Psychology Research Digest
Dreaming - Vol 36, Iss 3
Dreaming is a multidisciplinary journal, the only professional journal devoted specifically to dreaming. The journal publishes scholarly articles related to dreaming from any discipline and viewpoint. This includes biological aspects of dreaming and sleep/dream laboratory research; psychological articles of any kind related to dreaming; clinical work on dreams regardless of theoretical perspective (Freudian, Jungian, existential, eclectic, etc.); anthropological, sociological, and philosophical articles related to dreaming; and articles about dreaming from any of the arts and humanities.
Coping strategies and dreams—The impact of waking-life distress on negative dream emotions.
The relationship between waking life and dreaming seems complex, and various studies show that dreams are influenced by waking-life experiences. However, only a few studies deal with the interactions between coping strategies in waking life and dream emotions. The main goal of this study is to investigate the relationship between waking-life distress, coping strategies, and negative dream emotions. The data are based on a cross-sectional study and a longitudinal study where participants kept a dream diary over 14 consecutive days. When coping strategies were included, a moderated regression on the distress level and dream emotions revealed no significant differences. Instead, the interaction variable of waking-life distress and coping strategies is associated with less incidence of negative dream emotions. Furthermore, regression analysis revealed that there was a significant correlation between waking-life distress and negative dream emotions. This study implies that distress has a significant impact on dream emotions, which in turn suggests that this research area should be researched further. For instance, this study could be recreated with highly distressed participants to obtain clearer results. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Mon, 18 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Interpretability of dreams elicited by progressive-interval rapid-eye-movement and fixed-schedule awakening methods: Trajectories of dream affect, themes, and insight across the night.
This study examined whether interpreting REM dream reports elicited using a REM-cycle-accommodating awakening protocol yielded more associations and greater insight than interpreting REM and non-REM dream reports obtained through a fixed-schedule awakening method. It also explored how interpretability of dream reports relates to the number of typical dream themes and affect intensity across the night. Fifty-four participants (20 men) spent three consecutive nights in a sleep laboratory. Of these, 37 were awakened using the REM-cycle-accommodating method, whereas 17 were awakened following a fixed schedule to collect their mentation reports. The next morning, participants received verbatim transcripts of their mentation reports and completed a self-guided dream interpretation workbook. Results indicated that the REM-cycle-accommodating method facilitated more effective dream interpretation than the fixed-schedule method, partially due to greater dream complexity. Identifying typical dream themes further enhanced interpretability. Although affect intensity and the number of typical dream themes increased across successive mentation reports and appeared related to awakening methods and interpretation outcomes, these overnight changes were not reflected in overall interpretation outcomes. The findings suggest that strategically collecting mentation material during REM sleep may promote greater interpretive gains and support the value of REM-based dreamwork. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>The dream insight framework: Harnessing the power of dreams in leadership.
This article introduces the Dream Insight Framework, an approach for integrating dreamwork into leadership development. It explores how dreams, often dismissed in existing leadership approaches, can be powerful tools for enhancing creativity, decision-making, and problem-solving. By reviewing existing theories and research, the article argues for a deeper engagement with the unconscious mind, proposing practical methods for leaders to harness dream insights to navigate complex challenges and develop leadership skills and qualities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Big-Five personality traits and dream experiences: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
[Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported in Vol 36(3) of Dreaming (see record 2028-23196-002). The article is being made available open access under the CC-BY license following the Griffith University opt-in to the CAUL/APA Read and Publish agreement. The correct copyright is “© 2026 The Author(s)” and the CC-BY license disclaimer is below. All versions of this article have been corrected. “Open Access funding provided by Griffith University: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). This license permits copying and redistributing the work in any medium or format, as well as adapting the material for any purpose, even commercially.” https://doi.org/10.1037/drm0000349] Dreams represent a universal human experience linked to emotional regulation, memory processing, and psychological well-being, yet the extent to which stable personality traits shape dream experiences remains unclear. Previous reviews have either focused narrowly on nightmares or examined general sleep-related patterns, leaving questions about the broader role of personality in dreaming unresolved. This meta-analytic investigation synthesized evidence from 89 studies across 86 articles (comprising 65,474 participants) to examine associations between the Big-Five personality traits and nocturnal dream phenomena, including general/neutral dreams, nightmares, and lucid dreams. Déjà rêvé, erotic dreams, and sleep paralysis were also included, though limited studies explored these phenomena precluding analyses into these domains. Neuroticism yielded consistent associations with nightmare frequency, intensity, distress, proneness, and with heightened emotional tone in general/neutral dreams. Openness was broadly linked to cognitive–perceptual engagement, encompassing greater dream recall, vividness, intensity, attitudes, sharing, and a weak positive association with lucid dreaming. Extraversion was narrowly related to socially expressive dimensions including dream sharing, whereas Agreeableness and Conscientiousness yielded inconsistent associations. These findings support continuity models in which affective vulnerability and cognitive–perceptual orientation shape dream experiences. They also emphasize the applied significance of dreaming as a meaningful psychological domain. Nightmares may provide accessible markers of affective dysregulation and potential intervention targets, whereas openness-related engagement with dreams may be harnessed as a resource for creativity, reflection, and well-being. By situating dreaming within the framework of personality research, this study advances theoretical understanding and highlights practical opportunities for integrating dream research into clinical and educational contexts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>When the body suffers, the mind dreams: The lived experience of cancer.
Dreams have intrigued humanity across centuries, serving as portals to the unconscious, reflections of lived experiences, and sources of spiritual guidance. The study of dreaming spans neuroscience, psychology, anthropology, sociology, and religious thoughts, with each discipline offering unique insights into the meaning and function of dreams. For individuals facing life-threatening illnesses like cancer, dreaming can assume an intense significance. Dreams may reveal unresolved fears, induce the struggle for survival, or provide moments of transcendence and hope. This article explores the phenomenon of dreaming through both scholarly and personal lenses. As a cancer patient and researcher, I examine dreams not only as neurocognitive events but also as deeply affective and cultural phenomena. Drawing upon psychoanalytic theories, neuroscientific evidence, and cultural understandings of dreams, I situate my personal dream experiences within the broader research landscape. Using an autoethnographic approach, I reflect that how my dreams have shifted through the phases of diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and recovery and how these dreams induced both anxiety and comfort. Ultimately, this exploration underscores the value of dreams as a psychological resource and an avenue for understanding the lived experience of cancer. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Thu, 10 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Correction to “Big-five personality traits and dream experiences: A systematic review and meta-analysis” by Marin et al. (2026).
Reports an error in "Big-Five personality traits and dream experiences: A systematic review and meta-analysis" by Jai Marin, Noah Thomas, Lan Nguyen and Jared Walters (Dreaming, Advanced Online Publication, Mar 26, 2026, np; see record 2027-47158-001). The article is being made available open access under the CC-BY license following the Griffith University opt-in to the CAUL/APA Read and Publish agreement. The correct copyright is “© 2026 The Author(s)” and the CC-BY license disclaimer is below. All versions of this article have been corrected. “Open Access funding provided by Griffith University: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). This license permits copying and redistributing the work in any medium or format, as well as adapting the material for any purpose, even commercially.” https://doi.org/10.1037/drm0000349 (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2027-47158-001.) Dreams represent a universal human experience linked to emotional regulation, memory processing, and psychological well-being, yet the extent to which stable personality traits shape dream experiences remains unclear. Previous reviews have either focused narrowly on nightmares or examined general sleep-related patterns, leaving questions about the broader role of personality in dreaming unresolved. This meta-analytic investigation synthesized evidence from 89 studies across 86 articles (comprising 65,474 participants) to examine associations between the Big-Five personality traits and nocturnal dream phenomena, including general/neutral dreams, nightmares, and lucid dreams. Déjà rêvé, erotic dreams, and sleep paralysis were also included, though limited studies explored these phenomena precluding analyses into these domains. Neuroticism yielded consistent associations with nightmare frequency, intensity, distress, proneness, and with heightened emotional tone in general/neutral dreams. Openness was broadly linked to cognitive–perceptual engagement, encompassing greater dream recall, vividness, intensity, attitudes, sharing, and a weak positive association with lucid dreaming. Extraversion was narrowly related to socially expressive dimensions including dream sharing, whereas Agreeableness and Conscientiousness yielded inconsistent associations. These findings support continuity models in which affective vulnerability and cognitive–perceptual orientation shape dream experiences. They also emphasize the applied significance of dreaming as a meaningful psychological domain. Nightmares may provide accessible markers of affective dysregulation and potential intervention targets, whereas openness-related engagement with dreams may be harnessed as a resource for creativity, reflection, and well-being. By situating dreaming within the framework of personality research, this study advances theoretical understanding and highlights practical opportunities for integrating dream research into clinical and educational contexts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Thu, 10 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Threatening events and other themes in COVID-19-related dreams: Examining pandemic dreams from the perspective of current dream simulation theories.
In this study on pandemic dream experiences in rural Nepal, 54 interviews were collected 1 year into the COVID-19 pandemic and compared with 62 interviews collected some years earlier. As in comparable studies, the dream narratives were categorized and analyzed according to their content, employing methods applied in other studies. The frequency of dream themes was matched with predictions derived from three current strands in dream research: (a) threat simulation theory (TST); (b) the incorporation continuity hypothesis (ICH); and (c) social simulation theory (SST). The pandemic sample contained more reported nightmares and both aggressive and nonaggressive threats than the nonpandemic sample (supporting TST). The pandemic sample also exhibited more reported dream events associated with disease and illness than the nonpandemic sample (supporting ICH). There were both increased and decreased frequencies of social dream events between the two samples—weakly supporting and somewhat contradicting SST. An additional aim of the study was to relate the reported dream experiences to purportedly cultural factors in dreaming. The three dream theories (TST, SST, ICH) are discussed in relation to the concept of dream simulation as input conditioned by, and/or output conditioning, cultural transmission. The frequently recurring supernatural and religious content of the dream narratives seem to suggest the viability of all three dream theories. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Philosophical and medical analysis of dreams in avicenna’s perspective: Nature, mechanism, and functions.
Avicenna was an eminent Islamic philosopher and physician. Drawing primarily on The Book of Healing and The Canon of Medicine, this article presents a systematic account of his theory of dreaming within the framework of his psychology and natural philosophy. Avicenna conceives dreams as the activity of internal perceptual faculties during sleep, when external sensory input is suspended, whereas imaginative and compositive powers remain operative. The study demonstrates that he classifies dreams into three main categories: those reflecting daily experiences, those influenced by temperament and the four humors, and revelatory dreams. By analyzing the roles of the imaginative faculty (al-mutakhayyila), the compositive faculty (al-mutaṣarrifa), and memory (al-ḥāfiẓa) in preserving, recombining, and interpreting sensory forms, Avicenna develops an integrated account that unites epistemological, psychological, and physiological dimensions. He further emphasizes the diagnostic value of dreams in identifying bodily and psychological imbalances. Although the primary focus is historical and conceptual, the article briefly indicates how Avicenna’s account invites cautious functional comparison with contemporary discussions. It suggests, for instance, that his view of the imaginative faculty finds parallels in research on mental imagery, whereas his analysis of memory during sleep resonates with studies on memory consolidation. Thus, Avicenna’s theory opens new horizons for interdisciplinary dialogue between Islamic philosophy and modern cognitive science. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>A research on the typical images of animals in the dreams of Naxi.
Animal images in dreams have long been studied, yet existing research is not systematic or in-depth. The Naxi, a small Chinese ethnic group (about 320,000), possess a rich cultural heritage. In their belief, animals mediate between humans, deities, and nature, while dreams are key communication channels. Numerous animal dream omens appear in Dongba texts, myths, and oral traditions. This study used questionnaires and interviews to analyze dreams of 114 Naxi participants. Results: (a) dream animal frequency (high to low): snakes, birds, fish, dogs, horses, chickens, pigs, cows, frogs, monkeys; (b) relations with dreamers are mainly intimate, friendly, and helpful; (c) over half experienced positive emotions (joy, surprise) during dream periods; (d) Naxi women have more positive attitudes than men, indicating greater concern and sensitivity, and attitudes correlate with frequency. The study suggests dream animal images are partly shaped by cultural traditions and geography, and can influence real-life emotions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Thu, 10 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>