Delusions and the Factor Structure of Typical Dreams

Calvin Kai-Ching Yu
Hong Kong Shue Yan University
The present study was geared toward generating a parsimonious factor model
of typical dreams. Moreover, the hypothesis that themes typically manifest in
psychotic delusions also prevail in normal peoples dreams was examined.
The modied Typical Dreams Questionnaire was administered to a sample of
348 university students from Hong Kong. The factor solutions generated by
the current analyses indicate that typical dreams can be classied into three
primary categories or six subcategories according to the two-tier model.
Consistent with the homology between dreaming and psychosis, the rst two
categories of the upper tier are, in essence, characterized by the two classic
psychotic themesthe grandiose and persecutory delusions. The third cate-
gory of dream themes consists in the distinctive affective experience that can
be, one way or another, attributed to the function of the ego ideal.
Keywords: ego ideal, grandiose delusions, psychosis, persecutory delusions, typical dreams
The analogy between dreaming and psychosis has long been drawn because of
their similar conscious manifestation. Freud (1917/1915, 1933/1932, 1940/1938)
believed that dreaming is essentially a psychotic state in which the ego withdraws
its cathexis from the external world and nds satisfaction in the form of a halluci-
nation. During this temporary state of hallucinatory wishful psychosis, the real-
ity-testing function is suspended; delusions thus overshadow rational thoughts.
A dream, then, is a psychosis, with all the absurdities, delusions and illusions of a psychosis.
A psychosis of short duration, no doubt, harmless, even entrusted with a useful function,
introduced with the subjects consent and terminated by an act of his will. None the less, it
is a psychosis, and we learn from it that even so deep-going an alteration of mental life as this
can be undone and can give place to the normal function. (Freud, 1940/1938, p. 172)
Given that dreaming and psychosis share some cognitive attributes and perhaps
neurophysiological mechanisms (Carhart-Harris, 2007; Hobson, 2004; Scarone et al.,
2008), it is worth comparing the narrative contents of the two mentations. Although
each delusional story is fabricated along the lines of ones individual peculiarities, there
are typical themes in psychosisnamely, grandiose and persecutory delusionswhich
are frequently observed in people with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders. The
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Calvin Kai-Ching Yu, Department
of Counselling and Psychology, Hong Kong Shue Yan University, 10 Wai Tsui Crescent, Braemar Hill
Road, North Point, Hong Kong. E-mail: calyu2000@hotmail.com
42
Dreaming 2009 American Psychological Association
2009, Vol. 19, No. 1, 4254 1053-0797/09/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0014789
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(DSMIVTR; American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2000) provides some exam-
ples of these two prevalent types of delusions.
Delusions are typically persecutory or grandiose, or both, but delusions with other themes
(e.g., jealousy, religiosity, or somatization) may occur. The delusions may be multiple, but
are usually organized around a coherent theme. Hallucinations are also typically related to
the content of the delusional theme. (APA, 2000, pp. 313314)
This subtype (grandiose delusions) applies when the central theme of the delusion is the
conviction of having some great (but unrecognized) talent or insight or having made some
important discovery. Less commonly, the individual may have the delusion of having a
special relationship with a prominent person (e.g., an advisor to the president) or being a
prominent person (in which case the actual person may be regarded as an impostor).
Grandiose delusions may have a religion content (e.g., the person believes that he or she has
a special message from a deity). (APA, 2000, p. 325)
This subtype (persecutory delusions) applies when the central theme of the delusion
involves the persons belief that he or she is being conspired against, cheated, spied on,
followed, poisoned or drugged, maliciously maligned, harassed, or obstructed in the pursuit
of long-term goals. (APA, 2000, p. 325)
Just as there are typical delusions in psychosis, so there are typical themes in
dreams. Freud (1900) presented a number of dreamssuch as those involving being
naked or wearing inadequate clothing, the death of loved ones, ying or falling,
facing examinations, being pursued or threatened, missing a train, and losing
teethwhich, as he believed, are shared by many people.
There is a fair amount of agreement, however, over the interpretation of various forms of
dreams that are described as typical, because they occur in large numbers of people and
with very similar content. (Freud, 1900, p. 37)
It remained an assumption that a majority of people have experienced these
themes in their dreams until some empirical studies (Grifth, Miyagi, & Tago, 1958;
Nielsen et al., 2003; Zadra & Nielsen, 1997, 1999; Schredl, Ciric, Go tz, & Wittmann,
2004; Yu, 2008) were conducted among different ethnic groups to examine the
relative occurrence rates of these prospective typical dream themes. The Typical
Dreams Questionnaire (TDQ), which was developed by Nielsen and his associates
(Nielsen et al., 2003; Zadra & Nielsen, 1997, 1999) to study the prevalence rates
of 55 themes, has been applied to university students in Canada (Nielsen et al.,
2003; Zadra & Nielsen, 1997, 1999), Germany (Schredl et al., 2004), and Hong Kong
(Yu, 2008). The converging ndings generated from these different ethnic settings
conrmed that many typical dream themes Freud addressed had high incidence
rates. In Yus (2008) Chinese study, for instance, more than half of the participants
had experienced the themes being chased or pursued (92.2%), falling (87.1%),
arriving too late (80.5%), failing an examination (79.3%), a person now alive
as dead (75.0%), ying (73.9%), being on the verge of falling (66.7%), and
being embarrassed about using a toilette (59.5%).
Although Freud paired dreaming with psychosis in elucidating their mecha-
nisms, he did not make a similar connection between the two phenomena as regards
their narrative contents in his interpretation of typical dreams. It is interesting to
note that some delusional themes that prevail among individuals with psychosis
were found to be prominent in normal peoples dreams. In particular, prevalent
TDQ dream themes being chased or pursued (92.2%, according to Yus study),
Delusions and The Factor Structure of Typical Dreams 43
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being physically attacked (65.2%), being smothered, unable to breathe
(56.9%), vividly sensing a presence in the room (51.4%), and being tied, unable
to move (51.1%), can be compared favorably with persecutory delusions in
psychosis. On the other hand, dream themes having magical powers (62.9%) and
having superior knowledge or mental ability (57.2%) correspond with grandiose
delusions. It should be noted, nevertheless, that the TDQ encompasses far more
dream themes of a persecutory character than those that are grandiose in nature.
For instance, the DSMIVTRs exemplar of grandiose theme, being a prominent
person, has not been included in the theme list. That is not surprising because the
TDQ was not built upon the homology between dreaming and psychosis.
Although several studies have investigated typical dream themes using the
TDQ, only that of Nielsen et al. (2003) ran a factor analysis on the 55 TDQ items.
The resulting 16-factor solution could explain 50.6% of the total variance in scores
on the 55 themes, with each factor accounting for only 2.4% (Factor 16: beasts)
to 4.4% (Factor 1: death-murder) variances. Factor loadings for some themes
were low, near .30. The three largest clusters were death-murder, disasters, and
positive themes. According to Nielsen et al. (2003), the 16 factors were readily
interpreted and the grouping of themes was coherent, in that each cluster shared
a common quality. The sparse distribution of the 55 themes in relation to the 16
factors, however, renders the organization of the overall clustering hardly
discernible.
Prevalence ranking has thus far been the major indicator of the typicality of a
dream theme, and the empirical evidence showed that those exemplars of typical
themes put forth by Freud a century ago remain to be prominent in modern
peoples dreams. Yu (2008) pointed out that the highest ranked themes are indeed
far more widespread and frequent than those at the bottom of the 55-item list. In
his study, the theme being chased or pursued (92.2%), was 10 times more
prevalent than the theme of someone having an abortion (8.9%). Both Schredl et
al. (2004) and Yu (2008) questioned whether all the themes listed in the TDQ are
actually typical dreams.
If typical dreams are dened by their salient prevalence, then those themes
that have been consistently shown to be rare and atypical across different cultures,
such as someone having an abortion and being an object, should perhaps be
abandoned. This is especially true for conducting factor analysis because the
selection of items fundamentally inuences how the items are categorized. Restrict-
ing the factor analysis to the classical set of itemsthat is, typical or relatively
typical dream themes that bear representativenessnot only make categorization
simpler but also help dene the domains. On the other hand, including extraneous
variables in the factor analysis may cause noise effects and thus distort the resulting
factor structure and loadings. A reasonable categorization of typical dreams is
therefore founded on the themes that demonstrate relatively high prevalence rates.
In lling the gap that the TDQ has not covered concerning some common
grandiose themes, the present author developed four dream items mainly involving
classic grandiose delusions and applied them, together with the original TDQ list,
to a Chinese sample. This constituted a critical test of the hypothesis that themes
typically manifest in psychotic delusions also prevail in normal peoples dreams. In
addition, the present study was geared toward generating a parsimonious factor
model of typical dreams using a representative selection of themes.
44 Yu
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METHOD
Participants
The sample, which was initially reported in Yu (2008), consisted of 348
university students from Hong Kong, 107 men (30.7%) and 241 women (69.3%).
The average age was 20.68 years (SD 1.61, range 1827).
Instrument
The original TDQ (Nielsen et al., 2003; Zadra & Nielsen, 1997, 1999) consists
of 55 dream themes and was designed to elicit dichotomous answers (i.e., yes or no
for counting prevalence rates). Different from the original TDQ, the present TDQ
Chinese version required the participants to indicate their responses on a 5-point
scale (from 0 never to 4 very frequently) for each dream theme. Item 41, being
at a movie, was changed to being in a movie in this Chinese version in order to
make the item more in tune with the proposed delusional character of dreaming
that is, acting or being in a movie scene rather than seating in a movie theater.
Moreover, the current author extended the TDQ to 69 themes by adding 14 items.
Four additional items were classic psychotic delusions mainly of a grandiose type.
They are theme 66, being tracked and spied on; theme 69, having a superior status;
theme 61, becoming a big wheel/celebrity; and theme 58, becoming a certain form
of god. The rest 10 additional items were Chinese sex symbols. More details about
the method and instrument used by this study are available in Yu (2008).
RESULTS
The prevalence and frequency rates indicated by the percentages and mean
scores of the four delusional dream themes reported by the participants are
provided in Table 1. More than half of the participants had dreamed about
themes 66, being tracked and spied on; 69, having a superior status; and 61,
becoming a big wheel/celebrity. The prevalence rates of these three delusional
themes were higher than themes 18, your teeth falling out/losing your teeth
(49.4%); 13, being inappropriately dressed (46.0%); and 14, being nude (32.5%),
which are commonly regarded as typical dreams (see Table 2). Theme 66, being
tracked and spied on was the 12th most prevalent dream whereas, theme 58,
becoming a certain form of god, ranked toward the bottom of the 69theme list. No
signicant gender differences in prevalence and frequency rates were detected for
the four delusional themes.
As mentioned, the inclusion of uncommon dream themes in factor analyses not
only contaminates the categorization of the classical ones but also may complicate
the model with additional factors. According to Freuds (1900) original description,
typical dreams are shared by large numbers of people. Although there is no clear
demarcation as to what percentage constitutes a large number, it is reasonable to
start with a representative group of themes that have been experienced by at least
half of the samplethat is, a majority of participants.
Delusions and The Factor Structure of Typical Dreams 45
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Principal components factor analyses with varimax rotation were conducted
using prevalence rates as a threshold for inputting dream themes. Twenty-six of
the 69 dream themes showed a prevalence rate higher than 50% (see Table 2).
Eight of these 26 themes directly involved psychotic delusions (i.e., themes 1, 66, 2,
20, 69, 16, 61, and 29). The factor analysis of these 26 typical dream themes
extracted seven factors with eigenvalues larger than 1.0, which accounted for 56.9%
of the total variance in scores (see Table 3). Only two themes loaded on Factor 7,
which explained the smallest percentage of variance. When these two themes were
eliminated from the analysis, six factors with a total 55.1% explained variance were
extracted. All groupings of themes and patterns of factor loadings for these six
factors were equivalent to those for the rst six factors of the seven-factor solution.
The only exception is that theme 39, being smothered, unable to breathe, was
loaded on the third factor in the six-factor solution, instead of the second factor in
the seven-factor counterpart.
The prevalence rates of some themessuch as 19, seeing yourself in a mirror;
18, your teeth falling out; and 10, nding moneywere very close to 50%. In view
of this, more dream themes were included for analyses by lowering the threshold of
prevalence rate from 50% to 47%. The factor analysis of the top 33 prevalent
dream themes generated nine factors, which explained 58.3% of the total variance.
This nine-factor structure accounted for only 1.4% more variance than the seven-
factor structure. Similarly, the factor analysis of the 38 dream themes with preva-
lence rates of higher than 40% extracted 10 components, which explained 58.0% of
the total variance. Finally, the factor analysis of the 46 dream themes with preva-
lence rates of higher than 30% extracted 12 components, which accounted
for 59.8% of the total variance. The seven-factor model was therefore the most
parsimonious, considering that lowering the item input threshold barely enhanced
the total variance explained but necessitated more components to form a model.
Factor 1 of the seven-factor model was composed of six dream themes, at least
three of which were grandiose in nature (i.e., themes 69, having a superior status;
61, becoming a big wheel/celebrity; and 16, having superior knowledge or mental
ability). Both themes 41, being in a movie and 66, being tracked and spied on, were
situations in which the dreamers were being at the center of attention. Most items
loading on Factor 2 depicted vigorous bodily movements that involved propriocep-
tion or a sense of balance. Three of the four themes loading on Factors 3 were
features of sleep paralysis. Themes loading on Factor 4 described some pleasant
Table 1. Prevalence (Percentage) and Frequency (Mean) Rates of Delusional Dream
Themes (N 348)
Rank Item no. Dream themes
Total Male Female
% Mean % Mean % Mean
12 66 Being tracked and spied on 67.2 1.10 62.6 1.00 69.3 1.15
18 69 Having a superior status 59.5 1.04 57.9 1.05 60.2 1.04
23 61
Becoming a big
wheel/celebrity 52.3 0.88 46.7 0.80 54.8 0.92
66 58
Becoming a certain form of
god 12.7 0.19 13.2 0.25 12.4 0.17
Note. % percentage of participants who had experienced each dream theme. Mean mean score
of how often participants experienced each dream theme.
46 Yu
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Table 2. Prevalence (Percentage) and Frequency (Mean) Rates of Top 46 Dream
Themes (N 348)
Rank Item no. Dream themes Total %
Total
mean
1 31 School, teachers, studying 94.5 2.28
2 1 Being chased or pursued, but not physically injured 92.2 1.79
3 12 Falling 87.1 1.99
4 6 Arriving too late, e.g., missing a train 80.5 1.55
5 38 Failing an examination 79.3 1.51
6 36 A person now alive as dead 75.0 1.38
7 3 Trying again and again to do something 74.1 1.29
8 11 Flying or soaring through the air 73.9 1.47
9 4 Being frozen with fright 71.3 1.20
10 32 Sexual experiences 70.1 1.14
11 5 Eating delicious foods 69.5 1.15
12 66 Being tracked and spied on 67.2 1.10
13 37 Being on the verge of falling 66.7 1.15
14 50 Being a child again 66.4 1.16
15 2 Being physically attacked (beaten, stabbed, raped, etc.) 65.2 0.86
16 20 Having magical powers (other than ying or oating
through the air)
62.9 1.19
17 35 A person now dead as alive 62.1 1.12
18 69 Having a superior status 59.5 1.04
19 30 Being unable to nd, or embarrassed about using, a
toilette
59.5 1.13
20 16 Having superior knowledge or mental ability 57.2 0.98
21 39 Being smothered, unable to breathe 56.9 0.92
22 41 Being in a movie 54.9 0.95
23 61 Becoming a big wheel/celebrity 52.3 0.88
24 29 Vividly sensing, but not necessarily seeing or hearing, a
presence in the room
51.4 0.90
25 15 Being tied, unable to move 51.1 0.79
26 7 Swimming 50.3 0.66
27 19 Seeing yourself in a mirror 49.7 0.78
28 18 Your teeth falling out/losing your teeth 49.4 0.98
28 10 Finding money 49.1 0.72
30 24 Insects or spiders 47.7 0.71
31 34 Fire 47.7 0.63
32 53 Discovering a new room at home 47.7 0.92
33 68 Caves 47.4 0.68
34 13 Being inappropriately dressed 46.0 0.70
35 45 Seeing a face very close to you 45.4 0.72
36 40 Wild, violent beasts 43.4 0.70
37 27 Being killed 40.5 0.66
38 33 Losing control of a vehicle 40.5 0.59
39 8 Being locked up 39.7 0.55
40 28 Seeing yourself as dead 38.5 0.65
41 42 Killing someone 35.9 0.57
42 67 Towers 33.1 0.44
43 14 Being nude 32.5 0.47
44 51 Seeing an angel 32.2 0.46
45 52 Encountering God in some form 32.2 0.46
46 43 Lunatic or insane people 31.9 0.43
Note. % percentage of participants who had experienced each dream theme. Mean mean score
of how often participants experienced each dream theme.
Delusions and The Factor Structure of Typical Dreams 47
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Table 3. Factor Analysis of the 26 Most Prevalent Dream Themes (N 348)
Item
no. Dream themes Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor 4 Factor 5 Factor 6 Factor 7
69 Having a superior status .779 .090 .064 .244 .004 .171 .025
61 Becoming a big wheel/
celebrity
.747 .018 .063 .135 .119 .087 .149
41 Being in a movie .614 .120 .054 .212 .139 .207 .050
16 Having superior
knowledge or mental
ability
.574 .067 .182 .461 .043 .145 .040
32 Sexual experiences .534 .158 .055 .004 .044 .251 .213
66 Being tracked and spied
on
.493 .394 .182 .191 .287 .256 .092
12 Falling .017 .774 .154 .165 .029 .019 .084
37 Being on the verge of
falling
.253 .606 .197 .129 .141 .243 .072
11 Flying or soaring
through the air
.042 .564 .079 .467 .207 .131 .035
1 Being chased or
pursued, but not
physically injured
.114 .518 .171 .090 .369 .191 .123
39 Being smothered,
unable to breathe
.244 .390 .363 1.054E-06 .147 .116 .279
4 Being frozen with fright .044 .241 .767 .022 .064 .101 .056
15 Being tied, unable to
move
.052 .265 .746 .122 .014 .202 .024
29 Vividly sensing, but not
necessarily seeing or
hearing, a presence in
the room
.015 .083 .607 .100 .207 .063 .385
2 Being physically
attacked (beaten,
stabbed, raped, etc.)
.304 .086 .497 .012 .270 .453 .031
5 Eating delicious foods .095 .078 .034 .649 .198 .158 .120
7 Swimming .187 .146 .044 .614 .025 .044 .032
20 Having magical powers
(other than ying or
oating through the
air)
.407 .019 .163 .511 .218 .099 .090
30 Being unable to nd, or
embarrassed about
using, a toilette
.105 .061 .020 .102 .764 .065 .121
6 Arriving too late, e.g.,
missing a train
.016 .167 .098 .106 .650 .333 .143
3 Trying again and again
to do something
.120 .136 .251 .273 .460 .127 .032
31 School, teachers,
studying
.180 .052 .121 .123 .252 .634 .014
38 Failing an examination .216 .089 .221 .018 .244 .536 .187
50 Being a child again .307 .349 .066 .333 .016 .365 .167
35 A person now dead as
alive
.086 .058 .013 .156 .093 .117 .844
36 A person now alive as
dead
.424 .127 .165 .046 .170 .066 .546
Eigenvalue 3.231 2.285 2.269 1.977 1.928 1.625 1.474
% of Variance 12.428 8.788 8.728 7.602 7.415 6.248 5.670
Note. Factor loadings for items loading on each factor are bolded.
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scenarios wherein dreamers directly fullled their wishes. Themes loading on
Factor 5 can be conceived as compulsion or an urge that required immediate action.
Factor 6 was made up of themes 31, school, teachers, studying; 38, failing an
examination; and 50, being a child again. Both themes loading on Factor 7 were
about the death of a known person. The seven factors were thus labeled as (1)
limelight, (2) vestibular-motor excitement, (3) paralysis and terror, (4) di-
rect wish fulllment, (5) compulsion, (6) school, and (7) loss of object.
In order to test whether the 26 dream themes can be trifurcated into positive
(or pleasurable), negative (or threatening), and neutral themes, a factor analysis
with three factor specied was performed. The resulting three factors accounted
for 39.4% of the total variance in scores on the 26 dream themes (see Table 4).
Factors I (eigenvalue 3.976), II (eigenvalue 3.319), and III (eigen-
value 2.939) explained 15.3%, 12.8%, and 11.3% of the total variance, respec-
tively. The three factors were easily interpreted. The 10 items loading on Factor I
were essentially the dream themes that composed the limelight and direct
Table 4. Factor Analysis of the 26 Most Prevalent Dream Themes With Three Factors
Specied (N 348)
Item no. Dream themes
Factor I Factor II Factor III
Grandiose Persecutory Ego-ideal
69 Having a superior status .787 .089 .127
61 Becoming a big wheel/celebrity .726 .009 .159
16 Having superior knowledge or mental
ability
.666 .073 .207
41 Being in a movie .639 .035 .190
20 Having magical powers (other than ying
or oating through the air)
.555 .198 .166
50 Being a child again .495 .101 .295
32 Sexual experiences .492 .215 .142
7 Swimming .456 .118 .091
36 A person now alive as dead .426 .220 .355
5 Eating delicious foods .396 .022 .332
4 Being frozen with fright .144 .675 .202
15 Being tied, unable to move .024 .641 .262
12 Falling .153 .614 .001
1 Being chased or pursued, but not physically
injured
.069 .570 .026
2 Being physically attacked (beaten, stabbed,
raped, etc.)
.167 .567 .094
39 Being smothered, unable to breathe .229 .510 .297
37 Being on the verge of falling .332 .506 .277
11 Flying or soaring through the air .305 .492 .078
29 Vividly sensing, but not necessarily seeing
or hearing, a presence in the room
.047 .412 .343
66 Being tracked and spied on .361 .385 .343
6 Arriving too late, e.g., missing a train .055 .198 .683
31 School, teachers, studying .179 .060 .619
38 Failing an examination .184 .125 .605
30 Being unable to nd, or embarrassed about
using, a toilette
.117 .163 .550
35 A person now dead as alive .236 .030 .457
3 Trying again and again to do something .187 .310 .433
Cronbachs .814 .789 .676
Note. Factor loadings for items loading on each factor are bolded.
Delusions and The Factor Structure of Typical Dreams 49
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wish-fulllment components of the seven-factor model (see Table 4 and Figure 1).
All dream themes subsumed under the paralysis and terror category and the
vestibular-motor excitement category of the seven-factor model, together with
theme 66, being tracked and spied on, constituted Factor II. At least six themes
loading on this factor were of a persecutory character (i.e., themes 4, 15, 1, 2, 39,
and 66). Factor III was primarily formed by the compulsion and school components
of the seven-factor model. Themes 6, arriving too late; 38, failing an examination;
and 30, being embarrassed about using a toilette, depicted scenarios that could lead
to clearly negative, rather than neutral, consequences or emotions. That is, the
egos failure to achieve its goal in these situations would give rise to self-criticism
or the feeling of shame. The three factors were labeled as the grandiose, per-
secutory, and ego-ideal types (see Figure 1).
In view of the high compatibility between the three-factor and seven-factor
structures, higher-order factor analyses were performed using the seven factor
scores. The factor analysis of the seven lower-order factors extracted a sole higher-
order factor, which explained 46.5% of the total variance. The factor loss of object
had the lowest eigenvalue and loading coefcient. Eliminating this factor from the
analysis raised the total explained variance to 48.7%. The factor analysis with three
factors specied further increased the explained variance to a favorable
level, 75.5%. The six lower-order factors loaded on the three higher-order factors
precisely in accordance with the abovementioned hierarchical structure (see Table
5 and Figure 1). The grandiose (eigenvalue 1.747), persecutory (eigen-
value 1.446), and ego-ideal (eigenvalue 1.334) types accounted
for 29.1%, 24.1%, and 22.2% of the total variance, respectively. Finally, the factor
analysis of the three second-order factor scores extracted a factor with 65.0%
explained variance. The Cronbachs alpha coefcients for the grandiose and per-
secutory types were high (see Table 4). There were moderate correlations between
the three types (see Table 5). The gender differences for the three types were small
(see Table 6).
DISCUSSION
In running factor analysis, it is essential to select those items that are most
representative and relevant to the underlying constructs (Gorsuch, 1997). Consid-
ering also the assumption that typical dreams are experienced by a considerable
number of people, factor analyses were conducted using 26 most prevalent themes.
The factor solutions, which divided the 26 typical themes into three and seven
Typical Dreams
Grandiose Type Persecutory Type Ego-Ideal Type
Limelight Direct Wish
Fulfillment
Paralysis and
Terror
Vestibular-Motor
Excitement
Compulsion School
Figure 1. Classication of typical dreams.
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factors respectively, can be taken together to form a two-tier model. The coefcient
alphas indicated high internal reliabilities for the grandiose, persecutory, and
ego-ideal factors in the upper tier. Compared with Nielsen et al.s (2003) 16-factor
model, which was built upon all original 55 themes, the factor structures generated
by the current analyses are distinguished by their more parsimonious clustering,
higher factor loadings, and more discernible, coherent, organization.
Among the 69 dream themes, 26 showed prevalence rates higher than 50%. At
least eight of these 26 themes were comparable with the delusions commonly
occurred in paranoid schizophrenia. Moreover, the rst two factors of the upper tier
are, in essence, characterized by the two classic psychotic themesthat is, the
grandiose and persecutory delusions. The high alpha coefcients of the two factors
suggested that the items of each factor measured a construct. The overall evidence
provided by the present study supported the isomorphism between dream and
psychotic consciousness to the effect that the narrative contents of both altered
states are typically grandiose and persecutory. A caveat is, however, that this
implication does not preclude the occurrence of other prominent dream themes
that are not by nature delusional.
Typical Dreams of Grandiose Type
Most participants had dreamed about the grandiose themes 61, becoming a big
wheel/celebrity and 69, having a superior status. These two identity delusions
occurred even more prevalently than some standard typical dreams, such as
Table 5. Factor Analysis of the Six Lower-Order Factors With Three Factors Specied (N 348)
Second-order factors
Factor I Factor II Factor III
First-order factors Grandiose Persecutory Ego-ideal
Direct wish fulllment (3 items) .817 .157 .166
Limelight (6 items) .814 .163 .214
Paralysis and terror (4 items) .042 .898 .143
Vestibular-motor excitement (5 items) .396 .706 .201
Compulsion (3 items) .120 .297 .861
School (3 items) .494 .041 .677
Correlations
Grandiose r .437, r .551,
p .001 p .001
Persecutory r .480,
p .001
Note. Factor loadings for items loading on each factor are bolded.
Table 6. Gender Differences in the Three Higher-Order Factors (N 348)
Factor
Mean SD
Gender difference Cohens d Total Male Female
Grandiose 9.09 5.62 9.05 6.03 9.11 5.45 t(346) 0.100, p .921 0.010
Persecutory 11.07 5.47 10.15 5.27 11.47 5.51 t(345) 2.079, p .05 0.245
Egoideal 8.92 4.02 8.12 3.95 9.27 4.00 t(345) 2.477, p .05 0.289
Delusions and The Factor Structure of Typical Dreams 51
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themes 18, your teeth falling out and 13, being inappropriately dressed. By contrast,
theme 58, becoming a certain form of god (ranked 66th), together with themes 51,
seeing an angel (ranked 44th) and 52, encountering God in some form (ranked
45th), ranked lowly among the 69 themes. This pattern of prevalence rates indicates
that although grandiose themes are common in dreams, religious delusions are
rarely incorporated into dream narratives.
The grandiose category in the upper tier was composed by the limelight and
direct wish-fulllment subcategories of the lower tier. Both the grandiose category
and the limelight subcategory, which had the highest eigenvalues and accounted for
the highest percentages of variances in scores on the 26 typical dreams, constituted
the rst factors of the three- and seven-factor solutions. Four of the 10 themes
subsumed under the grandiose category with relatively high factor loadings were
classic grandiose delusions (i.e., themes 69, having a superior status; 61, becoming
a big wheel/celebrity; 16, having superior knowledge or mental ability; and 20,
having magical powers). Although the remaining six themes did not necessarily
consist in delusions of a self-inated nature, they are concerned mainly with
becoming the spotlight (e.g., themes 41, being in a movie; 66, being tracked and
spied on) or seeking direct gratication (e.g., theme 32, sexual experiences), which
were perhaps of an egoistic character. Furthermore, most, if not all, themes in the
grandiose category portrayed some pleasurable scenarios, where dreamers were
enabled to satisfy their wishes in a straightforward manner.
Theme 66, being tracked and spied on, loaded on the limelight subcategory in
the seven-factor solution, yet being allotted to the persecutory, rather than the
grandiose, category by the three-factor solution. These paradoxical results may
reect that the theme being tracked and spied on, while sharing the common
qualitybecoming the spotlightwith grandiose themes, is akin to persecutory
delusions given the avoidant behavior implicated in this theme. Factor 7 of the
seven-factor solutionthe loss of object clusterconsisted of only two themes,
which loaded on separate components in the three-factor solution. If theme 36, a
person now alive as dead, was factored into the grandiose category because of its
desirous attribute, this nding resonates with Freuds interpretation that dreaming
the death of loved ones might fulll a wish stemming from the rivalry complex.
Typical Dreams of Persecutory Type
The paralysis and terror subcategory and the vestibular-motor excitement
subcategory, which were, by denition, two opposite groups of behaviorsinhib-
ited and vigorous movementswere juxtaposed to form the persecutory category.
Six of the 10 themes in this category were persecutory threats (i.e., themes 4, 15, 1,
2, 39, and 66). Despite its less discernible threatening quality, theme 29, vividly
sensing, but not necessarily seeing or hearing, a presence in the room, can be
compared favorably with the intangible persecutor often manifest in paranoia.
Similarly, dreaming of paralyzed or inhibited movements and being helplessly
victimized (e.g., themes 4 and 15) are perhaps reminiscent of the classic persecutory
conviction of ones actions being controlled by an external force. Although group-
ing paralyzed and vestibular-bodily movements into the same category appears to
be paradoxical, both experiences during dreaming can be considered a response to
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persecutionnamely, fright and ightand may result directly from the contex-
tualization of the somatic stimulithat is, atonia and vestibular-motor excitation
associated with the REM mechanism.
Typical Dreams of Ego-Ideal Type
The ego-ideal type consisted of the compulsion and school subcategories. Both
theme 30, being unable to nd, or embarrassed about using, a toilette and theme 6,
arriving too late, represent an urge where an immediate resolution is called for. This
compulsive quality, and perhaps the rushed feeling as well, connects these two
themes with theme 3, trying again and again to do something. On the other hand,
themes 6, arriving too late and 30, being embarrassed about using a toilette, similar
to theme 38, failing an examination, put the ego in a dilemma, in which the egos
failure to achieve a goal gives rise to the feeling of shame or self-criticism. This
distinctive affective experience can be, one way or another, attributed to the
function of the ego ideal, which represents an image of the best self, toward which
the ego aspires. Attending schools (theme 31) and examinations (theme 38) are the
foremost developmental process through which people learn how to meet social
expectations and achieve self-respect. This process never ends, for peers, teachers
(theme 31), other authority gures, and even those important but no longer alive
continue to exist (theme 35) in the form of internalized evaluative agencies that
motivate the ego to look for acceptance, competence, and self-realization. Perhaps,
all these ego-ideal and school-related issues, which often recur in dreams and
constitute the third category of typical dreams independent of the grandiose and
persecutory counterparts, underscore their signicance in ones inner life.
CONCLUSION
The present study highlights the substantial overlap of typical themes between
dreaming and psychosis. Not only are persecutory delusions common in dreams,
but so are the grandiose forms. Typical dreams, which are shared by many people,
can be classied into three primary categories or six subcategories according to the
two-tier model. The grandiose category in the upper tier comprises the limelight
and direct wish-fulllment subcategories of the lower tier. The persecutory category
is formed by vestibular-motor excitement and paralysis and terror subcategories.
Last, but not least, the ego-ideal category consists of the compulsion and school
subcategories.
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54 Yu
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