boundaries is intimately related to dreaming. And in fact, it bears a close relationship to the continuum of mental functioning running from focused-waking thought to dreaming.