Testing the Empathy Theory of Dreaming: The Relationships Between Dream Sharing and Trait and State Empathy

Abstract

In general, dreams are a novel but realistic simulation of waking social life, with a mixture of characters, motivations, scenarios, and positive and negative emotions. We propose that the sharing of dreams has an empathic effect on the dreamer and on significant others who hear and engage with the telling of the dream. Study 1 tests three correlations that are predicted by the theory of dream sharing and empathy: that trait empathy will be correlated with frequency of telling dreams to others, with frequency of listening to others’ dreams, and with trait attitude toward dreams (ATD) (for which higher scores indicate positive attitude). 160 participants completed online the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire and the Mannheim Dream Questionnaire. Pearson partial correlations were conducted, with age and sex partialled out. Trait empathy was found to be significantly associated with the frequency of listening to the dreams of others, frequency of telling one’s own dreams to others, and attitude toward dreams. Study 2 tests the effects of discussing dreams on state empathy, using an adapted version of the Shen (2010) state empathy scale, for 27 pairs of dream sharers and discussers. Dream discussion followed the stages of the Ullman (1996) dream appreciation technique. State empathy of the dream discusser toward the dream sharer was found to increase significantly as a result of the dream discussion, with a medium effect size, whereas the dream sharer had a small decrease in empathy toward the discusser. A proposed mechanism for these associations and effects is taken from the robust findings in the literature that engagement with literary fiction can induce empathy toward others. We suggest that the dream acts as a piece of fiction that can be explored by the dreamer together with other people, and can thus induce empathy about the life circumstances of the dreamer. We discuss the speculation that the story-like characteristics of adult human dreams may have been selected for in human evolution, including in sexual selection, as part of the selection for emotional intelligence, empathy, and social bonding.

Dreaming during the Covid-19 pandemic: Computational assessment of dream reports reveals mental suffering related to fear of contagion

“…Trait empathy was found to be significantly associated with the frequency of listening to the dreams of others, the frequency of telling one's dreams to others, and one's attitude toward dreams. Moreover, the dream-discusser's empathy towards the dream-sharer was found to increase significantly as a result of the dream discussion, with medium effect size, whereas the dream-sharer presented a small decrease in empathy towards the dream-discusser [46]. Based on these results, the authors suggest that dreams act as a piece of fiction that can be explored by the dreamer together with other people, thus inducing empathy about the dreamer's life circumstances [46].…”

“…Moreover, the dream-discusser's empathy towards the dream-sharer was found to increase significantly as a result of the dream discussion, with medium effect size, whereas the dream-sharer presented a small decrease in empathy towards the dream-discusser [46]. Based on these results, the authors suggest that dreams act as a piece of fiction that can be explored by the dreamer together with other people, thus inducing empathy about the dreamer's life circumstances [46]. They also speculate that the story-like characteristics of adult human dreams may have been positively selected during human evolution as part of the selection for emotional intelligence, empathy, and social bonding [46].…”

“…Based on these results, the authors suggest that dreams act as a piece of fiction that can be explored by the dreamer together with other people, thus inducing empathy about the dreamer's life circumstances [46]. They also speculate that the story-like characteristics of adult human dreams may have been positively selected during human evolution as part of the selection for emotional intelligence, empathy, and social bonding [46]. Given these results, one might argue that talking about dreams during social isolation can have a positive effect on individuals' experiences, helping them to mitigate mental suffering, and potentially leading them to engage in other forms of creative social connection.…”

“…More than just tracking signs of mental suffering, could the observation of dreams help to understand personal challenges and mitigate suffering? Blagrove and collaborators proposed that dream sharing has an empathic effect on the dreamer and on significant others engaged in a dream-telling situation [46]. Trait empathy was found to be significantly associated with the frequency of listening to the dreams of others, the frequency of telling one's dreams to others, and one's attitude toward dreams.…”

Standing in Others' Shoes: Empathy and Positional Behavior

“… 2 Different strands of literature from a wide variety of disciplines have investigated the evolutionary, neurobiological, and genetic roots of affective and cognitive dimensions of empathy (de Waal, 2008, 2012; Preckel et al, 2018; Blagrove et al, 2019). In studies involving humans and animals, neurobiologists identify mirror-neurons that operate during empathic processes (e.g., Rizzolatti and Craighero, 2004; Fogassi, 2011; Khalil, 2011; Molnar-Szakacs, 2011; Bernhardt and Singer, 2012; Cronin, 2012).…”