An arousal-retrieval model is proposed to account for difficulties in sleep learning and dream recall. The model is based on two-stage memory theory, in which it is assumed that information processing in a short-term memory store facilitates subsequent retrieval from long-term memory storage. It is proposed that the effectiveness of processing of target material is impaired during sleep. Thus, dreams and information contained in stimulus presentations to a sleeping person very likely can only be retrieved if an awakening occurs during the life of the short-term memory trace. It is further proposed that experiences occurring during or shortly after awakening compete with the target material for space in the limited-capacity processing system, with the most salient of the set favored in the competition. Interference and repression effects are assumed as additional factors in retrieval from long-term storage.
Sixteen subjects slept in the laboratory for three nonconsecutive nights. On the third night subjects saw a stressful film before going to sleep and again in the morning. Half of the subjects were presented with part of the sound track of the film during rapid eye movement (REM) periods at an intensity below the waking threshold (film-sound condition) while the other half were not (filmalone condition). The dreams of the subjects in the film-sound condition contained significantly more incorporations of film elements than those of subjects in the film-alone condition, suggesting that the presentation of the sound stimulus during REM periods was partially successful in enhancing the effects of the film on dreams. Contrary to expectations, subjects who exhibited more emotionality at the second presentation of the film tended to be those who had more incorporations of film elements in their dreams; thus it appears that film incorporation interfered with the adaptation to stress. Finally, a group of subjects who saw the film twice, with an 8-hour waking interval, tended to be more anxious at the second presentation than subjects who slept during the interval.In recent years a number of studies have examined the effects of stressful or unusual presleep experiences on dream con-
A recent attempt to assess the "reputation" of various psychology journals (Mace & Warner, 1973) met with a series of criticisms ranging from selection of respondent sample to the type of rating procedure used (Boor, 1973;Gynther, 1973;Hohn & Fine, 1973). The present study was designed to rectify some of the problems found in the Mace and Warner study as well as to provide a broader picture of how journal rankings change as a function of type of work and area of interest.The authors wish to acknowledge and express their appreciation to the Research Grants Board of the University of Manitoba for funding this project and to Joanne Rogan for the many months spent overseeing and directing the data tabulation and compilation of the numerous data tables.
Summary: Sixteen male subjects slept in the laboratory for 4 consecutive nights. Night 1 was an adaptation night and night 2 waS a baseline night of uninterrupted sleep. On nights 3 and 4 subjects were asked to complete "intelligence" tests prior to sleep. One half of the subjects attempted to complete difficult versions of "intelligence" tests without knowing that they could not be completed in the time allotted. The other subjects were given easier versions of the same tests that they were able to complete in the time allotted. Night 3 was a night of uninterrupted sleep and night 4 involved REM period awakenings for the purpose of dream collection. Stressful manipulation consisted of telling the subjects before the administration of either set of tests that an average university student should complete most of the items within the allotted time. On night 3 both groups showed a significant increase in sleep latency and a significant decrease in REM density compared to the baseline night. On night 4 subjects in the difficult condition experienced significantly more anxiety in their dreams and somewhat higher levels of incorporation of the presleep material than subjects in the easy condition. Our findings suggest that following a stressful experience uninterrupted sleep has more short term adaptive value than a procedure which enhances dream recall and that subjects who incorporate elements from a presleep stressful event into their remembered dreams show less adaptation on awakening than subjects who do not. Key Words: Adaptation-Pre-and postsleep anxiety-Stress.In recent years a host of studies have focused on the interplay between waking and sleeping lives. Most studies have examined the effects of a large variety of artificially induced and naturally occurring presleep stressful events on the physiology of sleep and/ or dream content and dream affect (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20). Although the results have not been very consistent from study to study, the observed effects include increases in the latency to sleep onset, decreases in latency to REM sleep, decreases in the percentage of REM sleep, changes in dream affect, and incorporation of stressful elements into dreams.Some of these studies (7,8,12,13) have asked the additional question of how events during sleep affect subsequent waking experience. Greenberg et al. (12) presented a stressful film to three groups of subjects before they went to sleep and again in the morning. During the night one group of subjects was deprived of REM sleep, another was awakened during NREM sleep, and the third group was allowed to sleep without interruption. The REM-
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