I daydream therefore I am: Investigating associative and narrative processes in daydreaming and self-concept

Abstract

Daydreaming-also understood as a decoupling of attention from the external environment to internal environment-relates to human experience in a variety of ways (e.g., task performance, emotions, psychological well-being, social connection). In this dissertation, I propose that certain daydreams follow principles of association, such that mental elements should be prompted by unique and salient information from the external environment. In turn, daydreams formed through association should be specific and emotionally intense. I also propose that certain daydreams follow principles of narrative processing, such that mental elements should be prompted by more general self-related information such as goals and life stories. In turn, daydreams formed through narrative processing should be organized in a temporally coherent way, follow a common theme, and elicit meaning-making (i.e., connecting experiences to the self). Because of their more integrative presentation of selfrelated information, I propose that narrative daydreams will have a greater influence on the self-concept than associative daydreams. Three hundred and six participants across two experiments completed a modified sustained attention task with ten random daydreaming probes. Participants were randomly assigned to either an associative or narrative condition. The manipulation in each condition differed across experiments, yet all manipulations aimed to influence daydream content to be more associative or more narrative, respectively. Associative and narrative daydream elements were then assessed through self-report measures, and by coding written daydream descriptions. Results of exploratory factor analyses revealed an emotional and self-related factor (close to theorized associative daydreams) and a realistic narrative factor for self-rated items, and associative and narrative daydream factors for coder-rated items. Multilevel growth curve analyses of these factors iii demonstrated that daydreams did not follow an associative or narrative structure based on condition (as hypothesized), but instead, varied in an idiosyncratic manner over probes. Finally, multiple regression analyses revealed that self-rated realistic narrative daydreams positively predicted increases in self-consciousness and private self-consciousness in both experiments. However, none of the daydream factors were significantly related to selfconcept clarity or self-esteem. This suggests that daydreams that follow a narrative sequence may bring about awareness to the self. However, different processes may need to come into play to take the narratives generated through daydreaming and incorporate them into stable evaluations and knowledge of self (i.e., self-esteem and self-concept clarity). Future research and implications are discussed.