Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Use of a Psychophysiological Script-driven Imagery Experiment to Study Trauma-related Dissociation in Borderline Personality Disorder
Published on: March 8, 2018
The relationship of alexithymia characteristics to dreaming
1Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, 71 West Warren Avenue, Detroit, MI 48202, USA. mlumley@sun.science.wayne.edu
Objective:
In two studies, we tested two hypotheses about the relationship of alexithymia to dreaming; that dreams of alexithymic people are barren and rarely recalled, and that the dreams are unregulated and nightmarish.
Methods:
Study 1 was a retrospective survey of dreaming among several hundred young adults, and Study 2 was a 1-week, prospective diary study of 153 young adults in which recall, content, and length of dreams were assessed.
Results:
Across both studies, the externally oriented thinking (EOT) facet of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS)-20 correlated with different dream characteristics than the difficulty identifying feelings (DIF) and difficulty describing feelings (DDF) facets, even after statistically controlling for the other facets. Greater EOT was related to an increased frequency of nights without dream recall, having shorter dreams, having dreams rated as boring and lacking vividness, and not believing in the importance of dreams. In contrast, greater DIF or DDF was related to an increased frequency of nights with disturbing dreams, and having dreams rated as bizarre and aggressive.
Conclusion:
We find support for both hypotheses, but different facets of the multidimensional alexithymia construct account for the two types of dream reports.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
High-Level and Low-Level Awareness
Dreaming
Lucid Dreaming
Studies have shown...
REM Sleep Behavior Disorder
RBD is significantly associated with...
Optimal Arousal Theory
Inverted U-Shaped Performance Curve
The...
Psychodynamic Therapy

