Dreams and Video Game Play Jayne Gackenbach Grant MacEwan University & Athabasca University Games for Health 2010 Conference Boston, 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 Why study gamers dreams? • Media saturated society – Video game play represents the most immersive and interactive media experience • Is ’t it all just i orporatio ? – Yes gamers dream about games – And no, Gamers dreams show fundamental structural differences • Example of value of studying gamers dreams... Presence in Games and Dreams • Drea s ha e ee alled the gold sta dard for presence (sense of being there) in VR and games (Revonsuo; Moller & Barbera) • Never measured until now (Gackenbach & Rosie, 2010) – Played Mirror’s Edge i la efore sleep – Gathered dreams for next two weeks – Presence measured after game and after dreams Presence in Games and 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) 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 three Type 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 event Michael: 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 happe a d I did ’t a t it to happe so I should wake up. Gackenbach, et al. (2009) Control Dreaming 3= sometimes In Class Data Collection Control Dreaming 2.5 2.45 2.4 2.35 2.3 2.25 2.2 2.15 2.1 2= 2.05 rarely Low Video Game Play Medium Video Game Play High Video Game Play Lucid Dreaming 3= Lucid Dreaming Frequency sometimes In Class Data Collection 2.75 2.7 2.65 2.6 2.55 2.5 2.45 2.4 2.35 2.3 2= rarely Low Video Game Play Medium Video Game Play High Video Game Play Gamer Sample Lucid/Control Dream • Subject #014: Lucidity triggered by an event 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 so ethi g ad as supposed to happe a d I did ’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) Principal Component Factor Analysis on Dream, Gamer and Media Use Last night, rested dreams, N = 152 Factor 1 Clarity of dream -.001 Lucidity .391 Type of Observer (hi=3rd per) .121 Control .527 Nightmare .185 Electronic media .025 mean of audio only media (phone, radio, CD/mp3) .436 mean of audio and video media (TV/DVD, movie) .413 mean of interactive media (computer/internet, vid gm) .718 gamer groups (0 = non-gamer, 1 = low, 2 = mod, 3 = high) .653 Parallels video gaming/lucidity • Video game Play 1. 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 dreams 1. 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 Percent growth in US 2006-2007 • 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 Original Dream Content Analysis • Hall &Van de Castle Coding System • • • • 27 gamers Frequency equals intensity 56 dreams High inter-rater reliability male norms 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. 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 drea t I as a character is U der orld 2, it as 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 a pire co e a d the I oke 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 e t outside … ith y cat a d 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 as ery 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. Illusion of Dream Bizarreness • Domhoff – 2007 metaanalysis – dreams are more coherent, patterned and thoughtful than previously suggested – still some bizarreness in adult dreams – far less than what was expected based 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 Unusual (subject) Bizarre (judges) Non-bizarre (judges) Low Game Group High Game Group Covariates: sex, # words in dream, # hours of video game play day before dream Dreams were 279 from low end gamers and 162 from high end gamers Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking • No gamer group difference for verbal test • Significant differences for figural test favoring high gamer group Gaming, Bizarreness & Creativity Game history sum of z-scores 1 2 3 4 5 -.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 Dream recall sum of z-scores .117 -.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 -.097 .563 .428 .073 -.331 Factor Analysis on Game Play, Lucid Related Dream & Bizarreness Variables Video game history (freq, length, # games, age begin) .760 -.214 .377 Video Games played day before dream .694 -.127 .467 -.025 Recent Dream - Lucidity .305 -.258 -.746 -.158 Recent Dream - Type of Observer (Hi=observer) .271 -.028 -.060 -.806 Recent Dream - Control .570 -.239 -.447 nonbizarreness mean .071 .706 -.035 -.119 vagueness variables mean .322 .371 .129 .196 discontinuous mean .047 .642 -.187 .242 Incongruous distorted sum .324 .384 -.043 -.311 Incongruous exotic sum .378 .482 -.159 .051 Incongruous impossible sum .282 -.121 -.243 .355 .101 .215 Gackenbach, J.I. & Hunt, H. (2010, April). Video Game Play and Lucid Dreaming as Socially Constructed Meditative Absorption. Paper 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 Principle Component Factor Analysis of Media, Threat Simulation Intensity, and Dream Self Evaluation Variables 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 -.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 -.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 Type of game sum favorite + current Lucidity in dream 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 1.75 Nightmares Estimated Marginal Means 1.50 1.25 1.00 Bad Dreams 0.75 Low Game Group High Game Group HVDC Misfortune Sum Score 0.3 Estimated Marginal Means 0.25 Bad Dreams 0.2 0.15 Nightmares 0.1 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!!! Self Reported Emotions: Sample Subscales 4.2 Nightmares 2.25 4 2 Estimated Marginal Means Estimated Marginal Means Bad Dreams 1.75 Nightmares 1.5 3.8 3.6 3.4 Bad Dreams 3.2 1.25 3 1.00 Low Game Group 2.00 High Game Group Anxiety 1.00 Low Game Group 2.00 High Game Group 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 26% 44% 50% 35% 85% 38% 65% 77% 03% 07% 10% 14% Social Interaction Percents Aggressor Percent Settings Familiar Setting Percent Self-Concept Percents Self-Negativity Percent Dreamer-Involved Success Percent Dreams with at Least One: Sexuality Success Participant - Observer Gamer Opinion of how video games enter into dreams • • • • Lucidity, bizarreness, yes. Aggression, sometimes. nightmares very rare 3rd person I’ e just oti ed that so eti es I’ just there as a ho eri g spirit at hi g thi gs go o a d I do ’t really ha e a role … I do ’t e e pop up i y drea s, it’s just like I’ at hi g a o ie … I feel e otio defi itely regardless of hether or ot I’ the perso i ol ed – 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.