Dement and Kleitman (1957)
Study online at quizlet.com/_94m2uc
1. Dement & Kleitman - Sleep and dreams
Quick Facts - Year: 1957
- Biological Approach
2. General Aim - To investigate dreaming
objectively by looking for an
association between rapid eye
movements during sleep and the
dreamer's recall.
3. Aim and Hypothesis #1 - Investigate whether dream recall
is different between REM (eye
movement) and nREM (quiescent)
stages of sleep
4. Aim and Hypothesis #2 - To investigate whether there is a
positive correlation between
subjective estimates of dream
duration, and the length of REM
period
5. Aim and Hypothesis #3 - To investigate whether eye-
movement patterns are related to
dream content
6. Background (general) - Hard to investigate sleep
because participant could not
communicate with researcher
- Self-reports were not reliable
- In addition to these self-reports,
physiological measures of
dreaming were necessary
7. Background/Psychology - Aserinksy and Kleitman (1955) did
being investigated this first
(previous study) - They investigated association
b/w sleep and dreaming using
EEGs
- Found during periods when eyes
were moving quickly, there was
greater dream recall
- There was low dream recall in
periods without these rapid eye
movements
- Found that we undergo 4 stages
while sleeping
8. Background/Psychology - EEG is a machine used to detect
being investigated and record electrical activity in
(EEG) nerve & muscle cells when many
are active at the same time.
- Uses large electrodes
(macroelectrodes) on skip & scalp
to measure electrical activity.
- Can also be used to detect
movements in the muscles around
the eyes.
9. How does - An EEG is an electroencephalograph
an EEG - Records brain wave activity and eye
work? movements
- It produces a chart known as an
encephalogram
- This chart details how brain waves vary in
terms of frequency and amplitude, & indicates
stage of sleep one is in
- When an EEG is detecting eye movement, it is
referred to as an ElectroOculoGram (EOG)
10. Hypothesis - Natural experiment in lab setting
1: Method - Repeated measures
and - IV: woken from REM or nREM sleep
Design - DV: whether they recalled a dream or not
- Quantitative data, measures EEG patterns in
REM and nREM sleep as reported by whether or
not P recalled having dream (forced choice:
dream/no dream)
11. Hypothesis - Natural experiment in lab setting
2: Method - Repeated measures
and - IV: awoken after 5min or 15min of REM
Design - DV: P no. of correct dream length estimates,
no. of words in dream narrative
- Quantitative data, EEG patterns in REM sleep
and Ps estimated time of dreaming (only two
options, 5/15min) compared for correlation data
12. Hypothesis - Natural experiment in lab setting
3: Method - Repeated measures
and - IV: direction of eye movements (vertical,
Design horizontal, little/no mvmt, both vertical &
horizontal)
- DV: P self-report of dream content
- Qualitative data, data on dream content (no
forced choice) compared to observations on P
eye movement
13. Sample - Volunteer/self-select sampling method
- 9 total Participants, 7 male and 2 female
- 5 were intensely investigated for 6-17 nights
- Remaining 4 were used to confirm findings for
those studied intensively
14. Hypothesis 1. P awoken various times in night from
1: REM/nREM to test dream recall
Procedure 2. How awakenings were decided:
(5) - w/ random sampling table (PM, KC),
- in groups of 3 REM and 3 nREM (DN),
- waking P randomly but telling them they
would only be awoken in REM (WD),
- at whim of researcher (IR)
3. P told to state whether they had dream or
not, and if so to report the content of dream
4. P spoke into tape recorder beside bed
5. Only recorded as having dreams if P able to
deliver relatively detailed and coherent report
15. Hypothesis 1. P woken after either 5 or 15 mins of REM
2: Procedure sleep
(5) 2. Asked to speak into recorder:
- whether they were dreaming (yes/no)
- if yes, a report of the dream content
- estimation of how long they had been
dreaming for (5/15min)
3. Longer REM periods were also allowed
4. No. of words in dream narrative was also
counted
5. E occasionally entered room for further
questions abt dream content, but no other
communication occurred b/w them.
16. Hypothesis 1. P awoken after a single-eye movement
3: Procedure pattern had lasted for more than a min
(6) 2. Eye movement pattern detected by
electrodes and EOG
3. Eye movement patterns:
- (a) Mainly vertical
- (b) Mainly horizontal
- (c) little/no mvmt
- (d) both vertical & horizontal
4. P asked to recount dream
5. Data analysed to detail patterns b/w eye
mvmt and dream content
6. Data was compared to EEG records from
awake P (20 who were naive, 5 from sample),
who were asked to watch distant and close-
up activity
17. Experimental 1. P ate normally, abstaining from caffeinated
Controls (10) or alcoholic drinks
2. Arrived at lab just before usual bedtime
3. Were identified by initials to maintain
confidentiality
4. P were fitted with electrodes beside eyes
and on scalp
5. Went to sleep in dark, quiet room
6. Were woken by loud doorbell
7. EEG ran continuously
8. Experimenter only asked questions after
recording was completed
9. A dream was only considered a dream if
there was a coherent, fairly detailed
description of the content
10. Vague, fragmentary impressions were not
scored as dreams
18. Summary of - 351 awakenings over 61 nights
awakenings and - Average 5.7 awakenings per
when they participants
occurred - Average sleep time 6 hours
Awakenings occurred:
- 21% in first 2hr
- 29% in 3-4hr
- 28% in 5-6hrs
- 22% in 7-8hrs
19. General Results - REM never occurred at start of sleep
cycle
- All Ps showed periods of REM
- REM lasted between 3-50 minutes (Avg:
20min)
- Increased in length as night progressed
- Cycle length varied b/w P but was
consistent w/i individuals (92min mean)
- Eyes not constantly in motion during
REM periods
- Eye movement had bursts between 2-
100 movements
- Each movement between 0.1-0.2
seconds.
- If P woken during REM in final hours of
sleep, would often go back into REM
sleep as if brain activity did not finish.
- At other times of night, they did not
return to REM sleep.
20. Hypothesis 1: - More dreams reported in REM than
Results nREM sleep
- 79.6% of REM awakenings (152/191)
produced dream recall
- 93% of nREM awakenings (149/160)
produced NO dream recall
- Better recall when awoken w/i 8mins of
ending REM
- 17 nREM awakenings w/i 8mins of REM
sleep, 5 dreams were recalled
- 132 nREM awakenings more than 8mins
of REM sleep, 6 dreams recalled
- P tended to describe feeling and not
dream content in nREM awakenings
21. Hypothesis - High accuracy for estimates of length of time 24. Strengths (5) - Lab experiment was used
2: Results dreaming - Avoided demand characteristics
- 5mins = 88% - Collected both quantitative and qualitative
- 15mins = 78% data
- REM duration and no. of words in narrative - EEG
were significantly positively correlated - Operationalization of DV
- r values varied from 0.4 to 0.71, indicating
25. Strengths: - Good control of extraneous variables
moderate to strong positive correlation
Lab - Loud doorbell was used
- 1 P often underestimated dream length as
experiment - P came to lab just before regular bedtime
they could only remember end portions of it
(1/5) - Caffeine and alcohol containing food
- Narratives from REM periods that were 40-
weren't allowed
50mins long weren't much longer than those
- This raised the validity of the results
from 15min REM periods
- Raised reliability as experiment can be
22. Hypothesis - Eye movements are related to dream content easily replicated
3: Results - Based on 35 awakenings from 9 P
26. Strengths: - P were not told their EEG patterns , if they
- Indicated eyes moved as if seeing what they
Demand were in REM or nREM, or if their eyes were
were dreaming
characteristics moving
- 3 dreams w/ mainly vertical mvmts: climbing
(2/5) - E.g: If they thought they were supposed to
ladders; looking up and down
remember more detailed dreams in REM,
- 1 dreams w/ horizontal mvmts: watching
they may have felt pressured/tried harder to
people throw tomatoes at each other
do so
- 10 w/ little to no mvmt: looking in distance or
- This raised validity
staring at object
- 2 had large mvmts to left before awakening: 27. Strengths: - Quantitative data was collected from EEG
were driving and looked to object at left Quan and and time estimate answers
- 21 w/ both vertical and horizontal mvmts: Qual data - Provided data that was easy to analyse
looking at objects/people close to them, (3/5) and use for correlation purposes
talking to others etc - Qualitative data was collected from the
- Eye mvmt patterns in control P were similar self-reports P's provided about dream
in amplitude and pattern to those dreaming content
- rarely any vertical/horizontal only mvmt - Provided E with rich, detailed data that
- no mvmt when looking in distance explained P behaviour (eye mvmt)
- lots of mvmt when looking at close things - This raises the study's validity

23. Conclusions - All 3 hypotheses were confirmed 28. Strengths: - EEGs are an objective way to measure
HYP 1: EEG (4/5) sleep and dreaming.
- Dreaming probably only happens during - Reliable because they are unaffected by
REM the experimenter's personal views.
- Dreaming more likely at end of night as REM -Produces quantitative data (brain waves,
is longer then eye movement patterns, length of REM
- Occasional recall of dream in nREM is likely sleep) which is easy to compare and
as dreams are being recalled from previous analyze.
REM stage -Able to measure REM sleep duration
- REM sleep occurs in stages through night accurately, ensuring that comparisons to
HYP 2: dream duration estimates were valid
- P can judge length of dream duration
- Shows that dreams are not instantaneous
events, they occur in real time
HYP 3:
- Eye mvmt patterns are related to dream
content
- Suggests eye movements are not random
events caused by activation of central nervous
system, but are directly linked to dream
imagery
29. Strengths: - Dream was clearly defined as a 35. Weaknesses: - Significant relationship found, but
Operationalization recollection that included content, not Correlation (5/5) cannot assume cause and effect.
(5/5) just remembering dreaming in general. - Could be another variable that causes
- Raised validity as D&K knew they co-occurrence.
were recorded actual dreams
36. Ethical Issues - Maintained confidentiality
- Originally, P were asked to estimate
(good) - Researchers only use participant's
how long they had been dreaming, but
initials when they published data
this was too difficult, - P were then
- This way, results could not be linked
given choice between estimating if their
to participant
dream had been 5 or 15 minutes.
- No significant harm or stress befell the
- Raised validity as it limited P variables
participants
in regards to ability to guess time
correctly 37. Ethical Issues - Deception as WD was misled about
(bad) what stage of sleep he was in when
30. Weaknesses (5) - Low generalisability
awoken
- Low ecological validity / mundane
- Could not give informed consent
realism
- Participant sleep patterns may have
- Self-reports
been altered
- EEG
- Not allowed a good night's rest
- Correlation does not mean causation
- No mention of right to withdraw
31. Weaknesses: Low - 7 men & two women in sample, only 5
38. Issues and - REM and nREM believed to be
generalisability of whom were studied intensively
Debates: Nature universal
(1/5) - Very small sample size w/
vs Nurture (nature) - Thus they are a product of nature
significantly more man than women
- All participants experienced both
- Could have issues w/ ethnocentrism
as no info is given on P 39. Issues and - Dream content is product of nurture,
(diff. cultural ideas on sleep) Debates: Nature and differs among individuals
- Snapshot study done over short vs Nurture - Some had very disturbed sleep,
period of time (nurture) possibly caused by being
- If P was stressed, overworked or uncomfortable sleeping in lab
jetlagged in this time the results aren't - Environment could affect
generalizable (lowers external validity sleeping patterns
& reliability) 40. Application to - Largely a generative study, sparked
32. Weaknesses: - Environment of experiment not like everyday life new waves in sleep research
Ecological validity real life and could have affected - The EEG can help psychologists
(2/5) sleeping behavior. E.g: accurately monitor sleep and dreaming
- Sleeping with wires on - This can be helpful for those with
- Sleeping being watched. sleep or dream disorders, e.g insomnia,
- Sleeping in strange room. nightmares or sleepwalking
- If Ps normally drank alcohol or had 41. Complete Research methods:
caffeine, they could have slept or research - Natural experiment in lab setting
dreamt differently than usual methods/materials - Observations
33. Weaknesses: Self- - Researchers unsure if dream content used - Correlation
reports (3/5) reported was accurate. - Self-reports
- Some participants may have "filled the
gaps" to make dream seem coherent, Materials:
rather than reporting exactly what they - Sleep lab
remembered.- Could reduce validity. - EEG machine
- Doorbell
34. Weaknesses: EEG - Gives basic readings of brain activity.
- Tape recorder
(4/5) - No detail, only general brain activity
- Don't know P thoughts or feelings,
only brain activity
42. Overview of study validity High Validity:
- Avoided demand characteristics
- Operationalisation of DV
Reduced participant variables

Low Validity:
- Lacks ecological validity
- Self-reports cannot always be relied on
43. Overview of study reliability High Reliability:
- EEG is objective measure and unaffected by experimenter
- Easily replicable and highly controlled/standardised

Low Reliability:
- Sample size not representative of population
- Male and female participants not even