Dreaming, Lucid Dreaming and Personality
Evelyn Doll, Georg Gittler, Brigitte Holzinger
heiDOK (Heidelberg University) January 1, 2009 DOI: 10.11588/ijodr.2009.2.142 via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractPeople who frequently experience lucid dreams—dreams in which the dreamer knows they are dreaming while the dream continues—tend to score higher on measures of mental health, freedom from complaints, expansivity, autonomy, and self-esteem compared to rare or non-lucid dreamers. This conclusion comes from a study of 89 subjects, divided into frequent (27), rare (33), and non-lucid (29) dreamers. However, no significant differences were found between the groups in behavioral control, decision behavior, or spatial abilities.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 89 |
| Population | Subjects categorized as frequent, rare, or non-lucid dreamers |
| Topics | Lucid dreaming |
| Keywords | Personality Autonomy Social psychology Mental health |
| Citations | 27 |
| Key finding | Frequent lucid dreamers scored higher on mental health, freedom from complaints, expansivity, autonomy, and self-esteem than rare or non-lucid dreamers, with no differences in behavioral control, decision behavior, or spatial abilities. |
Abstract
The term "lucid dream" describes a dream during which the dreamer is aware of being in a dream while the dream is ongoing. Our investigation focused on the frequency of the lucid dream experience and its relationship to mental health, behavioural control (TPF; Becker, 1989), decision behaviour (EQS; Wolfram, 1982), and spatial abilities (3DW; Gittler, 1990). Data analysis of 89 subjects suggested that frequent lucid dreamers (n=27) differ from rare (n=33) and non-lucid dreamers (n=29) by higher scores in the scales of mental health, freedom from complaints, expansivity, autonomy and self-esteem. With regard to behavioural control, decision behaviour and spatial abilities, there were no significant differences between the three lucidity groups.