dement and kleitman (sleep & dreams)

biological approach

What are the three aims?

1. Does dream recall differ from REM and non-REM stages of sleep?

2. Is there a positive correlation between subjective estimates of dream duration and the length of REM?

3. Are eye movement patters related to dream content?

Which assumption from the biological approach does the study follow?

The assumption that emotions, behaviors, and cognitions can be investigated by manipulating and measuring biological responses such as eye movements, Brian activity, and pulse rate.

• link: the third experiment tracks eye movements to see if it is related to dream content.

What are features of the sample?

sampling technique: not listed

amount: 9 in total (7M 2F)

extra info:

• 5 were studied intensely while the other 4 were studied minimally (all the males studied intensely)

• the other 4 were studied to confirm the results of the other 5

What was the research method?

a natural lab experiment because they were in a room made to look like a natural sleeping environment

What was the experimental design?

repeated measures design because all the participants were observed and tested for the all levels of the IV.hatw

What was the procedure for the first experiment? (REM or N-REM)

1. at various times during the night (both during REM and N-REM sleep) participants were awakened to test their dream recall (some in specific intervals some randomly)

2. the participants were awakened by a loud doorbell ringing close to their bed. the participant then had to speak into a tape recorder near the bed.

3. they were then instructed to first state whether or not they had been dreaming and then, if they could to report the content of the dream.

• the participants were only recorded as having dreamed if they were able to relate the contents of the dream.hatw

What was the procedure for experiment 2? (guessing duration of REM)

1. the participants were woken via the bell at specific times by the experimenters either 5 or 15 mins into a REM period.

2. they were then asked to say into the recorder

• if they dreamed

• if so a description of the dream

• an estimation of if they were dreaming for 5 or 15 mins

3. researchers usually listened outside of the room, but would sometimes enter the room to further question the participants

What was the procedure for experiment 3? (eye movement with dream content)

1. the participants were woken up 1 minute after of of the 4 eye movement patterns occured

• mainly vertical

• mainly horizontal

• both vertical and horizontal

• little/ no eye movement

2. the participants were then to tell what they were dreaming of

3. the researchers then analyzed the data.

What was the independent and dependent variable in experiment 1? (REM or N-REM)

IV: the sleep stage they were awakened from either REM or N-REM

DV: recall of dream with a detailed description of the dream

• quantitative data

What was the independent and dependent variable in experiment 2? (guessing duration of REM)

IV: the duration of REM either 5 or 15 mins

DV: the participants estimation by either choosing 5 or 15 mins

• quantitative data

What was the independent and dependent variable for experiment 3? (eye movement and dream recall)

IV: eye movements wither horizontal, vertical, no movement, or both

DV: the content of the dream

• qualitative data

What were the controls used/ things done before arriving to lab?

• told to eat their normal diet

• told to arrive at the lab at their natural bedtime

• told to avoid caffeine and alcohol

• they were never told what stage of sleep they were woken up in

• the researchers observed from outside of the room

What are the results for experiment one?

• more dreams were reported in REM than N-REM sleep for participants

• when participants were awakened closer to REM sleep, they displayed better recall of dreams

• dream recall increased through the night compared to earlier in the night

• when participants were awoken in deep N-REM sleep, they were bewildered and sad that they were dreaming but couldn’t describe the content

What was the result for experiment 2?

• participants were able to choose the correct dream duration fairly accurate more than not

What were the results for experiment 3?

• findings suggest that the eye movements of subjects are related to the dream content more than not

examples for eye movements:

• vertical: shooting basketballs so looking up to shoot and down to get a ball]

• horizontal: watching people throw tomatoes at each other

• both: fighting someone or looking for someone

• no movement: driving a car straight down the road

What are the final conclusions?

experiment 1

• REM sleep is predominately associated with dreaming, and N-REM sleep is associated with periods of non-dreaming sleep

experiment 2

• people dream relatively in real time

experiment 3

• people’s eye movements in REM are related to dream content

High or low generalizability?

low

why:

• gender imbalance (7M 2F)

• small sample size (9 total)

• only 5 of them were tested intensely (males) and the other 4 were tested minimally as they were only used to confirm the results of the other 5

High or low reliability?

low

why:

• 5 were studied vigorously while the other weren’t

• some were only studied 6-17 nights while others were tested for longer

What is the psychology being investigated?

sleep or dreams

• dreams: subjective memories of what we experience while we are asleep

How can we apply the findings to the real world?

• to seeing patterns and dreams

• help people that have sleeping disorders like insomnia

• help treat sleep paralysis

• improve sleep health

High or low internal validity?

high

why: use of many controls

• no caffeine or alcohol consumption

• eat regular diet

• arrive to lab at regular bed time

High or low external validity?

low

why: not studied in natural environment

• slept in a lab with wires attached to them

• being constantly wasted in their sleep

What ethics were broken?

privacy: they shared personal dreams which they may not have wanted to share with a stranger

psychological protection: they were constantly being woken up meaning they didn’t get a good night sleep for many days