The invasion of the concept snatchers: The origins, distortions, and future of the continuity hypothesis.

Abstract

This article explains the origins and development of the continuity hypothesis in work by cognitively oriented dream researchers. Using blind quantitative analyses of lengthy dream series from several individuals, in conjunction with inferences presented to the individual dreamers to corroborate or reject, these researchers discovered that the same conceptions and personal concerns that animate waking thought are very often enacted in dreams. Other types of studies later supported this finding. The article argues that the cognitive origins and definition of the continuity hypothesis have been distorted by those dream researchers who mistakenly claim that the concept is focused on dreaming as an incorporation of everyday experiences. A review of the literature on experiential and experimental influences on dreams, which includes studies of day residues, the experimental manipulation of presleep events, the incorporation of during-sleep stimuli, laboratory references in laboratory-collected dreams, and the influence of routine daily events, reveals that none of them is very influential and most are trivial. The article concludes that those who study experiential factors should adopt a phrase such as "incorporation hypothesis" to avoid confusion in the literature and make clear that the continuity hypothesis is a central one in an emerging neurocognitive theory of dreams. The intensity of personal concerns and interests, not the events of the day, shape central aspects of dream content. In particular, the frequency of characters or activities reveals the intensity of various concerns, and these concerns can be discovered for individuals through comparisons with normative findings.

Jungian theory of dreaming and contemporary dream research – findings from the research project ‘Structural Dream Analysis’

“…Insofar as the extent of ego functioning and the psychological problems of the dreamers are mirrored in the dream patterns and symbols, these findings support the continuity hypothesis (Domhoff ).…”

EEG Frontal Alpha Asymmetry and Dream Affect: Alpha Oscillations over the Right Frontal Cortex during REM Sleep and Presleep Wakefulness Predict Anger in REM Sleep Dreams

“…As such, these findings provide support for theories according to which dreaming is a realistic simulation of waking life (e.g., Foulkes, 1985;Nielsen, 2010;Hobson and Friston, 2012;Windt, 2015;Revonsuo et al, 2016;Domhoff, 2018). However, based on the present study, it is not possible to say whether the particular neural activation accompanying dream anger supports a certain function, such as to experience threatening situations or negative affective states to better deal with them in waking life (e.g., Revonsuo, 2000;Nielsen and Levin, 2007;Cartwright, 2010;Perogamvros and Schwartz, 2012), to consolidate specific types of memories (Wamsley and Stickgold, 2011), or whether it simply reflects the individual's waking life experiences (Domhoff, 1996(Domhoff, , 2017Schredl, 2003).…”

Spotlight on dream recall: the ages of dreams

“… 33 , 97 Additionally, the theta activity has been found to be a fundamental property of hippocampus–prefrontal cortex connectivity. 98 Furthermore, Norman et al 99 suggested its role as a suppressor of the external interference with selective retrieval of target memory during cognitive tasks or in meditative state, and Domhoff 11 addressed its importance in the so-called “default mode network” functioning. In this context, common mechanisms in the processes underlying encoding and recall of episodic memories across different states of consciousness have been suggested.…”