Dement & Kleitman

Question 0

Method

Answer 0

Controlled investigation / lab experiment

Question 1

Background & Aim

Answer 1

. One of the earliest lab studies of sleep & dreaming
. 3 hypothesis:
- There will be a significant association between REM sleep & dreaming.
- There will be a significant positive correlation between the estimate of the duration of dreams and length of time spent in REM sleep.
- There will be a significant association between pattern of eye movement and context of dream

Question 2

Sample

Answer 2

. 9 participants, 7 male, 2 female

. 5 studied intensively, while only small amount of data collected from other 4

Question 3

Procedure

Answer 3

. Participants studied under controlled lab conditions
. Participants reported to lab just before their usual bed time
. Asked to eat normally and but to avoid caffeine & alcohol on day of study
. Went to bed in quiet, dark room
. EEG used to amplify and record signals of the electrodes
- 2 or more attached near eyes to record electrical changes caused by eye movement
- 2/3 attached to scalp to record brain activity which indicated participants depth of sleep
. At various times, participants awakened to test dream recall
. Woken up by loud doorbell near their bed
. They had to speak into a tape recorder. 1st stating whether they had been dreaming, if so report content of dream

Question 4

Results

Answer 4

. Hypoth 1:
REM sleep - 192 awakenings, 153 dream reports, 39 no dream reports
NREM sleep - 160 awakenings, 11 dream reports, 149 no dream reports

. Hypoth 2:

• 60 tests woken after 15mins REM sleep, correct 47, incorrect 13
• 51 tests woken after 5 mins REM sleep, correct 45, incorrect 6

. There did appear to be some relationship between content of dream and type of eye movement

Question 5

Conclusions & implications

Answer 5

. Suggests there is a link between REM sleep and dreaming

. Supports the idea that dreams can be studied in an objective way, opening areas for research