Rorschach movement and dreams: A validation study using drug-induced dream-deprivation.

Abstract

To test the hypotheses that dream deprivation would produce an increase in quantity of projected movement and a change in its quality in the direction of body-dissolution imagery, 20 Ss were tested with Holtzman inkblots before and after 2 nights of drug-induced dream deprivation. Their performance was compared with that of 30 non-dream-deprived controls. Results were significant in the predicted direction and were interpreted as offering support for Rorschach's views on the fundamental similarity between movement and dreams due to the centrality of kinesthetic experience in both. Additional findings on space were congruent with Fonda's view of space as resistance to internal, rather than external, forces. More specifically, in the present study, space was interpreted as resistance to movement.

Dreams and feeling realization.

“…Nevertheless, again considering studies that used brief periods of deprivation, results quite consistently indicate that perceived movement in ambiguous figures becomes more pronounced after REM deprivation. Lerner (1966) found greater post-awakening movement scores in an amphetamine-induced REM deprivation group than in a no treatment control. Also, using more traditional comparisons of REM and NREM deprivation, Feldstein (1972) and Cartwright and Ratzel (1972) replicated Lerner’s findings, although Cartwright et al found increases in perceived movement only among those whose dreaming seemed concentrated in REM sleep.…”

Changes in the kinesthetic content of dreams following somatosensory stimulation of leg muscles during REM sleep.

“…An explanation of the present results which is sensitive to the previous considerations is that somatosensory stimulation during REM sleep influences a dreaming process which is also in some sense normally a waking state process. This process may be akin to the 'kinesthetic fantasy' dimension of dreaming which was described by Rorschach (1951) and later elaborated by Lerner (1966Lerner ( , 1967. Kinesthetic fantasy was understood as a type of kinesthesis or bodily awareness during imagery, or '.…”

Dream function reconsidered.

“…Thus, if Rorschach is correct and movement responses and dreams are really similar in some basic way, dream-deprived 5s who are tested before having an opportunity to sleep normally should attempt to compensate for their loss by selectively increasing the quantity of movement responses projected onto inkblots. Lerner (1966) tested this hypothesis and found that dream-deprived 5s exist, and, while they are not directly relevant to the main purposes of this report, they are interesting in their own right. Aside from the obvious fact that the dreamer is asleep and the producer of movement responses is awake, one might begin to differentiate more finely by noting that kinesthetic fantasy in movement responses appears to be a momentary experience which is not usually recognized as belonging to S but is attributed to the external stimulus; for example, S says "That looks like a man running" instead of "looking at that makes me feel like I am running."…”

“…In this context, it may be appropriate to point to another line of evidence for the similarity between movement responses and dreams in the Lerner (1966) research, one which is unquantified but quite impressive, at least on a subjective level. The reference here is to the freshness of perception and dream-like originality which many dream-deprived 5s displayed in their inkblot responses.…”

“…To test this expectation, in Lerner's (1966) previously described study, it was hypothesized that dream-deprived Ss, in addition to producing more movement responses, should also project significantly more body-dissolution imagery onto inkblots than non-dream-deprived controls. Results were as predicted.…”