Individual Differences in Electronic Media, Personality, and Dreams

Abstract

A variety of questionnaires such as the Game Engagement questionnaire (GEQ), the Creative Experiences Questionnaire (CEQ), and the Big Five Personality Inventory were administered to determine the relationship between dreaming about electronic media experiences and various individual difference variables. The association between individual difference variables of those who reported a dream of video game play was also explored. A type of fantasy proneness/thin boundary factor was expected for these gaming dreamers, as well as high scores on selected subscales of the Dream Intensity Inventory. It is thought that thin boundaries, which are more prevalent in high video game players, will be associated with Game Transfer into waking and dreaming reality. The content of dreams pertaining to games, social media, videos, or any other type of electronic media was compared in terms of self-ratings and judges’ ratings. The media dream reported was self-selected. Self-ratings of the dream were in terms of presence, dream type and emotions. Judges’ ratings were for threat simulation among others such as lucidity, and gaming content.

Discipline: Psychology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jayne Gackenbach