Hypnotic Suggestion as a Technique Charles T. Ta.rt La ... · Hypnotic Suggestion as a Technique...

Hypnot ic Sugges t ion a s a Technique

f o r t h e Cont ro l of Dreaming1

C h a r l e s T Tar t

Laboratory o f Human Development

S t a n f o r d U n i v e r s i t y

S c i e n t i f i c resea rch i s c a r r i e d o u t w i t h two ba s ic k i n d s o f p rocedures One 1 i s t h e observat iona1 o r c o r r e l a t i o n a 1 approach where we o b s e r v e what happens

n a t u r a l l y W and t r y t o make s e n s e o u t of i t by f i n d i n g r e l a t i o n s o r c o r r e l a t i o n s

between v a r i o u s a spec t s o f our o b s e r v a t i o n s T h i s approach 1 e a d ~ t o s t a t e m e n t s

of t h e o r d e r subjects c l a s s i f i e d as S e n s i t i z e r s r e p o r t r e c a l l i n g dreaming

s i g n i f i c a n t l y more f r e q u e n t l y t h a n t h o s e c l a s s i f i e d as Repressors on t h e MMPI

( T a r t 1962a) The o t h e r approach i s t h e f u n c t i o n a l method where we a c t i v e l y

manipulate one f a c t o r o r va r ia b le and n o t e t h e e f f e c t on some dependent v a r i a b l e

T h i s approach l e a d s t o s t a t e m e n t s of t h e o r d e r A l a r g e dose o f a l c o h o l r e d u c e s

t h e amount of EEG s t a g e 1 - REM t ime and i n f e r r e d dreaming i n norma1 2s I

(Gresham e t al 1963) Both approaches are used i n most f i e l d s of s c i e n c e a s

t h e y complement one a n o t h e r

Dream r e s e a r c h on t h e o t h e r hand has been almost e x c l u s i v e l y a m a t t e r of

c o r r e l a t i o n a l r e s e a r c h i g n o r i n g f o r t h e moment t h e l a s t d e c a d e s resea rch

I P r e s e n t e d i n a symposium on New F r o n t i e r s i n Dream Research American Psychologica1 A s s o c i a t i o n Seventy-second Annual Convention Los Angeles September 5 1964

u s i n g t h e EK (e lect roencephalogra ph) and r a p i d eye movement (REM) techn ique

R e s e a r c h e r s asked s u b j e c t s (Ss) how o f t e n t h e y dreamed i n c o l o r whether t h e i r -

dreams were main ly p l e a s a n t o r u n p l e a s a n t and t h e l i k e and t h e n a t t e m p t e d t o

c o r r e l a t e t h e s e obse rved c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s w i t h p e r s o n a l i t y t r a i t s i n t e l l i g e n c e

age e t c O r t h e p a t i e n t b rough t i n a spontaneous dream and t h e t h e r a p i s t -

r e s e a r c h e r a t t e m p t e d t o i n t e r p r e t i t i n t h e l i g h t of what h e knew a b o u t t h e

p a t i e n t

We have o f c o u r s e l e a r n e d a g r e a t dea1 about t h e na ture o f n o c t u r n a l

dreaming a s a r e s u l t of c o r r e l a t i o n a 1 s t u d i e s and I have no doubt t h a t we w i l l

c o n t i n u e t o l e a r n a g r e a t d e a l from them I f w e c o u l d supplement c o r r e l a t i o n a l

s t u d i e s w i t h f u n c t i o n a l s t u d i e s however we cou ld p robab ly p r o g r e s s a good

dea1 f a s t e r i n o u r u n d e r s t a n d i n g of dreaming What I would l i k e t o d i s c u s s w i t h

you today a r e some a t t e m p t s o f mine t o deve lop h y p n o t i c s u g g e s t i o n o r more

p r e c i s e l y p o s t h y p n o t i c s u g g e s t i o n as a powerful and p r e c i s e t e c h n i q u e which

would a l l o w f u n c t i o n a l s t u d i e s of dreaming and s i n c e t h i s i s a symposium on

New F r o n t i e r s i n Dream Research engage i n some s p e c u l a t i o n abou t t h e u s e f u l n e s s

o f such a t e c h n i q u e and where i t might l e a d us

I w i l l l i m i t myself today by r e a s o n of t ime l i m i t a t i o n s t o s t a g e 1 noc-

t u r n a l dreaming and n o t c o n s i d e r s o - c a l l e d dreams o c c u r r i n g i n a h y p n o t i c s t a t e

( a l t h o u g h I am working e x t e n s i v e l y w i t h them) nor d reaml ike e x p e r i e n c e s i n o t h e r

s t a t e s o f c o n s c i o u s n e s s nor t h e t y p e o f th ink ing t h a t seems t o go on i n t h e

o t h e r s t a g e s of s l e e p The ba s ic t h e o r e t i c a l a s sumpt ion I have made u n d e r l y i n g

my d i s u c s s i o n i s t h a t a n e x p e r i e n t i a l l y d i s t i n c t i v e t y p e o f menta l a c t i v i t y

o c c u r s d u r i n g s t a g e 1 s l e e p (whether r e c a l l e d o r n o t ) and t h i s a c t i v i t y i s what

we c u s t o m a r i l y t h i n k o f dreaming

There are two conven ien t c a t e g o r i e s under which a t tempts t o i n f l u e n c e s t a g e

1 dreaming cam b e subsumed One i s a t t e m p t s t o i n f l u e n c e t h e c o n t e n t o f dream-

i n g what i s dreamed about The second i s t h e p r o c e s s o f dreaming indepen-

den t of t h e p a r t i c u l a r c o n t e n t by which i s meant t h e s t a r t i n g and s t o p p i n g

o f dreaming i t s dura t ion i t s cyc l i ca 1 n a t u r e and t h e menta1 and p h y s i o l o g i -

ca1 p r o c e s s e s which comprise and accompany i t Thus i n t h e f i r s t case you may

a t t e m p t t o have your -S dream abou t d r i v i n g a r e d c o n v e r t i b l e w h i l e i n t h e second

you might t r y t o have him b e g i n s t a g e 1 dreaming immediately a f t e r f a l l i n g a s l eep

i n s t e a d of t h e u s u a l 90 m i n u t e s l a t e r

There have been a number of s t u d i e s i n t h e p a s t decade u s i n g t h e EEG and

REM t e c h n i q u e t o i n f l u e n c e t h e p r o c e s s and t o some e x t e n t t h e c o n t e n t o f

s t a g e 1 dreaming Most famous perhaps i s Dements dream d e p r i v a t i o n t e c h n i q u e

(Dement 1 9 6 0 ) where t h e -S i s e v e r y t ime h e b e g i n s s t a ge 1 dreaming

O t h e r s have worked w i t h t o t a l s l e e p d e p r i v a t i o n ( s e e e g Berger amp Oswald 1962)

West e t al 1962) p r e s e n t i n g s t i m u l i t o dreaming -Ss (Dement amp Wolper t 1958)

socia1 i s o l a t i o n (Wood 1 9 6 2 ) and v a r i o u s d rugs such as alcoho1 c a f f e i n e

(Gresham e t a l 1963) and amphetamine ( R e c h t s c h a l f e n amp Maron 1964) So t h e

q u e s t i o n a r i s e s Why t r y hypnos i s

The main reason i s tha t h y p n o t i c s u g g e s t i o n judg ing by some e a r l i e r l i t e r a -

t u r e o f f e r e d a hope of a much more p r e c i s e t y p e of c o n t r o l than t h e s e o t h e r

v a r i a b l e s a11 o f which t e n d e i t h e r t o d i s r u p t t h e s leep-dream c y c l e comple te ly

o r t o have r a t h e r m n s p e c i f i c e f f e c t s It should b e emphasized though tha t

h y p n o s i s i s n o t t h e o n l y p s y c h o l o g i c a l t e c h n i q u e which might b e u s e f u l f o r af-

f e c t i n g dreaming and c e r t a i n l y many o f t h e e f f e c t s which are cus tomar i ly p ro -

duced by h y p n o t i c s u g g e s t i o n cam probably b e produced t o some e x t e n t and w i t h

some Ss w i t h o u t i t But hypnos i s i s known t o b e a powerful p s y c h o l o g i c a l t e c h -

n i q u e which i s f a i r l y e a s y and conven ien t t o u s e i n t h e la bora tory s o i t seemed

a good p l a c e t o s t a r t i n t h e search f o r a powerful and p r e c i s e p s y c h o l o g i c a l

t e c h n i q u e f o r a f f e c t i n g dreaming

H i s t o r i c a l Background

P r i o r t o 1961 almost a11 t h e l i t e r a t u r e on t h e e f f e c t s o f p o s t h y p n o t i c

s u g g e s t i o n on n o c t u r n a l dreaming c o n s i s t e d of s t u d i e s ca r r i ed o u t by psycho-

a n a l y s t s more f o r t h e purpose o f demonstra t ing Freudian p r i n c i p l e s than f o r

a n open o b s e r v a t i o n o f what happened na tu ra 11~ T h i s 1 i t e r a t u r e a11 p u r p o r t e d

t o show t h a t some -Ss would dream at n i g h t i n accordance w i t h t h e p o s t h y p n o t i c

s u g g e s t i o n s g i v e n t h e m and tha t most of t h e dreams d i s t o r t e d t h e s e s u g g e s t i o n s

i n accordance w i t h F r e u d i a n p r i n c i p l e s of d i s g u i s e d i sp lacement e t c

B e s i d e s be ing r a t h e r anecdota1 t h i s l i t e r a t u r e s u f f e r s f rom t h e drawback tha t

a11 t h e dreams r e p o r t e d might have o c c u r r e d i n a h y p n o t i c s t a t e at n i g h t

r a t h e r than b e i n g s t a g e 1 dreams There had been no EEG r e c o r d i n g Indeed

S c h i f f Bunney amp Freedman (1961) u s i n g EEG m o n i t o r i n g r e p o r t e d tha t when t h e y

gave a p o s t h y p n o t i c s u g g e s t i o n t o dream abou t a c e r t a i n t o p i c d u r i n g s l e e p t o

t h e i r -S s h e a c t u a l l y dreamedt i n a h y p n o t i c s t a t e a l though s h e though t i t

was d u r i n g s l e e p Thus t h e b e s t c o n c l u s i o n tha t cou ld b e drawn i n 1961 was tha t

p o s t h y p n o t i c s u g g e s t i o n might i n f l u e n c e s t a ge 1 dreaming b u t t h e r e was no p roof

o f i t The o t h e r r e s u l t s r e p o r t e d i n t h e s e p s y c h o a n a l y t i c a l l y o r i e n t e d s t u d i e s

might a p p l y o n l y t o h y p n o t i c dreams and a r e of dub ious v a l i d i t y anyway f o r a

v a r i e t y of o t h e r reasons ( d i s c u s s e d more f u l l y i n T a r t 1962b T a r t unpub l i shed

S h o r t l y a f t e r I had begun working w i t h p o s t h y p n o t i c s u g g e s t i o n t o i n -

f l u e n c e s t a g e 1 dreaming l a t e i n 1961 I d i scovered that t h e ba s ic q u e s t i o n of

whether i t would work a t a l l had been answered i n a p i o n e e r i n g d i s s e r t a t i o n

completed t h a t y e a r by Johann Stoyva a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Chicago Stoyva

(1961) showed t h a t p o s t h y p n o t i c s u g g e s t i o n cou ld f o r some Ss markedly i n f l u -

ence t h e c o n t e n t of t h e i r s t a g e 1 dreams He would s u g g e s t e g tha t t h e y

dream about c l imbing a t r e e and t h e s e -Ss would r e p o r t tha t t h e y were dreaming

about c l imbing a t r e e when awakened from s t a g e 1 dreaming There was cons ider -

able v a r i a t i o n from -S t o -S i n t h e e x t e n t t o which t h e i r r e p o r t e d dreams were

i n f l u e n c e d by t h e s u g g e s t i o n s o f course b u t t h i s work w a s t h e f i r s t c o n c r e t e

i l l u s t r a t i o n o f t h e promise o f p o s t h y p n o t i c s u g g e s t i o n as a powerful and p re -

c i s e t o o l f o r a f f e c t i n g s t a g e 1 dreaming

A f f e c t i n g Dream Content

I n t h e fa l l of 1961 I c a r r i e d o u t a s t u d y des igned t o compare r e s p o n s e s t o

h y p n o t i c s u g g e s t i o n s t o dream about s p e c i f i e d t o p i c s d u r i n g hypnos i s t o responses

2t o p o s t h y p n o t i c s u g g e s t i o n s t o dream about t h e same o r s i m i l a r t o p i c s d u r i n g

s t a g e 1 s l e e p T h i s d e s i g n a l s o t e s t e d t h e e x t e n t t o which p o s t h y p n o t i c sug-

g e s t i o n could a f f e c t s t a g e 1 dreaming which i s our pr imary i n t e r e s t today

Ten -S s were s e l e c t e d from a much l a r g e r group of s t u d e n t s by means o f sug-

g e s t i b i l i t y tests and t r a i n e d t o r e a c h a deep h y p n o t i c s t a t e Each -S t h e n par -

t i c i p a t e d i n two i n d i v i d u a l exper imenta l s e s s i o n s I n t h e one of i n t e r e s t to -

2 There were a c t u a l l y two equa ted n a r r a t i v e s used i n counterbalanced o r d e r s b u t i n t e rms o f our i n t e r e s t s today and t h e r e s u l t s i t w i l l b e s impler t o speak as i f t h e y were a s i n g l e s t i m u l u s n a r r a t i v e

day h e was hypno t ized and t o l d t o dream d u r i n g h i s natura1 s l e e p t h a t n i g h t

about a n a r r a t i v e which was immediate ly p l a y e d on a t a p e r e c o r d e r The n a r r a -

t i v e p l a c e d t h e -S i n a t h r e a t e n i n g s i t u a t i o n which evoked a r e a l i s t i c fear of

b o d i l y i n j u r y o r death It was emphasized tha t h e would dream about t h e

s t i m u l u s n a r r a t i v e i n h i s n a t u r a l s l e e p tha t n i g h t and -n o t i n a h y p n o t i c s t a t e

i n f a c t amnesia f o r t h e whole h y p n o t i c s e s s i o n was sugges ted No s u g g e s t i o n s

t o d i s g u i s e t h e dream about t h e s t i m u l u s n a r r a t i v e were g i v e n e x p l i c i t l y o r

i m p l i c i t l y The -S was t h e n dehypnot ized and s l e p t i n t h e 1ab f o r t h e n i g h t

Whenever h i s EEG and REM p a t t e r n s i n d i c a t e d s t a g e 1 dreaming i t was a l lowed t o

go on f o r a few m i n u t e s and t h e n h e wasawakened f o r a dream r e p o r t A r e l i a b l e

method f o r judg ing how w e l l t h e r e p o r t e d dreams conformed t o t h e s t i m u l u s n a r r a -

t i v e i n d e t a i l was worked o u t ( j u d g e s c o r r e l a t e d 99 w i t h each o t h e r ) and a l l

t h e s e dreams s c o r e d on i t

For f i v e of t h e t e n Ss n o t a s i n g l e e lement i n t h e i r r e p o r t e d s ta ge 1

dreams corresponded d i r e c t l y t o a n y t h i n g i n t h e s t i m u l u s n a r r a t i v e nor d i d any

of t h e s e dreams appear t o b e d i s g u i s e d o r d i s t o r t e d v e r s i o n s of t h e s t i m u l u s

n a r r a t i v e Th i s i s a moot p o i n t o f c o u r s e as no f r e e a s s o c i a t i o n s were ob-

t a i n e d from t h e -Ss and t h e dreams may have been so thorough ly d i s g u i s e d t h a t I

c o u l d n t s e e t h e connec t ion But i f t h i s was t h e c a s e i t i s a t y p i c a l compared

t o t h e e a r l i e r p s y c h o a n a l y t i c r e p o r t s i n which t h e s o p h i s t i c a t e d r e a d e r cou ld

s e e a c o n n e c t i o n between t h e d i sgu i sed dreams and t h e s t i m u l u s n a r r a t i v e s even

w i t h o u t t h e b e n e f i t of t h e f r e e a s s o c i a t i o n s Thus f o r h a l f t h e -Ss I concluded

t h a t t h e s u g g e s t i o n s had f a i l e d t o a f f e c t t h e i r s t a g e 1 dreaming

The o t h e r f i v e -Ss dreams were a f f e c t e d ranging from a minimal e f f e c t o f

two e l e m e n t s o f t h e 23 i n t h e s t i m u l u s n a r r a t i v e a p p e a r i n g i n a r e p o r t e d dream

t o a h i g h of 1 3 o f t h e 23 e lements appearing i n another r e p o r t e d dream Two

of t h e f i v e -Ss had o n l y a s i n g l e s ta ge 1 dream of t h e n i g h t a f f e c t e d two o t h e r s

had two s ta ge 1 dreams a f f e c t e d and t h e f i f t h -S had a11 f i v e of h i s s t a ge 1

dreams s t r o n g l y af f e c t e d

These b a r e f i g u r e s do n o t ca p ture some important c h a r a x t e r i s t i c s of t h e

data however so I must add some q u a l i t a t i v e impress ions The r e p o r t e d dreams

even t h o s e showing t h e g r e a t e s t e f f e c t s of t h e p o s t h y p n o t i c s u g g e s t i o n s were n o t

s t r a igh t fo rwa rd r e p r o d u c t i o n s of t h e s t i m u l u s na r ra t ive Rather t h e r e was

c o n s i d e r a b l e a dd i t ion o f e x t r a n e o u s d e t a i l and cons ide ra b le embell ishment The

b e s t -S i n f a c t c o n s t a n t l y added a happy ending t o t h e dreamed about s t i m u l u s

n a r r a t i v e r a the r t h a n b e i n g l e f t s t r a n d e d i n a f ea r fu1 s i t u a t i o n A t t h e low

end of t h e r e s p o n s e continuum we have a few d e t a i l s of t h e s t i m u l u s n a r r a t i v e

appearing i n a dream tha t seems o t h e r w i s e unconnected w i t h t h e exper imenta l

s i t u a t i o n At t h e h i g h end t h e complete o u t l i n e and theme of t h e s t i m u l u s n a r -

r a t i v e dominates t h e dream y e t t h e r e i s s t i l l c o n s i d e r a b l e embel l i shment and

modi f i ca t ion It i s as i f t h e r e s u l t i n g dream were a p roduc t of a c o n f l i c t be-

tween t h e sugges ted n a r r a t i v e and an autonomous n a t u r a l dream p r o c e s s which has

a s i t were m a t e r i a l o f i t s own t o p r e s e n t d u r i n g t h e t i m e of dreaming

D e t a i l s may b e found i n t h e o r i g i n a l s t u d y ( T a r t 1962b)

These f i n d i n g s were conf i rmed and extended t o some e x t e n t a y e a r l a t e r when

I d i d some f u r t h e r work ( T a r t 1963 i n p r e s s ) o n t h i s u s i n g t h e one 3 who had

responded so w e l l b e f o r e and one new -S An emot iona l ly n e u t r a l s t i m u l u s n a r r a t i v e

was used t h i s t ime b u t t h e r e s u l t s were e s s e n t i a 1 1 ~t h e same t h e dreams domi-

n a t e d by t h e theme of t h e s t i m u l u s n a r r a t i v e b u t cons ide ra b le a d d i t i o n and modi-

f i c a t i o n by t h e autonomous dreaming p r o c e s s It was i n t e r e s t i n g t o n o t e how-

e v e r t h a t t h e new -S s r e p o r t e d dreams showed much l e s s m o d i f i c a t i o n and embel l i sh -

ment t h a n t h e o t h e r 3 s t h e y were much more a s t r a i g h t p layback and t h i s

seemed t o p a r a l l e l t h e l a c k o f i n i t i a t i v e and p a s s i v i t y t h a t t h i s -S d i s p l a y e d

i n a l l h i s r e l a t i o n s t o me and o t h e r s T h i s s u g g e s t s some i n t e r e s t i n g f u t u r e

s t u d i e s

Granted t h a t p o s t h y p n o t i c s u g g e s t i o n does indeed o f f e r cons idera b le pro-

mise a s a powerful and p r e c i s e t o o l f o r a f f e c t i n g s t a g e 1 dreaming (of good hyp-

n o t i c S s ) where do we go n e x t C e r t a i n l y t h e degree t o which waking s u g g e s t i o n

can produce t h e same r e s u l t s i s o f i n t e r e s t e s p e c i a l l y i n view of t h e c o n f l i c t s

i n t h e c u r r e n t l i t e r a t u r e over j u s t what e f f e c t hypnot ic i n d u c t i o n has My own

i n t e r e s t s however l i e i n e x p l o r i n g t h e l i m i t s o f what can b e done i n t h i s a r e a

and i t s p o s s i b l e e f f e c t s and a p p l i c a t i o n s For example can p o s t h y p n o t i c sug-

g e s t i o n complete ly c o n t r o l t h e c o n t e n t o f some -Ss s t a g e 1 dreams I f so w i l l

t h i s r e s u l t i n an i n c r e a s i n g pressure from t h e autonomous dream p r o c e s s

s i m i l a r t o what o c c u r s i n dream depr iva t ion Might s u g g e s t i o n s t o dream about

p a r t i c u l a r t o p i c s r e s u l t i n r e c a l l d u r i n g t h e dream o f r e l e v a n t i n f o r m a t i o n

which might n o t b e a c c e s t b l e t o consc ious r e c a l l And t o look way ahead what

a r e t h e e f f e c t s on waking behav ior and p e r s o n a l i t y of having had c e r t a i n dream

e x p e r i e n c e s a s e x p e r i e n c e s r e g a r d l e s s o f t h e i r meaningl o r i n t e r p r e t a t i o n

Some t h e r a p i s t s (eg P r o g o f f 1963) f e e l t h a t dream e x p e r i e n c e per -s e h a s im-

p o r t a n t and sometimes b e n e f i c i a l e f f e c t s on p e r s o n a l i t y and b e h a v i o r s o we may

s p e c u l a t e t h a t c o n t r o l l i n g dreaming th rough p o s t h y p n o t i c s u g g e s t i o n may some

day have t h e r a p e u t i c a p p l i c a t i o n s

A f f e c t i n g t h e Process of Dreaming

Leaving s p e c u l a t i o n now and coming back t o data l e t me o u t l i n e my i n i t i a l

a t t e m p t s t o i n f l u e n c e t h e p r o c e s s o f dreaming w i t h p o s t h y p n o t i c sugges t ion

Some ba s ic a s p e c t s o f any p r o c e s s are i t s s t a r t i n g s t o p p i n g and dura t ion s o

i n t h e l a t t e r p a r t of 1962 I worked v e r y i n t e n s i v e l y w i t h two Ss a t t e m p t i n g t o

s t a r t s t o p and modify t h e -dura t ion o f t h e i r normal s t a g e 1 dreaming ( T a r t 1963)

Both of t h e s e -Ss were good hypnot ic Ss and cou ld have t h e c o n t e n t of t h e i r dreams

s t r o n g l y a f f e c t e d by p o s t h y p n o t i c sugges t ion

It i s w e l l e s t a b l i s h e d now tha t t h e s leep-dream c y c l e o f most norma1 -Ss i s

q u i t e s t a b l e f o r each Sg and e s s e n t i a 1 1 ~ una f fected by norma1 v a r i a t i o n s i n

day t o day a c t i v i t i e s Each stage 1 dreaming p e r i o d b e g i n s at approximately

90 minu te i n t e r v a l s a f t e r t h e s t a r t o f s l e e p each dreaming p e r i o d g e t s l o n g e r

t h a n t h e p r e v i o u s one and t h e to ta 1 amount o f t ime s p e n t i n s t a g e 1 dream-

i n g (20-30 f o r young a du l t s ) i s c o n s t a n t from n i g h t t o n i g h t w i t h i n a few per -

c e n t f o r a g i v e n -S For t h e two -Ss i n t h i s s t u d y one showed a mean o f 30

dream t ime w i t h a standard d e v i a t i o n o f 3 t h e o t h e r a mean of 28 dream t ime

w i t h a standard dev ia t ion o f 5 These data are based on e i g h t b a s e l i n e n i g h t s

f o r each -S i n which t h e o n l y p o s t h y p n o t i c s u g g e s t i o n was t o s l e e p normal ly

3The d e s i g n c a l l e d f o r each -S having two n i g h t s each on four t y p e s of p o s t -

hypnot ic s u g g e s t i o n (a) wake up a t t h e end of each dream (b ) wake up a t t h e

beg inn ing of each dream ( c ) dream a11 n i g h t long and ( d ) d o n t dream a t a l l

L e t u s look at t h e r e s u l t s of t h e wake up s u g g e s t i o n s t aken t o g e t h e r f i r s t

One of them had t h r e e n i g h t s o f dream a l l n i g h t and o n l y one n i g h t of d o n t dream so t h e r e s u l t 1a ter noted f o r t h e dream a11 n i g h t s u g g e s t i o n s i s based on t h i s -S s t h r e e n i g h t s

T h i s was a powerful e f f e c t The two 2s never awakened on t h e i r e i g h t b a s e l i n e

n i g h t s b u t awakened a t o t a l o f 27 t imes o r an average o f t h r e e awakenings

p e r exper imenta l n i g h t on t h e wake up n i g h t s The p r e c i s i o n o f t h i s e f f e c t i s

a l i t t l e more d i f f i c u l t t o e v a l u a t e due t o such ambiguous r e s p o n s e s as awakening

from p e r i o d s when body movement had obscured t h e EEG r e c o r d f o r some t ime o r

awakening from non-s tage 1 s l e e p on wake a t s tar t n i g h t s a t a t ime when a s t a g e

1 p e r i o d was expec ted so a v a r i e t y o f c r i t e r i a were used t o e v a l u a t e t h e p r e -

c i s i o n o f compliance w i t h t h e wake up s u g g e s t i o n s By t h e most s t r i n g e n t c r i -

t e r i a 31 of t h e awakening r e p r e s e n t e d p e r f e c t compliance w i t h t h e s u g g e s t i o n s

by t h e most generous c r i t e r i a t h i s f i g u r e i s 90

The d o n t dream s u g g e s t i o n s had no s i g n i f i c a n t e f f e c t w i t h e i t h e r 2 and

t h e dream a l l n i g h t s u g g e s t i o n s had no s i g n i f i c a n t e f f e c t w i t h one 2 For t h e

o t h e r 5 however t h e r e was a n inc rea se i n s t a g e 1 dream t ime on t h e o r d e r o f

h a l f an hour p e r n i g h t a 21 increa se over b a s e l i n e n i g h t s which was s t a t i s t i -

c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t by a v a r i e t y o f t e s t s T h i s i s s t i l l far s h o r t o f dreaming

a l l n i g h t though Stoyva (1961) n o t i c e d a s h o r t e n i n g e f f e c t o f approx imate ly

equa l b u t o p p o s i t e magnitude t o t h i s one as a r e s u l t of s u g g e s t i o n s des igned t o

a f f e c t c o n t e n t and Rech tschaf fen and Verdone ( i n p r e s s ) found an e f f e c t o f about

t h e same magni tude as a r e s u l t of o f f e r i n g -Ss c a s h rewards f o r inc rea s ing o r de-

crea s ing t h e amount o f t ime they s p e n t dreaming Although we need more d a t a on

t h i s one can s p e c u l a t e t h a t t h e t iming and d u r a t i o n o f s t a g e 1 dreaming i s b a s i -

c a l l y under p h y s i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l and t h e s o r t s o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l v a r i a b l e s one

can u s e i n t h e l a b o r a t o r y may n o t b e a b l e t o modify t h i s physiologica 1 c o n t r o l

more t h a n about 20

The t e c h n i q u e needs f u r t h e r development of c o u r s e b u t a t p r e s e n t we can

conc lude t h a t p o s t h y p n o t i c s u g g e s t i o n i s a powerful t o o l f o r t e r m i n a t i n g stage

1 dreaming by a r o u s a l and shows promise o f b e i n g f a i r l y p r e c i s e as t o whether

i t o c c u r s a t t h e b e g i n n i n g s o r ends o f t h e dreams 1nsofar as a f f e c t i n g dream

d u r a t i o n though i t does n o t seem t o b e a powerful t o o l and t h e r e s u l t s are

n o t v e r y impress ive

A s w i t h t h e c o n t e n t e f f e c t some i n t r i g u i n g a s p e c t s o f t h e d a t a a r e n o t

encompassed by t h e s e f i g u r e s Granted t h a t -Ss were a b l e t o awaken a t t h e be-

g i n n i n g s and ends o f t h e i r dreams f a i r l y w e l l how d i d t h e y do i t How d i d t h e y

d i s c r i m i n a t e t h e b e g i n n i n g s and ends of t h e i r dreams and how d i d t h e y arouse

themse lves i n t o wakefu lness

The phys io log ica 1 measures (EEG REMs and b a s a l s k i n r e s i s t a n c e ) s u g g e s t

tha t some of t h e d i s c r i m i n a t i o n s may have t a k e n p l a c e i n a n awake o r half-awake

s t a t e as some o f t h e awakenings were proceeded by l o n g s t r e t c h e s of body move-

ments o b s c u r i n g t h e EEG r e c o r d and making i t i m p o s s i b l e t o b e s u r e t h e -S w a s

p h y s i o l o g i c a l l y a s l e e p But a number o f a r o u s a l s took p l a c e w i t h i n a few seconds

from c l e a r s t a g e 1 dreaming so we must t u r n t o o u r o n l y o t h e r s o u r c e o f d a t a

t h e dreams r e p o r t e d from t h e s e awakenings

B e f o r e s t a r t i n g t h e s t u d y I s u s p e c t e d tha t t h e dream c o n t e n t would show

some s o r t o f change j u s t p r i o r t o t h e -Ss awakening p e r h a p s a r e p o r t of a change

i n dream consc iousness o r a s y m b o l i z a t i o n o r r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of a change of

c o n s c i o u s n e s s - g o i n g th rough a door c l imbing a l a d d e r h e a r i n g an a l a r m c l o c k

o r t h e l i k e Much t o my s u r p r i s e I cou ld f i n d n o t h i n g i n t h e r e p o r t e d dreams

which shed any l i g h t on t h e d i s c r i m i n a t i v e o r a r o u s a l p r o c e s s e s The dream ac-

t i o n would b e g o i n g a l o n g a t i t s own pace and a l l o f a sudden t h e -S was awake

and saying t o me I m awake now Judgements o f t h e completeness o f t h e r e -

p o r t e d dreams ind ica t ed tha t t h o s e r e p o r t e d from wake-at-end n i g h t s were s i g -

n i f i c a n t l y more complete than t h o s e from wake-a t -s tar t n i g h t s as w e l l as t a k i n g

s i g n i f i c a n t l y more words t o d e s c r i b e b u t a s ide from t h i s I have no idea

o f how t h e -Ss d i sc r imina t ed t h e beg inn ings and ends of t h e i r dreams and aroused

themselves It i s t empt ing t o speak o f some p r o c e s s of judgement d i s s o c i a t e d

f rom dream c o n s c i o u s n e s s b u t t h i s r e a l l y exp la ins n o t h i n g at t h i s s t a g e of o u r

knowledge a l t h o u g h s u g g e s t i n g some i n t r i g u i n g resea rch problems

Where do we go from h e r e i n a f f e c t i n g dream p r o c e s s by p o s t h y p n o t i c sug-

g e s t i o n To s p e c u l a t e on a few p o s s i b i l i t i e s The wake at s tart s u g g e s t i o n s

cou ld be used as a s o r t o f dream d e p r i v a t i o n t e c h n i q u e and i t s e f f e c t s i n v e s t i -

gated The na tu re of t h e thought p r o c e s s e s w i t h i n dreaming might be modif ied

and one cou ld t e s t many Freudian ideas about t h e na tu re of d i s g u i s e symboli-

za t ion e t c Appropr ia te p o s t h y p n o t i c s u g g e s t i o n might overcome t h e s t i m u l u s

i n c o r p o r a t i o n b a r r i e r tha t now seems t o b lock o u t most s t i m u l i from t h e

d reamer s c o n s c i o u s n e s s and make i t p o s s i b l e t o g i v e i n s t r u c t i o n s t o t h e -S

w h i l e h e i s dreaming F i n a l l y a p o s s i b l e p r a c t i c a 1 a p p l i c a t i o n t h o s e s u f -

f e r i n g from n igh tmares might b e n e f i t from t h e p o s t h y p n o t i c s u g g e s t i o n t o wake

up as soon as a dream became f r i g h t e n i n g r a t h e r t h a n s u f f e r i n g through i t

A l l t h i s i s s p e c u l a t i o n o f c o u r s e b u t i t shows some d i r e c t i o n s r e s e a r c h cou ld

To sum up b r i e f l y P o s t h y p n o t i c s u g g e s t i o n a l t h o u g h f u l l y a p p l i c a b l e

w i t h o n l y a l i m i t e d number of Ss shows g rea t promise as a t e c h n i q u e f o r a f f e c t -

i n g and c o n t r o l l i n g t h e c o n t e n t o f s t a g e 1 dreaming and a t l e a s t one a spect of

p r o c e s s v i z awakening The e f f e c t s are f a s c i n a t i n g i n themse lves and of u s e

once they a r e pe r f ec t ed i n a v a r i e t y of func t iona l s t u d i e s of dreaming

Specula t ions

Most of u s and I am no except ion a r e somewhat r e t i c e n t about g e t t i n g away

from our hardI1 d a t a and specu la t i ng ve ry f a r ahead i n publ ic Since t h i s sym-

posium i s concerned wi th t h e neM f r o n t i e r s i n dream re sea rch though I w i l l con-

c lude my p r e s e n t a t i o n wi th a r r t a l l t a l e about a t reasure which may l i e j u s t

over t h e border This p a r t i c u l a r l l t r ea su re may l u r e some of u s on i n t o new

t e r r i t o r y and some of t h e e f f e c t s I have been desc r ib ing t0day may b e t h e t o o l s

which an explor ing p a r t y w i l l need t o d i scover t h i s t reasure

From seve ra l sources which t h e psychologis t i s no t l i k e l y t o run ac ros s i n

h i s normal course of a c t i v i t y (a l though Freud i n t h e I n t e r p r e t a t i o n of Dreams

does g i v e a s i n g l e l i n e t o mentioning and then promptly f o r g e t t i n g i t ) one

hears of a ve ry cur ious and i n t r i g u i n g phenomena which has been c a l l e d t h e l u c i d

dream The sources I p r i m a r i l y r e f e r t o a r e an o l d a r t i c l e and book by a Dutch

phys ic ian and man of l e t t e r s Freder ick van Eeden (1913 1918) and an o l d book

by an Engl ish gentlewoman Mary Arnold-Forster (1921) Both of them r e p o r t

having experienced many hundreds of dreams (and I use t h e word dream i n quo-

t a t i o n marks now) i n which they f e l t they were p e r f e c t l y conscious l u c i d and

i n possess ion of a l l t h e i r mental f a c u l t i e s I n a d d i t i o n they had t h e a b i l i t y

no t p r e sen t i n rea1 l i f e t o markedly modify t h e dream world i n which they

found themselves by a c t s of w i l l Throughout t he se l u c i d dreams they were

cont inuous ly conscious of t h e f a c t t h a t they were dreaming y e t t h e dream

world remained j u s t a s v i v i d and pa lpab le t o t h e i r senses a s o rd ina ry r e a l i t y

To g i v e you t h e f l a v o r of such a dream l e t m e quote b r i e f l y from van Eeden

On September 9 1904 I dreamt tha t I s tood a t a t a b l e b e f o r e a window On t h e t a b l e were d i f f e r e n t o b j e c t s I was p e r f e c t l y w e l l aware t h a t I was dream-i n g and I cons idered what s o r t s o f exper iments I could make I began by t r y i n g t o b reak g l a s s by b e a t i n g i t w i t h a s tone I p u t a s m a l l t a b l e t o f g l a s s on two s t o n e s and s t r u c k i t w i t h a n o t h e r s tone Yet i t would n o t break Then I took a f i n e c l a r e t g l a s s from t h e t a b l e and s t r u c k i t w i t h my f i s t w i t h a l l my might a t t h e same t ime r e f l e c t i n g how dangerous i t would b e t o do t h i s i n waking l i f e y e t t h e g l a s s remained whole But lo When I looked a t i t a g a i n a f t e r some t ime i t was broken

It broke a l l r i g h t b u t a l i t t l e t o o l a t e l i k e a n a c t o r who m i s s e s h i s cue Th is gave m e a v e r y c u r i o u s impress ion o f be ing i n a f a k e world c l e v e r l y i m i t a t e d b u t w i t h s m a l l f a i l u r e s I1 (van Eeden 1913 p 448)

What do we make of such a r e p o r t We have a s t r o n g tendency t o d i s c o u n t

i t a s t h e r a v i n g s o f t h e m e n t a l l y ill y e t c a r e f u l r e a d i n g o f t h e s e a u t h o r s

cannot h e l p b u t g i v e t h e impress ion t h a t t h e s e were e x c e p t i o n a l l y i n t e l l i g e n t

s u c c e s s f u l and s a n e people I have s i n c e found s e v e r a l c o l l e g e s t u d e n t s who have

had dreams o f varying degrees o f l u c i d i t y and even a p s y c h o l o g i s t o r two

While p robab ly r a r e t h e e x p e r i e n c e o f t h e l u c i d dream seems q u i t e r e a l and

t o me o f f e r s some e x c i t i n g i d e a s o f what may b e t h e u l t i m a t e t h a t can b e achieved

i n t h e c o n t r o l o f dreaming ( i f indeed l u c i d dreams occur i n s t a g e 1 s l e e p )

Much o f what I have r e p o r t e d on e a r l i e r can b e thought of a s t h e i n i t i a l s t e p s

toward a t e c h n i q u e o r t r a i n i n g system which could cu lmina te i n t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f

l u c i d dreamsll i n t h e l a b o r a t o r y and e x p l o r a t i o n o f t h e n a t u r e o f dreaming i t -

s e l f by means o f t h e l u c i d dream

S ince t i m e i s runn ing s h o r t I s h a l l purpose ly s a y no more abou t t h e l u c i d

dream and methods o f s t u d y i n g i t s c i e n t i f i c a l l y and perhaps t h i s l a c k o f

c l o s u r e w i l l s t i m u l a t e you t o t h i n k a b o u t t h i s phenomena and t h e u s e of pos t -

h y p n o t i c s u g g e s t i o n g e n e r a l l y i n t h i s a r e a t h a t w i l l g i v e m e t h e b e n e f i t of your

t h o u g h t s i n l a t e r d i s c u s s i o n

References

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Berger R amp Oswald I E f f e c t s o f s l e e p depr iva t ion on b e h a v i o r subsequent s l e e p and dreaming EEG c l i n Neurophysiol 1962 -14 297

Dement W The e f f e c t o f dream d e p r i v a t i o n Sc ience 1960 -131 1705-1707

Dement W amp Wolpert E The r e l a t i o n o f eye movements body m o t i l i t y and externa 1 s t i m u l i t o dream c o n t e n t J exp Psychol 1958 55 543-553-

Freud S The I n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f Dreams Trans by James Strachey London Al len amp Unwin 1954

Gresham S Webb W amp Will iams R Alcohol and ca f fe ine e f f e c t on i n f e r r e d v i s u a l dreaming Sc ience 1963 140 1226-1227

P r o g o f f I The Symbolic and t h e Real New York J u l i a n P r e s s 1963

Rech tschaf fen A amp Maron Louise The e f f e c t o f amphetamine on t h e s l e e p c y c l e EEG c l i n Neurophysiol 1964 -16 438-445

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S c h i f f S Bunney W amp Freedman D A s t u d y o f o c u l a r movements i n hypnot i - c a l l y induced dreams J nerv ment D i s 1961 133 59-68

Stoyva J The e f f e c t o f sugges ted dreams on t h e l e n g t h of r a p i d eye movement p e r i o d s Unpublished d o c t o r a l d i s s e r t a t i o n U n i v e r s i t y o f Chicago 1961

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T a r t C A comparison o f sugges ted dreams o c c u r r i n g i n hypnos i s and s l e e p Unpublished MA t h e s i s U n i v e r s i t y o f NC 1962 I n p r e s s I n t J c l i n exp Hypnosis (b )

T a r t C E f f e c t s o f p o s t h y p n o t i c s u g g e s t i o n on t h e p r o c e s s of dreaming Un-p u b l i s h e d doctora1 d i s s e r t a t i o n U n i v e r s i t y of NC 1963

T a r t C The i n f l u e n c e o f t h e exper imenta l s i t u a t i o n i n hypnos i s and dream r e s e a r c h a c a s e r e p o r t Amer J c l i n Hypnosis 1964 i n p r e s s

T a r t C The h y p n o t i c dream methodologica1 c o n s i d e r a t i o n s and a review o f t h e l i t e r a t u r e Unpublished ms

van Eeden F A s t udy of dreams Proc Soc Psych Res 1913 -26 431-461

van Eeden F The Br ide of Dreams New York Mi t che l l Kennerley 1918

West L Janszen H L e s t e r B amp Comelisoon F The psychos i s of s l e e p dep r iva t i on Ann NY Acad Sc iences 1962 2 66-70

Wood P Dreaming and s o c i a l i s o l a t i o n Unpublished d o c t o r a l d i s s e r t a t i o n Un ive r s i t y of N C 1962