Analysis of dream contents by scaled and rated measurements

Abstract

SYNOPSISThe study was undertaken in order to test a dream-rating scale and to propose some modifications, especially for use in laboratory situations, where the effect of a given experimental factor is to be assessed on mental activity in sleep. Dreams collected from normal subjects under EEG monitoring were analysed in detail in order to establish definitions for each rating point of each dimension of the rating scale. The scoring of a second set of dreams by two judges using this scale resulted in an inter-rater agreement significantly above the level of chance agreement.

Dream content and daytime attitudes in anxious and calm women

“…Recently, new methods of objective quantification of dream content have been developed and applied in a variety of psychopathological and normal conditions. Better controlled studies of manifest dream content with more adequate statistical treatment are now available: studies of schizophrenics (Carrington, 1972), of the depressed (Van de Castle & Holloway, 1971), of patients suffering from sexual disorders (Winget & Farrell, 1972), of organic brain syndromes (Kramer & Roth, 1975), of normals of different ages (Brenneis, 1975a) and cultural groups (Brenneis, 1975 b), both sleeping at home and in the laboratory (Gaillard & Phelippeau, 1977).…”

A classification system for longitudinal analysis of dream patterns.

“…Calvin Hall’s content analysis provides a method of converting “verbal or other symbolic material into numbers in order that statistical operations may be performed” (Hall & Van de Castle, 1966). Analyzing dream contents with scaled or rated measurements has been conducted by Gaillard (1977) and Karle (1980), and a variety of scaled measurement systems for dream contents are described by Winget (1979). Haller (1977) discusses using computers as a means of scanning dream contents to retrieve words related to a chosen question.…”