Imagining the impossible before breakfast: the relation between creativity, dissociation, and sleep

Kloet, Dalena van Heugten – van der; Cosgrave, Jan; Merckelbach, Harald; Haines, Ross; Golodetz, Stuart; Lynn, Steven Jay

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00324

Cited by 27 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Given the above considerations, it would be interesting to conduct studies on the relationship between creativity and DRC in BPD populations and non-clinical populations. Although a recent study by van Heugten – van der Kloet et al (2015) found a moderate correlation between state dissociation and creativity, no significant correlation was found between creativity and unusual sleep experiences. Future studies should include DRC as a construct to elucidate its relationship with creativity.…”

Section: Variables Present In Bpd and Drcmentioning

confidence: 73%

Dream-reality confusion in borderline personality disorder: a theoretical analysis

Skrzypińska

Szmigielska

2015

Front. Psychol.

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This paper presents an analysis of dream-reality confusion (DRC) in relation to the characteristics of borderline personality disorder (BPD), based on research findings and theoretical considerations. It is hypothesized that people with BPD are more likely to experience DRC compared to people in non-clinical population. Several variables related to this hypothesis were identified through a theoretical analysis of the scientific literature. Sleep disturbances: problems with sleep are found in 15–95.5% of people with BPD (Hafizi, 2013), and unstable sleep and wake cycles, which occur in BPD (Fleischer et al., 2012), are linked to DRC. Dissociation: nearly two-thirds of people with BPD experience dissociative symptoms (Korzekwa and Pain, 2009) and dissociative symptoms are correlated with a fantasy proneness; both dissociative symptoms and fantasy proneness are related to DRC (Giesbrecht and Merckelbach, 2006). Negative dream content: People with BPD have nightmares more often than other people (Semiz et al., 2008); dreams that are more likely to be confused with reality tend to be more realistic and unpleasant, and are reflected in waking behavior (Rassin et al., 2001). Cognitive disturbances: Many BPD patients experience various cognitive disturbances, including problems with reality testing (Fiqueierdo, 2006; Mosquera et al., 2011), which can foster DRC. Thin boundaries: People with thin boundaries are more prone to DRC than people with thick boundaries, and people with BPD tend to have thin boundaries (Hartmann, 2011). The theoretical analysis on the basis of these findings suggests that people who suffer from BPD may be more susceptible to confusing dream content with actual waking events.

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Section: Variables Present In Bpd and Drcmentioning

confidence: 73%

Dream-reality confusion in borderline personality disorder: a theoretical analysis

Skrzypińska

Szmigielska

2015

Front. Psychol.

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“…The hyperassociative cognition typical of REM sleep can promote creativity and insight (e.g., Ritter et al, 2012 ). Yet disturbed sleep can lead to greater dissociation, also resulting in greater creativity ( van Heugten-van der Kloet et al, 2015 ). How can these seemingly opposing views be aligned?…”

Section: Individual Differences Implications For Creativity and CLImentioning

confidence: 99%

Autobiographical memory and hyperassociativity in the dreaming brain: implications for memory consolidation in sleep

Horton

Malinowski

2015

Front. Psychol.

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In this paper we argue that autobiographical memory (AM) activity across sleep and wake can provide insight into the nature of dreaming, and vice versa. Activated memories within the sleeping brain reflect one’s personal life history (autobiography). They can appear in largely fragmentary forms and differ from conventional manifestations of episodic memory. Autobiographical memories in dreams can be sampled from non-REM as well as REM periods, which contain fewer episodic references and become more bizarre across the night. Salient fragmented memory features are activated in sleep and re-bound with fragments not necessarily emerging from the same memory, thus de-contextualizing those memories and manifesting as experiences that differ from waking conceptions. The constructive nature of autobiographical recall further encourages synthesis of these hyper-associated images into an episode via recalling and reporting dreams. We use a model of AM to account for the activation of memories in dreams as a reflection of sleep-dependent memory consolidation processes. We focus in particular on the hyperassociative nature of AM during sleep.

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“…For example, latent disinhibition (the ineffective screening of 'irrelevant' stimuli from attention) explains some of the shared variance between creative achievement and schizotypy (at least in high IQ samples) (Carson, Peterson & Higgins, 2003;Eysenck, 1993;Mohr et al, 2001). Further, daydreaming, characterised by focusing on internal stimuli (typified by visual imagery, memories, fantasies of possible events and internal monologues) (Singer, 1966), appears to be predictive of both schizotypy (Koffel & Watson, 2009) and creativity (Lynn & Rhue, 1986;van Heugten-van der Kloet et al, 2015). Despite strong theoretical and some empirical support for the cognitive hypothesis, several studies have failed to find an association between cognitive components of creativity and schizotypy (e.g., Burch et al, 2006;Gibson et al, 2009;Schuldberg, 1990;Wuthrich & Bates, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The expression of schizotypy in the daily lives of artists.

Holt

2019

Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts

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A considerable amount of research suggests that positive schizotypy (cognitive and perceptual aberrations, such as pseudo-hallucinations) is associated with creativity in the arts.In order to better understand how positive schizotypy might be expressed in the creative process, the experience sampling method was used to explore the experiential correlates of schizotypy in a sample of artists. Artists (N = 41) were sampled over a week-long period, answering questions at random intervals that related to mood, cognition, state of consciousness and behaviour, resulting in reports on 2495 experiences. The sample scored significantly higher than normative samples on positive, but not negative, schizotypy, supporting previous research on the role of 'healthy schizotypy' in creativity. Multi-level modelling demonstrated that positive schizotypy predicted a particular experiential profile in daily life, characterised by more frequent reports of the flow state, altered experience, internal dialogue, vivid imagery, distractibility, introspection and high self-esteem. Positive schizotypy (but not other dimensions of schizotypy) was also a significant predictor of artmaking and inspiration in daily life. Random intercept and slope models suggested that positive schizotypy was associated with greater increases in positive affect and self-esteem during or following art-making, supporting an 'affective hypothesis' for the relationship between schizotypy and artistic involvement. This study supports previous research linking positive schizotypy with artistic creativity, and suggests that, in this context, positive schizotypy can be associated with adaptive experiences, including inspiration, flow and selfesteem. Further, art-making may serve a therapeutic function for artists high in positive schizotypy.

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Imagining the impossible before breakfast: the relation between creativity, dissociation, and sleep

Cited by 27 publications

References 46 publications

Dream-reality confusion in borderline personality disorder: a theoretical analysis

Dream-reality confusion in borderline personality disorder: a theoretical analysis

Autobiographical memory and hyperassociativity in the dreaming brain: implications for memory consolidation in sleep

The expression of schizotypy in the daily lives of artists.

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