Aim, Background, Research Method
Sample
Procedure
Results and Conclusions
Strengths and Weaknesses
100

What were the 4 aims of the study?

  • Does dreaming occur during REM and/or nREM sleep?
  • Can participants accurately estimate the length of time that they have been dreaming?
  • Do eye movement patterns match dream content?
  • Does the duration of Rem sleep correlate with the narrative of a reported dream?
100

How many participants did it start with? Gender?

Started with 9 participants(7 males and 2 females)

100

When did they arrive to the lab?

At their normal bedtime

100

What were the results for aim 1?

152 dreams recalled when woken during REM

11 dreams recalled when woken during NREM (total of 149 no recall in NREM)


100

One strength in Ethics and one weakness

Strength:

All adults

No physical nor psychological harm

Names kept confidential (only initials displayed)

Weakness:

Disturbance with sleep schedule

200

What type of experiment is this?

Laboratory experiment  

200

How many participants remained?

5

200

What could they not consume?

Caffeine and Alcohol

200
What were the results for aim 2?

Out of 51 awakening after 5 min of REM, 45 estimations correct

Out of 60 awakening after 15 min of REM, 47 estimations correct

200

One strength in Generalizability and One weakness.

Strength:

Both genders

Weakness:

Small sample

300

What was the Research Design? IV and DV?

Repeated and Independent Measures

IV - whether they woke up from REM or NREM; DV - whether they recalled a dream or not.

IV - waking participants after 5 or 15 minutes into REM sleep; DV - participants guess on dream duration (5 or 15 minutes);

IV - eye movement patterns; DV - dream content.

300

How many nights did they stay?

6 to 17 nights

300

What was used to measure their dreams? Where was it placed?

The EEG machine and electrodes were attached to their scalp and around the eyes; the cables were gathered in a ponytail, to allow for movement

300

What were the results for aim 3?

Vertical eye movement

  • Standing at bottom of cliff and hoisting things up and down.
  • Climbing a ladder
  • Throwing a basketball into basket and bending down to pick up other ball.


Horizontal eye movement =

  • Tomato fight


Little or no movement

  • Fixed on a point, such as driving


Mixed eye movement

  • People talking or watching objects close to them
300

One strength in Applicability and One weakness

Strength:

Can be used for people with sleeping disorders such as sleep apnea

Weakness:

Sleep cycles are individual to each person.

400

What was the psychology being investigated?

Sleep and Dreaming

400

What were the 4 that left used for?

To confirm findings
400

How were all the participants awoken?

A loud door bell

400

What were the results for aim 4?

Number of words used to describe a dream correlated significantly with the length of the REM period.

400

One strength in Validity and One weakness.

Strength:

Use of EEG

Demand characteristics avoided

Weakness:

Dream narrative can be subjective

Low ecological validity

500

What is the background of the study?

In 1953 Aserinsky identified REM and NREM sleep. Other studies have confirmed that sleep follows a cycle of alternating periods of NREM and REM sleep. REM sleep is strongly associated with dreaming.




500

When did the 4 participants drop out?

2 after one night and another 2 after two nights

500

Explain the procedures

  • They were woken up by a loud bell ring situated close to the bed
  • They recorded the participants answers and descriptions with a tape recorder
  • The room was darkened and as sleep began, the experimenter observed the EEG record and noted when participant entered REM sleep.
  • When the participant had been woken up by the bell, the researcher interviewed them.
  • Interview: were you dreaming? If so, what did you dream about? And dream length estimation (5 or 15 mins)?


500

What are the conclusions of the study?

  • Dreams are more likely to be reported in REM sleep than in nREM sleep
  • Dreams appear to happen in real time
  • Dream content appears to correspond to the direction in which the eyes move
500

One strength in Reliability and One weakness.

Strength:

Standardized procedure

Control of extraneous variables

Weakness:

Self-reports

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