Dreams and Video Game Play

Jayne Gackenbach

Grant MacEwan University & Athabasca University

Games for Health 2010 ConferenceBoston, MA

gackenbachj@macewan.ca

Why are dreams important?

• Rich history across most cultures• Royal road to the unconscious – Freud

– While opened up dreams as important, he also pathologized them

• With discovery of REM sleep and the sleep laboratory, dreams entered science

• While not local only to REM, those that are most recalled and most often puzzled about are typically REM dreams

Why are dreams important?

• Function of dreams increasingly clear– Evolutionary threat/play (Revonsuo; Humphrey)– Emotional Regulation, especially negative

emotions (Kramer; Nielsen; Zadra)– Memory integration & consolidation (Stickgold)– Problem-solving, creative inspiration (Barrett)– Metacognition (LaBerge; Kahan; Kahn)

• All this serves personal and interpersonal needs if shared and processed but need not be

• Media saturated society– Video game play represents the most immersive and

interactive media experience• Isn’t it all just incorporation?

– Yes gamers dream about games– And no,

• Example of value of studying gamers dreams...

Why study gamers dreams?

Gamers dreams show fundamental structural differences

Presence in Games and Dreams

• Dreams have been called the “gold standard” for presence (sense of being there) in VR and games (Revonsuo; Moller & Barbera)

• Never measured until now (Gackenbach & Rosie, 2010)– Played Mirror’s Edge in lab before sleep– Gathered dreams for next two weeks– Presence measured after game and after dreams

• Presence sum score NO DIFFERENCE• Items (12) got 4 differences 8 NO DIFFERENCE:

– The dream/game caused real feelings and emotions for me. (Dream > Game)

– Overall how much did the things/people in the dream/game look like they would if you had experienced them in waking reality? (Dream > Game)

– How much did you feel like the events of the dream/game were happening to you? (Dream > Game)

– How often did you feel "My body was in bed, but my mind was inside my dream" or "My body was in this room, but my mind was inside the environment I saw/heard"? (Game > Dream)

Presence in Games and Dreams

Gamer Defined

• Play video games on average several times a week

• Typical playing session more than 1 or 2 hours• Played 50 or more video games over your

lifetime• Been playing video games since before grade

threeType of Game Preferred only considered in latest

studies, seemed to make no difference 5 years ago

Dream Dimensions Examined

• Lucid and Control Dreams• Bizarreness and Creativity• Nightmares and Threat

Simulation

Lucid – Control Dreams

• Gackenbach, J.I. (2006). Video game play and lucid dreams: Implications for the development of consciousness. Dreaming, 16(2), 96-110.

• Gackenbach, J.I. & Kuruvilla, B. (2008). Video game play effects on dreams: Self-evaluation and content analysis. Eludamos. Journal for Computer Game Culture. 2(2), 169-186.

• Gackenbach, J.I. (2009). Video Game Play and Consciousness Development: A Replication and Extension. International Journal of Dream Research, 2(1), 3-11.

Lucid – Control Dreams & Gaming

• Subject #014: Lucidity triggered by an eventMichael: Well, once Jean Grey (a marvel comic

and video game character) got loose and started killing people, I was like this is really weird this is

probably a dream and it was like right after that she showed up and I told myself that I need to

wake up. I thought that something bad was supposed to happen and I didn’t want it to happen so I should

wake up.Gackenbach, et al. (2009)

Control Dreaming

In Class Data Collection

2.052.1

2.152.2

2.252.3

2.352.4

2.452.5

Low VideoGame Play

Medium VideoGame Play

High VideoGame Play

Co

ntr

ol

Dre

amin

g

2= rarely

3=

sometimes

In Class Data Collection

2.32.352.4

2.452.5

2.552.6

2.652.7

2.75

Low VideoGame Play

Medium VideoGame Play

High VideoGame Play

Lu

cid

Dre

amin

g F

req

uen

cyLucid Dreaming

2= rarely

3=

sometimes

Gamer Sample Lucid/Control Dream

• Subject #014: Lucidity triggered by an eventWell, once Jean Grey (a marvel comic and

video game character) got loose and started killing people, I was like this is really weird this is probably a dream and it was like right after that she showed

up and I told myself that I need to wake up. I thought that something bad was supposed to happen and I

didn’t want it to happen so I should wake up.Gackenbach, 2006, 2009a, b; & Kurvilla, 2008;

Gackenbach, et al. (2009).

Methodological Refinement

• Gackenbach, J.I. (2009) Electronic media and lucid-control dreams: Morning after reports. Dreaming, 19(1), 1-6.

Methodological Refinement

• Previous studies long term retrospective memory• Collected Dream report and when• Normal sleep length and rested amount• Questions on media use history and media used

the day before dream• Questions reflecting about dream reported• Dreams (N=152) for analysis were chosen if:

– Last night– Rested (had typical amount of sleep)

Factor 1

Clarity of dream -.001Lucidity .391

Type of Observer (hi=3rd per) .121Control .527

Nightmare .185Electronic media .025

mean of audio only media (phone, radio, CD/mp3) .436mean of audio and video media (TV/DVD, movie) .413

mean of interactive media (computer/internet, vid gm) .718gamer groups (0 = non-gamer, 1 = low, 2 = mod, 3 = high) .653

Last night, rested dreams, N = 152

Principal Component Factor Analysis on Dream, Gamer and Media Use

Dreams

Self

Labeled

Day Before

Media Use

Parallels video gaming/lucidity

• Video game Play1. video games

technologically constructed alternative realities

2. Video gaming has been associated with improved spatial skills

3. Low motion sickness needed to play a lot

4. High absorption is reported by players

• Lucid/control dreams1. Dream worlds

biologically constructed alternative realities

2. Lucid dreamers show better spatial skills

3. Lucid dreamers have better vestibular systems (not susceptible to motion sickness)

4. Meditation is highly associated with lucidity and is training in developing one pointed absorption

Is the Lucidity – Video Game Play Association Self Selection?

• Yes– To be a serious player you

need to not suffer motion sickness

– For serious game play spatial skills are an advantage

– Most games of serious players cater to boys

– Those who are able to get absorbed should do better

• No– Almost all children

through to young adults play some form these days

– Spatial skills improve with play

– Girl games are being developed and is a large growing market

– Attention/absorption improve with play

Bottom Line

• Gaming is too wide spread to reduce to purely self selection

• There is increasing social pressure to play

• Gaming is only one part of our networked life

Percent growth in US 2006-2007

Original Dream Content Analysis

• Hall &Van de Castle Coding System

• Frequency equals intensity

• High inter-rater reliability

• Well developed norms

• Uses categories which are pertinent to waking

concerns that may influence dreaming.

• Those that lead to further research were:

• characters, aggression and misfortune.• Gackenbach, J.I., Matty, I., Kuruvilla, B., Samaha, A. N., Zederayko, A., Olischefski, J.

& Von Stackelberg, H. (2009). Video game play: Waking and dreaming consciousness. S. Krippner (Ed.), Perchance To Dream, Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers, p. 239-253.

27 gamers56 dreams male norms

Significant Differences from Male Norms

More dead or imaginary characters appearing in dream reports (21% vs 0%).

Why be human in a game? They have fewer powers than other types of creatures.

Dead or Imaginary Characters

Subject 001- Dream 11 “I dreamt I was a character is Underworld 2, it was a

werewolf character and then I became a 3rd person. It was the two main characters, it was the vampire girl and a hybrid werewolf character and I was another werewolf character beside them and we went into a vampire coven and we got to the weapons section of the vampire coven and then I woke up”

• Later looked at bizarreness due to this finding

Dream Aggression

• Smaller number of dreams with aggression (32% vs 47%)

• Yet more intense aggression (namely physical aggression, 86% vs 50%) when it happened

Dream Aggression Example

Subject 002- Dream 6 “… I went outside … with my cat and shot these

criminals that were trying to eat my dad and they were on top of my dad trying to eat his arms and he was fighting them off, and they were trying to hold him down and bite his shoulders and there was blood and stuff. And it was a very graphic shootout for a dream; it was very blood and guts ya know? And when I ran out of ammunition there was like pistol whipping and stuff going on and that one sticks out in my mind because it was very graphic…”.

Dream Misfortunes

Fewer Misfortunes

(7% vs 36%)

Fewer Bodily Misfortunes

(0% vs 29%)

Thus less victim /more control

Aggression and misfortune

findings lead to threat simulation

and nightmare questions

Dream Bizarreness

• Gackenbach, J. I., Kuruvilla, B., & Dopko, R. (2009). Video game play and dream bizarreness. Dreaming, 19(4), 218-231.

• Gackenbach, J.I. & Dopko, R. (in submission). The Relationship between Video Game Play, Dream Bizarreness, and Creativity. Consciousness and Cognition.

• Domhoff – 2007 meta-analysis– dreams are more coherent,

patterned and thoughtful than previously suggested

– still some bizarreness in adult dreams

– far less than what was expected based

Illusion of Dream Bizarreness

Methods

• Study 1: Recent Dreams– Self reported dream questions– Various media use information

• Study 2: Two Week Online Dream Diary– Features that were bizarre for subject– Various media use information– Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT)

• Verbal and the figural tests

• Revonsuo & Salmivalli Content Analysis

Covariates: sex, # words in dream, # hours of video game play day before dreamDreams were 279 from low end gamers and 162 from high end gamers

Unusual (subject)

Bizarre (judges)

Non-bizarre (judges)

Low Game Group High Game Group

Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking

• No gamer group difference for verbal test• Significant differences for figural test

favoring high gamer group

1 2 3 4 5Game history sum of z-scores -.317 .748 -.260 .097 -.026

Mean # hours played video game pre-dreams -.304 .699 -.188 -.125 -.156

Sex of subject (1=M; 2=F) .402 -.640 .282 -.115 -.047

Average number of words in dreams .885 .183 -.145 .095 -.050

Number of dream reported in diary .490 .213 .135 .518 .117

Dream recall sum of z-scores -.158 .150 .256 .652 .282

Discontinuous bizarreness mean .708 .256 -.102 -.294 -.210

Vague bizarreness mean .350 .168 -.409 .016 .656

Incongrous overall bizarreness mean .647 .473 .075 -.302 .085

Non-bizarreness mean .813 -.038 .054 .266 -.222

Average of sums of dream unusual elements .016 .240 .572 -.422 .534

Verbal creativity sum .005 .186 .799 .007 -.037

Figural creativity sum .428 -.097.073

.563-.331

Gaming, Bizarreness & Creativity

Factor Analysis on Game Play, Lucid Related Dream & Bizarreness Variables

Video game history (freq, length, # games, age begin) .760 -.214 .377 .101Video Games played day before dream .694 -.127 .467 -.025Recent Dream - Lucidity .305 -.258 -.746 -.158Recent Dream - Type of Observer (Hi=observer) .271 -.028 -.060 -.806Recent Dream - Control .570 -.239 -.447 .215nonbizarreness mean .071 .706 -.035 -.119vagueness variables mean .322 .371 .129 .196discontinuous mean .047 .642 -.187 .242Incongruous distorted sum .324 .384 -.043 -.311Incongruous exotic sum .378 .482 -.159 .051Incongruous impossible sum .282 -.121 -.243 .355

Gaming loads with and without

lucidity-control but with lucidity-

control you have bizarreness

Gackenbach, J.I. & Hunt, H. (2010, April). Video Game Play and Lucid Dreaming as Socially Constructed Meditative Absorption. Paper to be presented at the biannual meeting entitled "Toward a Science of Consciousness" sponsored by the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.

Nightmares & Threat Simulation

• Gackenbach, J.I. & Kuruvilla, B. (2008). The relationship between video game play and threat simulation dreams. Dreaming, 18(4), 236-256.

Threat Simulation Theory

• dreaming is an adaptive process with an evolutionary foundation (Revonsuo, 2000).

• dreaming allows us to simulate threatening situations in the safety of a virtual environment of dreams.

• continued practice would allow an individual to better prepare for these possibly dangerous instances, were they to arise in the waking world

Dreams Collected

• Online Questionnaires• night before dreams only,

– average hours since dream to recollection being under one hour

• minimum word count of 40 words • 98 participants/dreams

– 35 males – 63 females

1 2

Sex of subject: Male=1; female=2 -.011 -.589

Z-score for gamer type -.015 .453

Mean objective rating of video game .040 .901

Percent of maximum length of play score .047 .817

Type of game sum favorite + current -.029 .458

Mean for TV violence rating .368 .132

Mean movie violence rating .333 .189

Threat simulation present=2, absent=1 .917 -.090

Nature of threat recoded no harm to aggressive .903 -.060

Sum of the number of threats from target threat .936 -.080

Severity of threat recoded, none to life threat .908 -.097

Dream recall .119 .085

Lucidity in dream -.062 .129

Observer point of view in dream .137 -.074

Control in dream .143 .054

Was dream a nightmare .690 -.023

Dream scariness .526 -.034

Dream violence .511 .314

Day

Before

Media

Use

Threat

Simulatio

n

Self Report

on Dream

GamingPrinciple Component Factor Analysis of Media, Threat Simulation Intensity, and Dream Self Evaluation Variables

Nightmares versus Bad Dreams

• Le, H. & Gackenbach, J. (2009). Nightmares of Video Game Players: What do They Look Like? Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Association for the Study of Dreams, Chicago, ILL.

Method

• Participants– 231 low- and 222 high end gamers

• Instruments– Media usage questionnaire– Impactful dreams questionnaire (Lucid,

Nightmares, Mystical, and Bad dreams)• Content Analysis

– Hall and Van de Castle’s method for content analysis (HVDC)

HVDC Aggression Sum Score

Gaming Groups (1=low; 2=high)2.001.00

Estim

ated

Mar

gina

l Mea

ns

1.75

1.50

1.25

1.00

0.75

2.001.00

1=bad 2=ntmr

Estimated Marginal Means of aggression sum

Nightmares

Bad Dreams

Low Game Group High Game Group

HVDC Misfortune Sum Score

Gaming Groups (1=low; 2=high)2.001.00

Est

imat

ed M

argin

al M

eans

0.3

0.25

0.2

0.15

0.1

2.001.00

1=bad 2=ntmr

Estimated Marginal Means of misfortune body

Bad Dreams

Nightmares

Low Game Group High Game Group

Judge Rated Emotionality (HVDC)

• Consistent findings with previous research

• Nightmares had more negative emotions than bad dreams

• No interaction with gaming group

Self-Rated Emotionality Scale of Dream

• Self rated emotions: anger, awe, sexual arousal, anxiety, fear, guilt, frustration, sadness, hatred, happiness, jealousy, and embarrassment

• Negative emotions (anxiety, frustration, and fear) were found to be higher in bad dreams for high-end gamers

• While positive emotions (sexual arousal and happiness) were found to be greater in nightmares for high end gamers!!!

No gamer group

difference or dream type

difference

Gaming Groups (1=low; 2=high)2.001.00

Estim

ated

Mar

gina

l Mea

ns

2.25

2

1.75

1.5

1.25

2.001.00

1=bad 2=ntmr

Estimated Marginal Means of Emotion & Intensity: anxiety

Gaming Groups (1=low; 2=high)2.001.00

Estim

ated

Mar

gina

l Mea

ns

4.2

4

3.8

3.6

3.4

3.2

3

2.001.00

1=bad 2=ntmr

Estimated Marginal Means of Emotion & Intensity: happiness

Self Reported Emotions: Sample Subscales

Bad Dreams

NightmaresBad Dreams

Nightmares

Low Game Group

High Game Group

Low Game Group

High Game Group

Anxiety Happiness

Hall & Van de Castle Content Analysis of Lucid vs Nonlucid Dreams of Gamers from 4 Previous Studies

Gender Dream Row totals

male Lucid 53

male nonlucid 219

female Lucid 27

female nonlucid 131

total 430

Gackenbach, J.I. & Hunt, H. (2010, April). Video Game Play and Lucid Dreaming as Socially Constructed Meditative Absorption. Paper to be presented at the biannual meeting entitled "Toward a Science of Consciousness" sponsored by the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.

Lucidity Dream Type Differences among Gamers

Significant difference variables All gamers Nonlucids

All gamers Lucids

Social Interaction Percents

Aggressor Percent 26% 44%Settings

Familiar Setting Percent 50% 35%Self-Concept Percents

Self-Negativity Percent 85% 65% Dreamer-Involved Success Percent 38% 77%Dreams with at Least One:

Sexuality 03% 10% Success 07% 14%

Participant - Observer Gamer

Opinion of how video games enter into dreams

• Lucidity, bizarreness, yes.• Aggression, sometimes.• nightmares very rare• 3rd person

“I’ve just noticed that sometimes I’m just there as a hovering spirit watching things go on and I don’t really have a role … I don’t even pop up in my dreams, it’s just like I’m watching a movie … I feel emotion definitely regardless of whether or not I’m the person involved” – s16

Conclusions & Implications

• Lucidity/control– Do these preliminary results imply that

lucid/control dreaming will become widespread given the saturation of media?

• Bizarreness– Are gamers semantic networks more diverse?

• Aggression/Threat Simulation– Does gaming protect the person against

nightmares?

For more information....

• Email for slides and/or papers:– gackenbachj@macewan.ca

• Some of presentation summarized in this book chapter– Gackenbach, J.I., Kuruvilla, B., Dopko, R. & Le, H.

(2010). Chapter 5: Dreams and video game play. In F. Columbus (Ed.), Computer Games: Learning Objectives, Cognitive Performance and Effects on Development, Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers.