Abstract
In order to analyze the verbal reports of the dreamer the method of dream content analysis was developed. The chapter will present the basic idea of this method, different methods to elicit dream reports, the most commonly used coding systems, the methodological challenges, and the reliability and validity of this approach.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Bandalos, D. L. (2018). Measurement theory and applications for the social sciences. New York: Guilford Publications.
Beck, A. T., & Hurvich, M. S. (1959). Psychological correlates of depression: I. Frequency of “masochistic” dream content in a private practice sample. Psychosomatic Medicine, 1, 50–55.
Bernstein, D. M., & Belicki, K. (1995). On the psychometric properties of retrospective dream content questionnaires. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 15, 351–364.
Brink, S. M., & Allan, J. A. B. (1992). Dreams of anorexic and bulimic women: a research study. Journal of Analytical Psychology, 37, 275–297.
Bulkeley, K. (2009). Seeking patterns in dream content: A systematic approach to word searches. Consciousness and Cognition, 18, 905–916.
Bulkeley, K. (2014). Digital dream analysis: A revised method. Consciousness and Cognition, 29, 159–170.
Cartwright, R. D., & Kaszniak, A. (1991). The social psychology of dream reporting. In S. J. Ellman & J. S. Antrobus (Eds.), The mind in sleep: Psychology and psychophysiology (pp. 251–264). New York: Wiley.
Casagrande, M., & Cortini, P. (2008). Spoken and written dream communication: Differences and methodological aspects. Consciousness and Cognition, 17(1), 145–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2007.11.002.
Cipolli, C., Bolzani, R., Cornoldi, C., De Beni, R., & Fagioli, I. (1993). Bizarreness effect in dream recall. Sleep, 16, 163–170.
Clark, J., Trinder, J., Kramer, M., Roth, T., & Day, N. (1972). An approach to the content analysis of dream content analysis scales. Sleep Research, 1, 118.
Cohen, J. (1960). A coefficient of agreement for nominal scales. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 20, 37–46.
Dippel, B. (1988). Manual zur Erfassung des manifesten Trauminhaltes (3.Version, 204 Items). München: Unveröffentlichtes Manuskript.
Domhoff, G. W. (1996). Finding meaning in dreams: A quantitative approach. New York: Plenum Press.
Domhoff, G. W. (2018). The emergence of dreaming: Mind-wandering, embodied simulation, and the default network. New York: Oxford University Press.
Domhoff, B., & Kamiya, J. (1964). Problems in dream content study with objective indicators: I. A comparison of home and laboratory dream reports. Archives of General Psychiatry, 11, 519–524.
Enke, H., Ohlmeier, D., & Nast, J. (1968). Eine formale Affekt- und Beziehungsanalyse in Traumserien von Patienten mit psychosomatischen Krankheitsbildern. Zeitschrift für Psychosomatische Medizin, 9, 15–33.
Foulkes, D. (1978). A grammar of dreams. New York: Harvester Press.
Foulkes, D. (1982). Children’s dreams: Longitudinal studies. New York: Wiley.
Foulkes, D., & Sheperd, J. (1971). Manual for a scoring system for children’s dreams. Unpublished manuscript, University of Wyoming.
Foulkes, D., Sullivan, B., Kerr, N. H., & Brown, L. (1988). Appropriateness of dream feelings to dreamed situations. Cognition and Emotion, 2, 29–39.
Gaillard, J.-M., & Phelippeau, M. (1977). Analysis of dream contents by scaled and rated measurements. Psychological Medicine, 7, 275–282.
Germain, A., Hall, M., Shear, M. K., Nofzinger, E. A., & Buysse, D. J. (2006). Sleep disruption in PTSD: A pilot study with home-based polysomnography. Sleep and Biological Rhythms, 4, 286–289.
Gottschalk, L. A., Gleser, G., & Springer, K. J. (1963). Three hostility scales applicable to verbal samples. Archives of General Psychiatry, 9, 254–279.
Hall, C. S. (1984). “A ubiquitous sex difference in dreams” revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 1109–1117.
Hall, C. S., & Domhoff, B. J. (1963). A ubiquitous sex difference in dreams. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 66, 278–280.
Hall, C. S., & Van de Castle, R. L. (1966). The content analysis of dreams. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Hauri, P. (1975). Categorization of sleep mental activity for psychophysiological studies. In G. C. Lairy & P. Salzorulo (Eds.), The experimental study of human sleep: Methodological problems (pp. 271–281). Amsterdam: Elsvier.
Hauri, P., Sawyer, J., & Rechtschaffen, A. (1967). Dimensions of dreaming: A functional scale for rating dream reports. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 72, 16–22.
Heather-Greener, G. Q., Comstock, D., & Joyce, R. (1996). An investigation of the manifest content associated with migraine headaches: A study of dreams that precede nocturnal migraines. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 65, 216–221.
Hopf, H. H. (1989). Wie “objektiv” sind unsere Notizen? Ein Vergleich von Patiententraumprotokollen mit von Therapeuten niedergeschriebenen Protokollen. Kind und Umwelt, 63, 42–52.
Kemp, S., Burt, C. D. B., & Sheen, M. (2003). Remembering dreamt and actual experiences. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 17, 577–591.
Klingenberg, B. (2008). Regression models for binary time series with gaps. Computational Statistics and Data Analysis, 52(8), 4076–4090.
Kramer, M. (2010). The assessment of dream content: Methodological considerations. Sleep Medicine Clinics, 5(2), 183–191.
Kramer, M., & Roth, T. (1979). The stability and variability of dreaming. Sleep, 1, 319–325.
Leuschner, W., Hau, S., Brech, E., & Volk, S. (1994). Disassociation and reassociation of subliminally induced stimulus material in drawings of dreams and drawings of waking free imagery. Dreaming, 4, 1–27.
Lloyd, S., & Cartwright, R. D. (1995). The collection of home and laboratory dreams by means of an instrumental response technique. Dreaming, 5, 63–73.
Merritt, J. M., Stickgold, R., Pace-Schott, E., Williams, J., & Hobson, J. A. (1994). Emotion profiles in the dreams of men and women. Consciousness and Cognition, 3, 46–60.
Nielsen, T. A. (2000). A review of mentation in REM and NREM sleep: “Covert” REM sleep as a possible reconciliation of two opposing models. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 23, 851–866.
Okuma, T., Fukuma, E., & Kobayashi, K. (1975). “Dream detector” and comparison of laboratory and home dreams collected by REMP-awakening technique. In E. D. Weitzman (Ed.), Advances in sleep research (Vol. 2, pp. 223–231). New York: Spectrum Publications.
Paul, F., Schredl, M., & Alpers, G. W. (2015). Nightmares affect the experience of sleep quality but not sleep architecture: An ambulatory polysomnographic study. Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation, 2(3), 1–9.
Rost, J. (1996). Lehrbuch Testtheorie. Bern: Huber.
Röver, S. A., & Schredl, M. (2017). Measuring emotions in dreams: Effects of dream length and personality. International Journal of Dream Research, 10(1), 65–68.
Samson, H., & De Koninck, J. (1986). Continuity or compensation between waking and dreaming: An exploration using the Eysenck Personality Inventory. Psychological Reports, 58, 871–874.
Sándor, P., Szakadát, S., Kertész, K., & Bódizs, R. (2015). Content analysis of 4 to 8 year-old children’s dream reports. Frontiers in Psychology, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00534.
Saul, L., Sheppard, E., Selby, D., Lhamon, W., & Sachs, D. (1954). The quantification of hostility in dreams with reference to essential hypertension. Science, 119, 382–383.
Schredl, M. (1991). Traumerinnerungshäufigkeit und Trauminhalt bei Schlafgestörten, psychiatrischen Patienten und Gesunden. Unveröffentlichte Diplomarbeit, Universität Mannheim.
Schredl, M. (1998a). The stability and variability of dream content. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 86, 733–734.
Schredl, M. (1998b). Träume und Schlafstörungen: Empirische Studie zur Traumerinnerungshäufigkeit und zum Trauminhalt schlafgestörter PatientInnen. Marburg: Tectum.
Schredl, M. (1999a). Die nächtliche Traumwelt: Eine Einführung in die psychologische Traumforschung. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer.
Schredl, M. (1999b). The problem of dream length in analysis of content. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 88, 434–436.
Schredl, M. (2000). Time series analysis in dream research. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 91, 915–916.
Schredl, M. (2002). Questionnaire and diaries as research instruments in dream research: Methodological issues. Dreaming, 12, 17–26.
Schredl, M. (2004). Traumerinnerung: Modelle und empirische Untersuchungen. Marburg: Tectum.
Schredl, M. (2006). Factors affecting the continuity between waking and dreaming: Emotional intensity and emotional tone of the waking-life event. Sleep and Hypnosis, 8, 1–5.
Schredl, M. (2008a). Determining the dreamer’s gender from a single dream report: A matching study. International Journal of Dream Research, 1, 23–26.
Schredl, M. (2008b). Laboratory references in dreams: Methodological problem and/or evidence for the continuity hypothesis of dreaming? International Journal of Dream Research, 1, 3–6.
Schredl, M. (2008c). Spontaneously reported colors in dreams: Correlations with attitude towards creativity, personality and memory. Sleep and Hypnosis, 10, 54–60.
Schredl, M. (2008d). Traum. München: Reinhardt/UTB.
Schredl, M. (2010). Dream content analysis: Basic principles. International Journal of Dream Research, 3, 65–73.
Schredl, M. (2012). Old school friends: Former social relationship patterns in a long dream series. International Journal of Dream Research, 5, 143–147.
Schredl, M. (2013). Animal dreams in a long dream series. International Journal of Dream Research, 6, 59–64.
Schredl, M. (2016). Temperature perception in dreams: Analysis of a long dream series. International journal of dream research, 9, 79–81.
Schredl, M., & Doll, E. (1998). Emotions in diary dreams. Consciousness and Cognition, 7, 634–646.
Schredl, M., & Engelhardt, H. (2001). Dreaming and psychopathology: Dream recall and dream content of psychiatric inpatients. Sleep and Hypnosis, 3, 44–54.
Schredl, M., & Erlacher, D. (2003). The problem of dream content analysis validity as shown by a bizarreness scale. Sleep and Hypnosis, 5, 129–135.
Schredl, M., & Göritz, A. S. (2017). Dream recall frequency, attitude toward dreams, and the Big Five personality factors. Dreaming, 27(1), 49–58.
Schredl, M., & Keller, K. (2008–2009). Dream content in a representative German sample: Gender differences and the effects of other socio-demographic variables. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 28, 37–48.
Schredl, M., & Montasser, A. (1999). Dreaming and eating disorders. Sleep and Hypnosis, 1, 225–231.
Schredl, M., & Reinhard, I. (2008). Dream recall, dream length and sleep duration: State or trait factor. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 106, 633–636.
Schredl, M., Schröder, A., & Löw, H. (1996). Traumerleben von älteren Menschen – Teil 2: Empirische Studie und Diskussion. Zeitschrift für Gerontopsychologie und -psychiatrie, 9, 43–53.
Schredl, M., Sahin, V., & Schäfer, G. (1998). Gender differences in dreams: Do they reflect gender differences in waking life? Personality and Individual Differences, 25, 433–442.
Schredl, M., Schäfer, G., Weber, B., & Heuser, I. (1998). Dreaming and insomnia: Dream recall and dream content of patients with insomnia. Journal of Sleep Research, 7, 191–198.
Schredl, M., Dombrowe, C., Bozzer, A., & Morlock, M. (1999). Do subliminal stimuli affect dream content? Methodological issues and empirical data. Sleep and Hypnosis, 1, 181–185.
Schredl, M., Schäfer, G., Hofmann, F., & Jacob, S. (1999). Dream content and personality: Thick vs. thin boundaries. Dreaming, 9, 257–263.
Schredl, M., Burchert, N., & Grabatin, Y. (2004). The effect of training on interrater reliability in dream content analysis. Sleep and Hypnosis, 6, 139–144.
Schredl, M., Schwenger, C., & Dehe, A. (2004). Gender differences in dreams: A matching study. Counseling and Clinical Psychology Journal, 1, 61–67.
Schredl, M., Fuchedzhieva, A., Hämig, H., & Schindele, V. (2008). Do we think dreams are in black and white due to memory problems? Dreaming, 18, 175–180.
Schredl, M., Desch, S., Röming, F., & Spachmann, A. (2009). Erotic dreams and their relationship to waking-life sexuality. Sexologies, 18, 38–43.
Schredl, M., Paul, F., Lahl, O., & Göritz, A. S. (2010–2011). Gender differences in dream content: Related to biological sex or sex role orientation? Imagination, Cognition, and Personality, 30, 171–183.
Sikka, P., Feilhauer, D., Valli, K., & Revonsuo, A. (2017). How you measure is what you get: Differences in self- and external ratings of emotional experiences in home dreams. American Journal of Psychology, 130(3), 367–384.
Sikka, P., Revonsuo, A., Sandman, N., Tuominen, J., & Valli, K. (2018). Dream emotions: A comparison of home dream reports with laboratory early and late REM dream reports. Journal of Sleep Research, 27, 206–214.
Stegie, R. (1986). Zur Anwendung des Gottschalk-Gleser-Verfahrens in einer psychophysiologischen Traumstudie. In U. Koch & G. Schoefer (Eds.), Sprachinhaltsanalyse in der psychiatrischen und psychosomatischen Forschung (pp. 424–437). Weinheim: Psychologie Verlags Union.
Stern, D. A., Saayman, G. S., & Touyz, S. W. (1978). A methodological study of the effect of experimentally induced demand characteristics in research of nocturnal dreams. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 87, 459–462.
Strauch, I., & Meier, B. (1996). In search of dreams: Results of experimental dream research. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Trinder, J., Kramer, M., Riechers, M., Fishbein, H., & Roth, T. (1970). The effect of dream length on dream content. Psychophysiology, 7, 333.
Urbina, S. P. (1981). Methodological issues in the quantitative analysis of dream content. Journal of Personality Assessment, 45, 71–78.
Voss, U., Holzmann, R., Hobson, A., Paulus, W., Koppehele-Gossel, J., Klimke, A., & Nitsche, M. A. (2014). Induction of self awareness in dreams through frontal low current stimulation of gamma activity. Nature Neuroscience, 17(6), 810–812.
Weisz, R., & Foulkes, D. (1970). Home and laboratory dreams collected under uniform sampling conditions. Psychophysiology, 6, 588–596.
Whitman, R. M., Kramer, M., & Baldridge, B. J. (1963). Which dream does the patient tell? Archives of General Psychiatry, 8, 277–282.
Winget, C., & Kramer, M. (1979). Dimensions of dreams. Gainesville: University of Florida Press.
Winget, C., Kramer, M., & Whitman, R. M. (1972). Dreams and demography. Canadian Psychiatric Association Journal, 17, 203–208.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Schredl, M. (2018). Dream Content Analysis. In: Researching Dreams. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95453-0_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95453-0_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-95452-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-95453-0
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)