Dreams and Daydreams Image Determination - Essay Example

Dreams and Daydreams Image Determination Qiyu Wang Hillary Hurst Bush Dreams and Daydreams Image Determination Introduction The main goal of this paper is to analyze and give recommendations for an article that presents the findings of a research conducted to find out to what extent is the picture or image in a dream related to the different experiences of the dreamer. The images that the dreamers do experience in large extent are usually very important features of all the dreams that he/she experienced in the day to day experiences (Covitz & Covitz, 2000). The title of the article is Contextualizing Images in Dreams, Daydreams authored by Ernest Hartmann, I, 3 Robert Kunzendorf, Rachel Rosen, and Nancy Gazells Grace in 2001, and it appeared in the journal Dreamer volume 11 from page 97 to pages 104. Research summary The study involved college students, a target population of 208 in number. The research study was conducted in different phases in which three General Psychology classes run through the study to come up with a detailed study. The 208 students had different traits. From this target population, a sample study of 40 students was selected using random sampling technique. The students had different ages that were ranging from 18 years to 25 years, but the specifics on ages and ages were not revealed to the researchers. The students with thin and thick boundaries were put under study for two hours to determine the goal and objective of the study, which had to answer the research question (Hall, 1983). The researchers used quasi experimental design in the study and had two hypotheses for the study: “1) the college students dreams would differ from their daydreams in that they would have more CIs and more intense CIs. We also expected that the contextualized emotions in dreams would include more fear / terror and helplessness/ vulnerability than in daydreams” (Grace et al., 2001, p. 98). The second hypothesis stated and tasted by the researchers in the article is that the “students who score relatively "thin" on the Boundary Questionnaire would have more CIs and more intense CIs than those who score "thick"-in both dreams and daydreams” (Grace et al., 2001, p. 98). The study had one independent variable being tasted against one independent variable. The independent variable on the topic under study was the possible images experienced by college students on different experiences, in relation to their dreams according to their personality traits while the dependent variable, which is the availability of dreams in different occasion such as trauma in different personalities. The main findings in the study are that dreams have more CIs than daydreams and that thin boundary students have more intense CIs than thick boundary students do. The overall finding is that the emotional state of a person influences his/her mental imagery. The researchers state their conclusion of the research findings as the contextualization of the dominant emotion of the dreamer by the image. The other finding is that the occurrences of powerful images leading to conceptualizing of the emotion mainly happens on the right-hand part of the continuum when one is dreaming compared to when one is daydreaming. The other finding from the study is that the effects of emotion occurs less at the “left-hand side of the continuum during focused waking activity” (Grace et al., 2001, p. 104). Research decisions One of the decisions made in the study involved a choice of 208 students selected from 3 psychology classes and a further 40 students were selected for the follow up study from the 208 students. The benefits of these decisions were to reduce the amount of time and resources used for the study and allow for detailed analysis of the study results for a valid conclusion. The other benefits of the decision to take a small sample in the study is that it resulted in the ability of the researchers to conduct the research themselves reducing the chances of slipups and increasing the knowledge and skill required in the study for augmented reliability and validity. An increased sample also increases the confidence of the readers in the conclusion made in a given study, as it is believed that a large sample that is representative of the population. The drawbacks of this decision include that the sample size was small to allow for the extrapolation of the results as a representation of the situation for all the people and that there might arise doubts of the validity of results. The researchers could have increased the sample size from 208 to at least 508 and the subsequent population to 100. This would have strengthened the study through increasing the validity of the results and allowing for the extrapolation of the results to the population. The second decision made by the researchers in terms of study design is use of cross sectional design of the thin and thick boundary students in the second phase of the study that consisted of 40 students. The main benefits of this decision are that the choice was good for the explorative nature of the study and that the data generated a hypothesis that will be useful in future research (Nestor & Schutt, 2012). This will allow other research on the area to base their research from these findings. The other benefit for the decision is that the research is time bound and have the cross-sectional data allows the comparison of the two different types of dreamers with thin and thick boundaries consecutively saving on time and resources for the study. The main disadvantage of the decision include that there is no ability to measure change over a prolonged period. This would have been improved or strengthened in the study using longitudinal study as a support for cross sectional design by collection of data over a long period. Longitudinal and cross-sectional studies will allow the research to take into consideration the changes that could be because of a change in time, which could affect the kind of dreams irrespective of the thickness or thinness of boundary. This would have given the study a higher perspective for the increased reliability and validity of the research conclusion made in the study. The third decision made by the researchers in terms of study design is that the researchers did not use a control group. The study only used a one experiment on the group that have to answer the questions and fill the questions and the second sample was taken without the consideration for the use of a control group. Control groups aids in presenting a reference point for the experiment and make credible results through realizing the impact of an experiment on the change in the independent variables on the dependent variables. The benefits of this decision is that the study was easy to complete with the lack of a large sample and emphasis on one group it also aided in saving time and costs requirements. The other benefit is that the lack of a control group for the study ensures the research specifically deals with a given group. The disadvantage of this choice is that the results may be doubtful due to a lack of control group to investigate the effect of temporary changes in the environment or in individual behavior that may affect the findings of the study (Robitaille & Garden, 1996). Conclusion In conclusion, the study has a good presentation and the data is collected appropriately and validly reading to the generation of valid results that are believable and can be extrapolated for the whole population. The researchers use simple English and take the reader through a step by step development of the research from the introduction building it through the data collection process to the data analysis and conclusion. The research meets the needs and demands of a professionally conducted research through the literature review and other parts taken in the research study in my opinion. This aids the readers who do not have a background in the min area of study to follow and comprehend the study path and findings. I have confidence in the research methods and findings as the information is supported by previous findings by other researchers and the collection methods were appropriate for the researchers to reach the conclusion made in the study. The researchers also had in-depth analysis of the results to adequately make a point from the data collected supporting the conclusion by evidence making the methods, results and findings believable and augmenting the confidence of the reader. References Covitz, J., & Covitz, J. (2000). Visions in the night: Jungian and ancient dream interpretation. Toronto: Inner City Books. Hall, J. A. (1983). Jungian dream interpretation: A handbook of theory and practice. Toronto, Canada: Inner City Books. Grace, N., Hartmann, E., Kunzendorf, R., & Rosen, R. Contextualizing Images in Dreams and Daydreams. Dreaming, Vol. 11, No.2, 2001, p. 97-104. Nestor, P., & Schutt, R. K. (2012). Research methods in psychology: Investigating human behavior. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications. Robitaille, D. F., & Garden, R. A. (1996). Research questions & study design. Vancouver: Pacific Educational Press. Read More