Key Study: Dement and Kleitman Flashcards
When did this study take place?
1957
What was the aim of this study?
The aim of the study was to identify the link between dreams and sleep stages.
In particular, Dement and Kleitman were interested in finding out about the function of REM sleep, and if the eye movement during REM was somehow related to the content of dreams.
What was the method for this study?
Nine adults were used, (seven male, two female)
They came to a sleep laboratory for a polysomnography
Participants were earlier advised to avoid alcohol and caffeine during the day
Participants slept in the sleep laboratory and were woken a number of times during the night by the researchers
They were asked if they had recalled having dreamt, and if so, what was the dream about and how long did it last
What were the main findings for this study?
Dement and Kleitman found that when woken during REM sleep that participants were much more likely to report that they had been dreaming, doing so on 80% of waking compared to around 9% if woken during non-REm sleep.
They also noted that their dream was shorter if they were woken five mins after the beginning of REM phase, compared to being woken 15 mins in during REM.
In terms of eye movements, there was a link between what each participant dreamt about.
e.g. one participant who had been making left-to-right movements of the eyes reported dreaming about throwing tomatoes at each other.
After each waking, participants generally fell back asleep within five minutes.
What are some evaluation points for this study?
The study used a small sample, and its artificial setting - including regular wakings - may have affected the quality of their sleep or the content of their dreams.
However, Dement and Kleitman’s study was hard evidence that REM sleep is the dream sleep, which has been supported by subsequent research.
It is difficult to generalise the findings linking to eye movements as each dream content was different
Finally, the study only focused on adults, therefore, results cannot be generalized to children.
