Dement and Kleitman

HideShow resource information
  • Created by: vicky
  • Created on: 26-04-11 11:46

Dement and Kleitman 1957 study.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between eye movements and dreaming.

The study had three hypotheses:

1. There will be a significant association between REM sleep and dreaming.

2. There will be a significant positive correlation between the estimate of the duration of dreams and the length of eye-movement

3. There will be a significant association between the pattern of eye movement and the context of the dream

The nine participants were seven adult males and two adult females. Five were studied intensively, while only a small amount of data was collected on the other four just to back up the findings of the main five.

The participants were studied under controlled laboratory conditions, whereby they reported to the laboratory just before their usual bedtime. They had been asked to eat normally but to avoid caffeine or alcohol on the day of the study. The participants went to bed in a quiet, dark room.

An electroencephalograph (EEG) was used to amplify and record the signals of electrodes which were attached to the participants face and scalp. Two or more electrodes were attached near to the participants’ eyes to record electrical changes caused by eye movement. Two or three further electrodes were attached to the scalp to record brain activity which indicated the participants’ depth of sleep.

At various times during the night (both during…


No comments have yet been made

Similar Psychology resources:

See all Psychology resources »See all resources »