Jayne Gackenbach Athabasca University 2010 Canadian Game Studies Association Montreal Quebec gackenbachjmacewanca Slides available on wwwslidesharecom Why are dreams important ID: 590753
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Slide1
Dreams and Video Game Play
Jayne
Gackenbach
Athabasca
University
2010 Canadian Game Studies Association
Montreal, Quebec
gackenbachj@macewan.ca
Slides available on
www.slideshare.com
Slide2
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 dreamsSlide3
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 processedSlide4
Media saturated societyVideo 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 Slide5
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 before sleep in lab
Gathered dreams for next two weeks
Presence measured after game and after dreamsSlide6
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 DreamsSlide7
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 agoSlide8
Dream Dimensions Examined
Lucid and Control Dreams
Bizarreness and Creativity
Nightmares and Threat SimulationSlide9
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.Slide10
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 happen and I didn’t want it to happen so I should wake up.
Gackenbach, et al. (2009) Slide11
Control Dreaming
2= rarely
3=
sometimesSlide12
Lucid Dreaming
2= rarely
3=
sometimesSlide13
Methodological Refinement
Gackenbach, J.I. (2009) Electronic media and lucid-control dreams: Morning after reports.
Dreaming
, 19(1), 1-6.Slide14
Methodological Refinement
Previous studies long term retrospective memory
Collected
Dream report
and when
Normal
sleep length
and rested amountQuestions on media use history and media used the day before dream
Questions reflecting about dream reportedDreams (N=152) for analysis were chosen if:
Last night
Rested (had typical amount of sleep)Slide15
Factor 1
Clarity of dream
-.001
Lucidity
.391
Type of Observer (hi=3
rd
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
Last night, rested dreams, N = 152
Principal Component Factor Analysis on Dream, Gamer and Media Use
Dreams Self Labeled
Day Before Media UseSlide16
Parallels video gaming/lucidity
Video game Play
video games technologically constructed
alternative realities
Video gaming has been associated with improved
spatial skills
Low motion sickness
needed to play a lot
High
absorption
is reported by players
Lucid/control dreams
Dream worlds
biologically constructed alternative realities
Lucid dreamers show better
spatial skills
Lucid dreamers have
better vestibular systems
(not susceptible to motion sickness)
Meditation is highly associated with lucidity
and is training in developing one pointed
absorption
Self selection?
Yes and NoSlide17
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 2006-2007Slide18
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 gamers
56
dreams
male
normsSlide19
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.
Slide20
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 findingSlide21
Dream Aggression
Smaller number of dreams with aggression
(32% vs 47%)
Yet
more intense aggression
(namely physical aggression, 86% vs 50%)
when it happened
Slide22
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…”.Slide23
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 questionsSlide24
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
.Slide25
Domhoff – 2007 meta-analysisdreams 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 BizarrenessSlide26
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 AnalysisSlide27
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
Unusual (subject)
Bizarre (judges)
Non-bizarre
(judges)
Low Game Group
High Game GroupSlide28
Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking
No gamer group difference for verbal test
Significant differences for figural test favoring high gamer groupSlide29
1
2
3
4
5
Game
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
-.097
.563
.428
.073
-.331
Gaming, Bizarreness & CreativitySlide30
Factor Analysis on Game Play, Lucid Related Dream & Bizarreness Variables
Video game history (freq,
length, # games, age begin)
.760
-.214
.377
.101
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
-.447.215nonbizarreness 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 bizarrenessGackenbach, 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.Slide31
Nightmares & Threat Simulation
Gackenbach, J.I. & Kuruvilla, B. (2008). The relationship between video game play and threat simulation dreams.
Dreaming
, 18(4), 236-256.Slide32
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 worldSlide33
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 femalesSlide34
1
2
S
ex
of subject: Male=1; female=2
-.011
-.589
Z-score for gamer type
-.015
.453
M
ean
objective rating of
video game
.040
.901
P
ercent
of maximum length of play score
.047
.817
T
ype
of game sum
favorite
+ current
-.029
.458
Mean for
TV
violence rating
.368
.132
Mean
movie
violence rating
.333
.189Threat simulation present=2, absent=1.917-.090Nature of threat recoded no harm to aggressive .903-.060Sum of the number of threats from target threat.936-.080Severity of threat recoded,
none to life threat
.908
-.097
Dream recall
.119
.085
L
ucidity
in dream
-.062
.129
Observer point of view in dream
.137
-.074
C
ontrol
in dream
.143
.054
Was dream a
nightmare
.690
-.023
D
ream
scariness
.526
-.034
D
ream
violence
.511
.314
Day BeforeMedia Use
Threat Simulation
Self Report on Dream
Gaming
Principle Component Factor Analysis of Media, Threat Simulation Intensity, and Dream Self Evaluation VariablesSlide35
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.Slide36
Method
Participants
231 low- and 222 high end gamers
Instruments
Media usage
questionnaire
Impactful dreams questionnaire (
Lucid, Nightmares, Mystical, and Bad dreams)Content AnalysisHall and Van de Castle’s
method for content analysis (HVDC)Slide37
HVDC Aggression Sum Score
Nightmares
Bad Dreams
Low Game Group
High Game GroupSlide38
HVDC Misfortune Sum Score
Bad Dreams
Nightmares
Low Game Group
High Game GroupSlide39
Judge
Rated Emotionality (HVDC)
Consistent findings with previous research
Nightmares had more negative emotions than bad dreams
No interaction with gaming groupSlide40
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 differenceSlide41
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.Slide42
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%Slide43
Participant - Observer Gamer
Opinion of how video games enter into dreams
Lucidity, bizarreness, yes.
Aggression, sometimes.
nightmares very rare
3
rd
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” –
s16Slide44
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?Slide45
For more information....
Email for slides and/or papers:
gackenbachj@macewan.ca
or
www.slideshare.com
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.