Minding the Dreamer Within: An Experimental Study on the Effects of Enhanced Dream Recall on Creative Thinking

Abstract

Several studies have found an association between frequency of dream recall and creativity. We tested the hypothesis that training individuals to increase dream recall by means of a daily dream log would increase scores on the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT). One hundred twenty‐five participants completed a baseline measure of creativity (TTCT, figural version) as well as of dream recall, dissociation, thinness of psychological boundaries, mindful‐attention awareness, and well‐being. Participants were randomly allocated to two groups: the experimental group (n = 55) received a daily dream log; while the control group (n = 32) received a similarly phrased log registering memories of a vivid episode from the previous day. After 27 days, all participants completed follow‐up measurements identical to those at baseline. A non‐randomized non‐intervention group (n = 35) was used to test for practice effects on the TTCT. There was significant selective increase for the “creative strengths” component, which was only observed in the experimental group. There were significant correlations between creativity and dissociation as well as between creativity and thinness of psychological boundaries. Enhanced dream recall through daily dream logging fosters aspects of creativity. Associations between creativity, dissociation, and thinness of boundaries, suggest that increased awareness to dreams increases creativity through a “loosening” of stereotyped thinking pattern.

A Critical Review of Assessments of Creativity in Education

“…We noticed that creativity has been measured in Asian and European countries, such as China (e.g., Hu et al, 2013), Malaysia (e.g., Tan et al, 2019), Germany (e.g., Benedek et al, 2012), France (e.g., Camarda et al, 2018), Poland (e.g., Karwowski, 2016), Italy (e.g., Sica et al, 2019), Israel (e.g., Kaspi-Baruch, 2019), and Slovenia (Mihelič & Aleksić, 2017). Creativity has also been assessed in South and Central American countries, such as Mexico (e.g., Puente-Diaz & Cavazos-Arroyo, 2018), Jamaica (e.g., Fearon et al, 2013), Columbia (e.g., Sierra-Siegert et al, 2019); Middle East countries, such as Iran (e.g., Tamannaeifar, & Motaghedifard, 2014; Mostafavi et al, 2020), United Arab Emirates (e.g., Kharkhurin, 2017), and Saudi Arabia (Mourgues et al, 2016); and African countries, such as Egypt (e.g., Sayed & Mohamed, 2013), Nigeria (e.g., Forthmann, Oyebade, et al, 2019b), Tanzania (e.g., Humble et al, 2018), and Uganda (e.g., Tomassoni et al, 2018).…”

Individual innovation and creativity: An interdisciplinary mapping of creative cognition

“…Besides activation, an additional two studies examined the role of non-habitual or altered states of consciousness, namely dreaming, either by measuring dream intensity (Yu, 2020) or enhancing dream recall through daily logging (Sierra-Siegert et al, 2019).…”

Interrelaciones de la memoria con la creatividad y la imagen en la conformación de la cultura

“…En la imaginación de las personas con discapacidad visual cobra especial relevancia el recuerdo de olores y formas, tanto para asimilar la información en la memoria como para desarrollar el proceso creativo (Llamazares-de-Prado, Arias-Gago, & Melcon-Álvarez, 2017) y generar imágenes mentales. En la línea de las imágenes ausentes, la memoria de los sueños fomenta aspectos de la creatividad; una mayor consciencia de los episodios oníricos aumenta la creatividad, al relajar el patrón de las pautas asociativas estereotipadas (Sierra-Siegert et al, 2016).…”