Dream Splicing: A New Technique for Assessing Thematic Coherence in Subjective Reports of Mental Activity

Consciousness and Cognition 3 (1):114-128 (1994)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

A novel "dream splicing" technique allows the objective evaluation of thematic coherence in dreams. In this study, dream reports were cut into segments and segments randomly recombined to form spliced reports. Judges then attempted to distinguish spliced reports from intact ones. Five judges correctly scored 22 spliced and intact reports 82% of the time ; 13 of the 22 reports were correctly scored by all five judges . We conclude that most dream reports contain sufficient coherence to allow judges to distinguish intact from spliced reports. In contrast, abridged reports, which had all but their first and last five lines removed, were correctly identified in only 10 of 38 reports, suggesting that thematic continuity does not normally extend from the beginning to the end of dreams. The continuity identified in this minority of the reports depended on easily identifiable features, such as specific characters, objects, locations, and emotions, rather than on "latent" themes

Other Versions

No versions found

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 103,486

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Dream content: Individual and generic aspects☆.Allan Hobson & David Kahn - 2007 - Consciousness and Cognition 16 (4):850-858.

Analytics

Added to PP
2011-11-01

Downloads
49 (#468,991)

6 months
13 (#197,488)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

John Hobson
University of Hertfordshire

References found in this work

No references found.

Add more references