5 Delusions and the Factor Structure of Typical Dreams

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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 modelof typical dreams. Moreover, the hypothesis that themes typically manifest in

psychotic delusions also prevail in normal peoples dreams was examined.The modified Typical Dreams Questionnaire was administered to a sample of

348 university students from Hong Kong. The factor solutions generated bythe current analyses indicate that typical dreams can be classified into three

primary categories or six subcategories according to the two-tier model.Consistent with the homology between dreaming and psychosis, the first two

categories of the upper tier are, in essence, characterized by the two classicpsychotic themesthe grandiose and persecutory delusions. The third cate-gory of dream themes consists in the distinctive affective experience that canbe, 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 oftheir 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 finds 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, itis a psychosis, and we learn from it that even so deep-going an alteration of mental life as thiscan 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 perhapsneurophysiological mechanisms (Carhart-Harris, 2007; Hobson, 2004; Scarone et al.,

2008), it is worth comparing the narrative contents of the two mentations. Althougheach delusional story is fabricated along the lines of ones individual peculiarities, thereare typical themes in psychosisnamely, grandiose and persecutory delusionswhichare frequently observed in people with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders.TheDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Calvin Kai-Ching Yu, Departmentof Counselling and Psychology, Hong Kong Shue Yan University, 10 Wai Tsui Crescent, Braemar HillRoad, North Point, Hong Kong. E-mail: [email protected]

42Dreaming 2009 American Psychological Association2009, 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 tothe content of the delusional theme. (APA, 2000, pp. 313314)

This subtype (grandiose delusions) applies when the central theme of the delusion is theconviction of having some great (but unrecognized) talent or insight or having made someimportant discovery. Less commonly, the individual may have the delusion of having aspecial relationship with a prominent person (e.g., an advisor to the president) or being aprominent 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 hasa special message from a deity). (APA, 2000, p. 325)

This subtype (persecutory delusions) applies when the central theme of the delusioninvolves 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 indreams. Freud (1900) presented a number of dreamssuch as those involving beingnaked or wearing inadequate clothing, the death of loved ones, flying or falling,facing examinations, being pursued or threatened, missing a train, and losingteethwhich, as he believed, are shared by many people.

There is a fair amount of agreement, however, over the interpretation of various forms ofdreams that are described as typical, because they occur in large numbers of people andwith very similar content. (Freud, 1900, p. 37)

It remained an assumption that a majority of people have experienced thesethemes in their dreams until some empirical studies (Griffith, Miyagi, & Tago, 1958;Nielsen et al., 2003; Zadra & Nielsen, 1997, 1999; Schredl, Ciric, Gotz, & Wittmann,2004; Yu, 2008) were conducted among different ethnic groups to examine therelative occurrence rates of these prospective typical dream themes. The TypicalDreams Questionnaire (TDQ), which was developed by Nielsen and his associates(Nielsen et al., 2003; Zadra & Nielsen, 1997, 1999) to study the prevalence ratesof 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 findings generated from these different ethnic settings

confirmed that many typical dream themes Freud addressed had high incidencerates. In Yus (2008) Chinese study, for instance, more than half of the participantshad 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 aliveas dead (75.0%), flying (73.9%), being on the verge of falling (66.7%), andbeing 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 regardstheir narrative contents in his interpretation of typical dreams. It is interesting tonote that some delusional themes that prevail among individuals with psychosis

were found to be prominent in normal peoples dreams. In particular, prevalentTDQ 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, unableto move (51.1%), can be compared favorably with persecutory delusions inpsychosis. On the other hand, dream themes having magical powers (62.9%) and

having superior knowledge or mental ability (57.2%) correspond with grandiosedelusions. It should be noted, nevertheless, that the TDQ encompasses far moredream themes of a persecutory character than those that are grandiose in nature.For instance, theDSMIVTRs exemplar of grandiose theme, being a prominentperson, has not been included in the theme list. That is not surprising because theTDQ was not built upon the homology between dreaming and psychosis.

Although several studies have investigated typical dream themes using theTDQ, 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 scoreson 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, andpositive themes. According to Nielsen et al. (2003), the 16 factors were readilyinterpreted and the grouping of themes was coherent, in that each cluster shareda common quality. The sparse distribution of the 55 themes in relation to the 16factors, however, renders the organization of the overall clustering hardlydiscernible.

Prevalence ranking has thus far been the major indicator of the typicality of adream theme, and the empirical evidence showed that those exemplars of typicalthemes put forth by Freud a century ago remain to be prominent in modernpeoples 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. Inhis study, the theme being chased or pursued (92.2%), was 10 times moreprevalent than the theme of someone having an abortion (8.9%). Both Schredl etal. (2004) and Yu (2008) questioned whether all the themes listed in the TDQ areactually typical dreams.

If typical dreams are defined by their salient prevalence, then those themesthat have been consistently shown to be rare and atypical across different cultures,such as someone having an abortion and being an object, should perhaps beabandoned. This is especially true for conducting factor analysis because theselection of items fundamentally influences 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 categorizationsimpler but also help define the domains. On the other hand, including extraneousvariables in the factor analysis may cause noise effects and thus distort the resultingfactor structure and loadings. A reasonable categorization of typical dreams istherefore founded on the themes that demonstrate relatively high prevalence rates.

In filling the gap that the TDQ has not covered concerning some commongrandiose themes, the present author developed four dream items mainly involvingclassic grandiose delusions and applied them, together with the original TDQ list,to a Chinese sample. This constituted a critical test of the hypothesis that themestypically manifest in psychotic delusions also prevail in normal peoples dreams. In

addition, the present study was geared toward generating a parsimonious factormodel of typical dreams using a representative selection of themes.

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METHOD

Participants

The sample, which was initially reported in Yu (2008), consisted of 348university 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) consistsof 55 dream themes and was designed to elicit dichotomous answers (i.e., yes or nofor counting prevalence rates). Different from the original TDQ, the present TDQChinese version required the participants to indicate their responses on a 5-point

scale (from 0 neverto 4 very frequently) for each dream theme. Item 41, beingat a movie, was changed to being in a movie in this Chinese version in order tomake the item more in tune with the proposed delusional character of dreamingthat 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 formof god. The rest 10 additional items were Chinese sex symbols. More details aboutthe method and instrument used by this study are available in Yu (2008).

RESULTS

The prevalence and frequency rates indicated by the percentages and meanscores of the four delusional dream themes reported by the participants areprovided in Table 1. More than half of the participants had dreamed aboutthemes 66, being tracked and spied on; 69, having a superior status; and 61,becoming a big wheel/celebrity. The prevalence rates of these three delusionalthemes 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, beingtracked 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. Nosignificant gender differences in prevalence and frequency rates were detected forthe four delusional themes.

As mentioned, the inclusion of uncommon dream themes in factor analyses notonly contaminates the categorization of the classical ones but also may complicatethe model with additional factors. According to Freuds (1900) original description,typical dreams are shared by large numbers of people. Although there is no cleardemarcation 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 leasthalf of the samplethat is, a majority of participants.



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Principal components factor analyses with varimax rotation were conductedusing 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 themesextracted 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 wereeliminated from the analysis, six factors with a total 55.1% explained variance wereextracted. All groupings of themes and patterns of factor loadings for these sixfactors were equivalent to those for the first 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 inthe seven-factor counterpart.The prevalence rates of some themessuch as 19, seeing yourself in a mirror;

18, your teeth falling out; and 10, finding moneywere very close to 50%. In viewof this, more dream themes were included for analyses by lowering the threshold ofprevalence rate from 50% to 47%. The factor analysis of the top 33 prevalentdream 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% ofthe total variance. Finally, the factor analysis of the 46 dream themes with preva-

lence rates of higher than 30% extracted 12 components, which accountedfor 59.8% of the total variance. The seven-factor model was therefore the mostparsimonious, considering that lowering the item input threshold barely enhancedthe 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 leastthree 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 mentalability). Both themes 41, being in a movie and 66, being tracked and spied on, weresituations in which the dreamers were being at the center of attention. Most itemsloading 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 werefeatures of sleep paralysis. Themes loading on Factor 4 described some pleasant

Table 1. Prevalence (Percentage) and Frequency (Mean) Rates of Delusional DreamThemes (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 1.1518 69 Having a superior status 59.5 1.04 57.9 1.05 60.2 1.04

23 61Becoming a big

wheel/celebrity 52.3 0.88 46.7 0.80 54.8 0.92

66 58Becoming 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 scoreof how often participants experienced each dream theme.

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Table 2. Prevalence (Percentage) and Frequency (Mean) Rates of Top 46 DreamThemes (N 348)

Rank Item no. Dream themes Total %Totalmean

1 31 School, teachers, studying 94.5 2.28

2 1 Being chased or pursued, but not physically injured 92.2 1.793 12 Falling 87.1 1.994 6 Arriving too late, e.g., missing a train 80.5 1.555 38 Failing an examination 79.3 1.516 36 A person now alive as dead 75.0 1.387 3 Trying again and again to do something 74.1 1.298 11 Flying or soaring through the air 73.9 1.479 4 Being frozen with fright 71.3 1.20

10 32 Sexual experiences 70.1 1.1411 5 Eating delicious foods 69.5 1.1512 66 Being tracked and spied on 67.2 1.1013 37 Being on the verge of falling 66.7 1.1514 50 Being a child again 66.4 1.16

15 2 Being physically attacked (beaten, stabbed, raped, etc.) 65.2 0.8616 20 Having magical powers (other than flying or floating

through the air)62.9 1.19

17 35 A person now dead as alive 62.1 1.1218 69 Having a superior status 59.5 1.0419 30 Being unable to find, or embarrassed about using, a

toilette59.5 1.13

20 16 Having superior knowledge or mental ability 57.2 0.9821 39 Being smothered, unable to breathe 56.9 0.9222 41 Being in a movie 54.9 0.9523 61 Becoming a big wheel/celebrity 52.3 0.8824 29 Vividly sensing, but not necessarily seeing or hearing, a

presence in the room51.4 0.90

25 15 Being tied, unable to move 51.1 0.7926 7 Swimming 50.3 0.6627 19 Seeing yourself in a mirror 49.7 0.7828 18 Your teeth falling out/losing your teeth 49.4 0.9828 10 Finding money 49.1 0.7230 24 Insects or spiders 47.7 0.7131 34 Fire 47.7 0.6332 53 Discovering a new room at home 47.7 0.9233 68 Caves 47.4 0.6834 13 Being inappropriately dressed 46.0 0.7035 45 Seeing a face very close to you 45.4 0.7236 40 Wild, violent beasts 43.4 0.7037 27 Being killed 40.5 0.6638 33 Losing control of a vehicle 40.5 0.5939 8 Being locked up 39.7 0.5540 28 Seeing yourself as dead 38.5 0.6541 42 Killing someone 35.9 0.5742 67 Towers 33.1 0.4443 14 Being nude 32.5 0.4744 51 Seeing an angel 32.2 0.4645 52 Encountering God in some form 32.2 0.4646 43 Lunatic or insane people 31.9 0.43

Note. % percentage of participants who had experienced each dream theme. Mean mean scoreof how often participants experienced each dream theme.



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Table 3. Factor Analysis of the 26 Most Prevalent Dream Themes (N 348)

Itemno. 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 .02561 Becoming a big wheel/

celebrity.747 .018 .063 .135 .119 .087 .149

41 Being in a movie .614 .120 .054 .212 .139 .207 .05016 Having superior

knowledge or mentalability

.574 .067 .182 .461 .043 .145 .040

32 Sexual experiences .534 .158 .055 .004 .044 .251 .21366 Being tracked and spied

on.493 .394 .182 .191 .287 .256 .092

12 Falling .017 .774 .154 .165 .029 .019 .08437 Being on the verge of

falling.253 .606 .197 .129 .141 .243 .072

11 Flying or soaringthrough the air

.042 .564 .079 .467 .207 .131 .035

1 Being chased orpursued, but notphysically 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 .05615 Being tied, unable to

move.052 .265 .746 .122 .014 .202 .024

29 Vividly sensing, but notnecessarily seeing orhearing, a presence inthe room

.015 .083 .607 .100 .207 .063 .385

2 Being physicallyattacked (beaten,

stabbed, raped, etc.)

.304 .086 .497 .012 .270 .453 .031

5 Eating delicious foods .095 .078 .034 .649 .198 .158 .1207 Swimming .187 .146 .044 .614 .025 .044 .032

20 Having magical powers(other than flying orfloating through theair)

.407 .019 .163 .511 .218 .099 .090

30 Being unable to find, orembarrassed aboutusing, 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 againto 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 .18750 Being a child again .307 .349 .066 .333 .016 .365 .16735 A person now dead as

alive.086 .058 .013 .156 .093 .117 .844

36 A person now alive asdead

.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 fulfilled their wishes. Themes loading onFactor 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 anexamination; 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 fulfillment, (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 analysiswith three factor specified was performed. The resulting three factors accountedfor 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 Iwere essentially the dream themes that composed the limelight and direct

Table 4. Factor Analysis of the 26 Most Prevalent Dream Themes With Three FactorsSpecified (N 348)

Item no. Dream themes

Factor I Factor II Factor III

Grandiose Persecutory Ego-ideal

69 Having a superior status .787 .089 .12761 Becoming a big wheel/celebrity .726 .009 .15916 Having superior knowledge or mental

ability.666 .073 .207

41 Being in a movie .639 .035 .19020 Having magical powers (other than flying

or floating through the air)

.555 .198 .166

50 Being a child again .495 .101 .29532 Sexual experiences .492 .215 .142

7 Swimming .456 .118 .09136 A person now alive as dead .426 .220 .355

5 Eating delicious foods .396 .022 .3324 Being frozen with fright .144 .675 .202

15 Being tied, unable to move .024 .641 .26212 Falling .153 .614 .001

1 Being chased or pursued, but not physicallyinjured

.069 .570 .026

2 Being physically attacked (beaten, stabbed,raped, etc.)

.167 .567 .094

39 Being smothered, unable to breathe .229 .510 .29737 Being on the verge of falling .332 .506 .27711 Flying or soaring through the air .305 .492 .07829 Vividly sensing, but not necessarily seeing

or hearing, a presence in the room.047 .412 .343

66 Being tracked and spied on .361 .385 .3436 Arriving too late, e.g., missing a train .055 .198 .683

31 School, teachers, studying .179 .060 .61938 Failing an examination .184 .125 .60530 Being unable to find, or embarrassed about

using, a toilette.117 .163 .550

35 A person now dead as alive .236 .030 .4573 Trying again and again to do something .187 .310 .433

Cronbachs .814 .789 .676




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wish-fulfillment components of the seven-factor model (see Table 4 and Figure 1).All dream themes subsumed under the paralysis and terror category and thevestibular-motor excitement category of the seven-factor model, together withtheme 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 componentsof 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 leadto clearly negative, rather than neutral, consequences or emotions. That is, theegos failure to achieve its goal in these situations would give rise to self-criticismor 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-factorstructures, higher-order factor analyses were performed using the seven factorscores. 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 objecthad the lowest eigenvalue and loading coefficient. Eliminating this factor from theanalysis raised the total explained variance to 48.7%. The factor analysis with threefactors specified further increased the explained variance to a favorablelevel, 75.5%. The six lower-order factors loaded on the three higher-order factorsprecisely in accordance with the abovementioned hierarchical structure (see Table5 and Figure 1). The grandiose (eigenvalue 1.747), persecutory (eigen-value 1.446), and ego-ideal (eigenvalue 1.334) types accountedfor 29.1%, 24.1%, and 22.2% of the total variance, respectively. Finally, the factoranalysis of the three second-order factor scores extracted a factor with 65.0%

explained variance. The Cronbachs alpha coefficients for the grandiose and per-secutory types were high (see Table 4). There were moderate correlations betweenthe 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 mostrepresentative 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. Classification of typical dreams.

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factors respectively, can be taken together to form a two-tier model. The coefficientalphas indicated high internal reliabilities for the grandiose, persecutory, andego-ideal factors in the upper tier. Compared with Nielsen et al.s (2003) 16-factormodel, which was built upon all original 55 themes, the factor structures generatedby 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%. Atleast eight of these 26 themes were comparable with the delusions commonlyoccurred in paranoid schizophrenia. Moreover, the first two factors of the upper tier

are, in essence, characterized by the two classic psychotic themesthat is, thegrandiose and persecutory delusions. The high alpha coefficients of the two factorssuggested that the items of each factor measured a construct. The overall evidenceprovided by the present study supported the isomorphism between dream andpsychotic consciousness to the effect that the narrative contents of both alteredstates are typically grandiose and persecutory. A caveat is, however, that thisimplication does not preclude the occurrence of other prominent dream themesthat are not by nature delusional.

Typical Dreams of Grandiose Type

Most participants had dreamed about the grandiose themes 61, becoming a bigwheel/celebrity and 69, having a superior status. These two identity delusionsoccurred even more prevalently than some standard typical dreams, such as

Table 5. Factor Analysis of the Six Lower-Order Factors With Three Factors Specified (N 348)

Second-order factors

Factor I Factor II Factor III

First-order factors Grandiose Persecutory Ego-ideal

Direct wish fulfillment (3 items) .817 .157 .166Limelight (6 items) .814 .163 .214Paralysis and terror (4 items) .042 .898 .143Vestibular-motor excitement (5 items) .396 .706 .201Compulsion (3 items) .120 .297 .861School (3 items) .494 .041 .677Correlations

Grandiose r .437, r .551,p .001 p .001

Persecutory r .480,p .001


Table 6. Gender Differences in the Three Higher-Order Factors (N 348)

Factor

Mean SD

Gender difference CohensdTotal Male Female

Grandiose 9.09 5.62 9.05 6.03 9.11 5.45 t(346) 0.100, p .921 0.010Persecutory 11.07 5.47 10.15 5.27 11.47 5.51 t(345) 2.079, p .05 0.245Egoideal 8.92 4.02 8.12 3.95 9.27 4.00 t(345) 2.477, p .05 0.289



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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 (ranked45th), ranked lowly among the 69 themes. This pattern of prevalence rates indicates

that although grandiose themes are common in dreams, religious delusions arerarely incorporated into dream narratives.The grandiose category in the upper tier was composed by the limelight and

direct wish-fulfillment subcategories of the lower tier. Both the grandiose categoryand the limelight subcategory, which had the highest eigenvalues and accounted forthe highest percentages of variances in scores on the 26 typical dreams, constitutedthe first factors of the three- and seven-factor solutions. Four of the 10 themessubsumed under the grandiose category with relatively high factor loadings wereclassic grandiose delusions (i.e., themes 69, having a superior status; 61, becominga 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-inflated nature, they are concerned mainly withbecoming the spotlight (e.g., themes 41, being in a movie; 66, being tracked andspied on) or seeking direct gratification (e.g., theme 32, sexual experiences), whichwere perhaps of an egoistic character. Furthermore, most, if not all, themes in thegrandiose category portrayed some pleasurable scenarios, where dreamers wereenabled to satisfy their wishes in a straightforward manner.

Theme 66, being tracked and spied on, loaded on the limelight subcategory inthe seven-factor solution, yet being allotted to the persecutory, rather than thegrandiose, category by the three-factor solution. These paradoxical results mayreflect that the theme being tracked and spied on, while sharing the common

qualitybecoming the spotlightwith grandiose themes, is akin to persecutorydelusions given the avoidant behavior implicated in this theme. Factor 7 of theseven-factor solutionthe loss of object clusterconsisted of only two themes,which loaded on separate components in the three-factor solution. If theme 36, aperson now alive as dead, was factored into the grandiose category because of itsdesirous attribute, this finding resonates with Freuds interpretation that dreamingthe death of loved ones might fulfill a wish stemming from the rivalry complex.

Typical Dreams of Persecutory Type

The paralysis and terror subcategory and the vestibular-motor excitementsubcategory, which were, by definition, 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, vividlysensing, but not necessarily seeing or hearing, a presence in the room, can becompared favorably with the intangible persecutor often manifest in paranoia.Similarly, dreaming of paralyzed or inhibited movements and being helplesslyvictimized (e.g., themes 4 and 15) are perhaps reminiscent of the classic persecutoryconviction of ones actions being controlled by an external force. Although group-

ing paralyzed and vestibular-bodily movements into the same category appears tobe paradoxical, both experiences during dreaming can be considered a response to

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persecutionnamely, fright and flightand may result directly from the contex-tualization of the somatic stimulithat is, atonia and vestibular-motor excitationassociated with the REM mechanism.

Typical Dreams of Ego-Ideal Type

The ego-ideal type consisted of the compulsion and school subcategories. Boththeme 30, being unable to find, or embarrassed about using, a toilette and theme 6,arriving too late, represent an urge where an immediate resolution is called for. Thiscompulsive quality, and perhaps the rushed feeling as well, connects these twothemes 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, similarto theme 38, failing an examination, put the ego in a dilemma, in which the egosfailure 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 thefunction of the ego ideal, which represents an image of the best self, toward whichthe ego aspires. Attending schools (theme 31) and examinations (theme 38) are theforemost developmental process through which people learn how to meet socialexpectations and achieve self-respect. This process never ends, for peers, teachers(theme 31), other authority figures, and even those important but no longer alivecontinue to exist (theme 35) in the form of internalized evaluative agencies thatmotivate the ego to look for acceptance, competence, and self-realization. Perhaps,all these ego-ideal and school-related issues, which often recur in dreams andconstitute the third category of typical dreams independent of the grandiose and

persecutory counterparts, underscore their significance in ones inner life.

CONCLUSION

The present study highlights the substantial overlap of typical themes betweendreaming 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 classified into three primary categories or six subcategories according to thetwo-tier model. The grandiose category in the upper tier comprises the limelightand direct wish-fulfillment subcategories of the lower tier. The persecutory categoryis formed by vestibular-motor excitement and paralysis and terror subcategories.Last, but not least, the ego-ideal category consists of the compulsion and schoolsubcategories.

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5 Delusions and the Factor Structure of Typical Dreams

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