key study: dement and kleitman (1957) Flashcards
aim
to find a more detailed investigation of how measured aspects of REM related to reports of dreaming. the study investigated whether: more dreaming occurs during REM sleep than NREM sleep, if there is a relationship between the measured length of time in REM sleep and reports of how long a dream lasted, if eye movements during REM sleep was related to the reported content of the dream
method
9 adults (7 males and 2 females) who came to a sleep laboratory for a polysomnography. they had been told to avoid alcohol and caffeine during the day. they slept in the sleep laboratory and were woken several times during the night and were asked if they had been dreaming, and if so, what their dream was about and how long it had lasted
results
they found that participants were much more likely to say they had been dreaming if they were woken up during REM sleep, almost 80% compared to 9% if woken in NREM. they also said their dream was shorter if woken 5 minutes after REM started compared to 15 minutes. eye movements appeared to link to what participants had been dreaming about. after each waking, participants generally got back to sleep inside 5 minutes
conclusion
this study reveals that dreams are much more likely to occur during REM sleep. it also shows that dreams occur in real time. finally, it shows that REM is closely linked with the content of the dream
evaluation: strengths
provided strong evidence that REM sleep is dream sleep. controlled for possible extraneous variables- caffeine, alcohol. other research conducted in a more natural setting confirmed dement and kleitman’s finding that dreaming is linked with REM sleep.
evaluation: weaknesses
small sample unevenly weighted towards males therefore it is hard to generalise to wider population, artificial setting with frequent wakings could affect quality of sleep or content of dreams so lacks ecological validity, some participants may not normally sleep in a quiet dark place or avoid caffeine or alcohol which could affect the outcome, focused on adults and results can’t be generalised to children
compare and contrast
aserinsky and kleitman (1953) were the first to propose that dreaming occurred mainly during REM sleep in real time which supports dement and kleithman (1957)
link
the findings of this study relate to memory consolidation as the reorganisational theory of sleep and dreams suggest that this happens during REM sleep
implications
dement and kleitman developed a way to objectively study dreaming, the procedure used enabled later researchers to establish the purpose of REM sleep
applications
is in the area of sleep disorders, the findings could guide the creation of interventions that could improve dream length and content
compare and contrast
both dement and kleitman and czeisler used experimentation to study sleeo and dreams but D&Ks study was carried out in a lab whereas Cs study was carried out in the field meaning D&K has greater reliability but C has greater ecological validity
