Video Game Play and Lucid Dreams 1
Running Head: Video Game Play and Lucid Dreams
Appendixes for
Video Game Play and Lucid Dreams: Implications for the Development of Consciousness
Jayne Gackenbach, Ph.D.[i]
Department of Psychology & Sociology
GrantMacEwanCollege
6-394, 10700 - 104 Avenue
Edmonton, AB T5J 4S2
Phone: (780)409-3892
Appendix 1
Table 1: Factor Analysis on All Variables Collected In Class[ii]
Questionnaire Variables / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6length session / -.019 / .800 / .142 / .089 / .039 / -.121
# games played / -.032 / .783 / -.024 / .029 / .084 / .096
frequency play / -.068 / .844 / -.078 / .043 / .023 / -.092
first play / -.040 / .474 / -.066 / -.154 / -.143 / .261
nausea[iii] / .025 / .070 / .676 / -.031 / -.014 / .193
headache[iv] / .006 / -.019 / .801 / .009 / .019 / -.134
dizzy[v] / .082 / -.072 / .808 / .047 / .051 / .072
dream recall / .123 / -.179 / .089 / -.150 / .617 / .142
dream lucid / -.001 / .092 / -.056 / .167 / .724 / .265
dream observer / .114 / .014 / .126 / .122 / .130 / .713
dream control / .085 / .131 / .021 / .027 / .728 / -.223
Mystical Question 1[vi] / .524 / .159 / -.005 / .120 / .043 / -.266
Mystical Question 2 / .721 / -.058 / .070 / .071 / .099 / .061
Mystical Question 3 / .579 / .128 / .113 / .117 / .050 / .289
Mystical Question 4 / .752 / -.121 / .045 / .111 / .004 / -.148
Mystical Question 5 / .611 / -.232 / -.038 / .004 / -.039 / .027
Mystical Question 6 / .603 / .005 / -.009 / -.083 / .123 / .263
Absorption Question 1[vii] / .083 / .096 / -.024 / .757 / .043 / .139
Absorption Question 2[viii] / .066 / -.117 / .045 / .614 / .019 / -.150
Absorption Question 3[ix] / .069 / .070 / -.003 / .726 / -.031 / .118
Appendix 2
Table 2: Descriptive Statistics on Mystical Items as a Function of Video Game Group
Mystical Experiences Sum and Items / Video Game Groups / Mean / StandardDeviation / N
Mystical Experiences Sum Score / Low Video Game Play / 17.0918 / 3.87720 / 98
Medium Video Game Play / 15.8864 / 3.30250 / 88
High Video Game Play / 16.3684 / 4.47464 / 95
1. I often feel so connected to the people around me that it is like there is no separation between us.[x] / Low Video Game Play / 2.45 / .932 / 98
Medium Video Game Play / 2.36 / .873 / 88
High Video Game Play / 2.65 / 1.174 / 95
2. I sometimes feel so connected to nature that everything seems to be part of one living organism.[xi] / Low Video Game Play / 2.58 / 1.166 / 98
Medium Video Game Play / 2.34 / .981 / 88
High Video Game Play / 2.36 / 1.138 / 95
3. Sometimes I have felt like I was part of something with no limits or boundaries in time and space.[xii] / Low Video Game Play / 2.74 / 1.115 / 98
Medium Video Game Play / 2.88 / .992 / 88
High Video Game Play / 2.85 / 1.246 / 95
4. I often feel a strong sense of unity with all the things around me.[xiii] / Low Video Game Play / 2.94 / .895 / 98
Medium Video Game Play / 2.69 / .822 / 88
High Video Game Play / 2.69 / 1.053 / 95
5. I often feel a strong spiritual or emotional connection with all the people around me.[xiv] / Low Video Game Play / 3.06 / .950 / 98
Medium Video Game Play / 2.58 / 1.025 / 88
High Video Game Play / 2.63 / 1.158 / 95
6. I have had moments of great joy in which I suddenly had a clear, deep feeling of oneness with all that exists.[xv] / Low Video Game Play / 3.32 / 1.031 / 98
Medium Video Game Play / 3.03 / 1.139 / 88
High Video Game Play / 3.18 / 1.271 / 95
Appendix 3: Combined Study 1 and Study 2 ANCOVA’s
Now another series of ANCOVA’s were calculated with the video game group as the independent variable and depending on the analysis, dream recall, motion sickness, and/or sex as covariants. For the ANCOVA on the three dream variables (lucid, observe, and control) with dream recall, motion sickness and sex as covariates, lucid dreams (F(5,555)=3.715, p=.003) and control dreams (F(5,555)=2.62, p=.024) evidenced significant group differences. Specifically, the moderate group was higher on lucid dreams followed by the high group, but for control dreams, the high video game playing group had more of those than the other two groups. For the ANCOVA on the mystical and the absorption sums with motion sickness and sex as covariates, only the mystical sum was significant (F(4,499)=16.557, p<.0001) such that the low video game group was higher than the other two groups. This certainly is indication that lucid and control dreaming is related to video game play, if not mystical experiences. See Table 3.
Insert Table 3 about here
Table 3: Dream and Mystical Means as a Function of Video Game Group
Dream Type / Video Game Groups / Mean / Std. Deviation / Nlucid dream / Low Video Game / 2.46 / .801 / 185
Medium Video Game / 2.55 / .869 / 179
High Video Game / 2.51 / .981 / 192
observe dream / Low Video Game / 2.34 / .877 / 185
Medium Video Game / 2.40 / .831 / 179
High Video Game / 2.33 / .899 / 192
control dream / Low Video Game / 2.23 / .874 / 185
Medium Video Game / 2.37 / .886 / 179
High Video Game / 2.42 / .951 / 192
Mystical Sum / Low Video Game / 13.8125 / 2.46817 / 168
Medium Video Game / 12.8689 / 2.41154 / 164
High Video Game / 12.4107 / 2.88155 / 168
As with the analyses for the in-class data collection group, absorption item (2.67) means were significantly higher than the mystical item (2.18) means (t (577) = -17.387, p<.0001).
Delving Deeper into the Online Data
Since the online data has so much more information, even if it did not show much variation in dream frequencies, it still should allow for several questions to be addressed. First, type of game played was examined. This list included action, adventure, arcade, role playing, strategy, simulation, driving, puzzle, sports, and violent. Of the ten types of games examined, all but three resulted in significant video game group differences, and of those that had group differences, all but one, the high video game playing group, played them most often. The types of games which showed no group differences were arcade, driving and violent games. Strategy games were played more often by the moderate video game playing group, than the high or low. The point here is that there was no one type of game that particularly characterized the high video game playing group.
Insert Table 4 about here
Table 4: Descriptive Statistics on Types of Video Games Played as a Function of Video Game Player Groups
Type of Video Game Played[xvi] / Video Game Playing Group / N / Mean / Std. Deviationaction games* / Low / 98 / 2.11 / 1.092
Medium / 99 / 3.21 / .907
High / 98 / 3.59 / .686
adventure games* / Low / 98 / 2.01 / 1.030
Medium / 99 / 2.67 / .990
High / 98 / 3.03 / .925
arcade games / Low / 98 / 2.33 / 1.023
Medium / 99 / 2.43 / .871
High / 98 / 2.49 / .900
role playing games* / Low / 98 / 2.35 / 1.236
Medium / 99 / 2.56 / 1.189
High / 98 / 2.87 / 1.081
strategy games* / Low / 98 / 2.15 / 1.039
Medium / 99 / 2.63 / 1.112
High / 98 / 2.46 / .976
simulation games* / Low / 98 / 1.88 / .922
Medium / 99 / 2.05 / .983
High / 98 / 2.26 / .967
driving games / Low / 98 / 2.40 / 1.013
Medium / 99 / 2.47 / 1.024
High / 98 / 2.62 / 1.000
puzzle games* / Low / 98 / 2.18 / .978
Medium / 99 / 2.29 / .918
High / 98 / 2.58 / 1.025
sports games* / Low / 98 / 1.91 / 1.016
Medium / 99 / 2.13 / 1.094
High / 98 / 2.50 / 1.278
violent games / Low / 98 / 3.26 / 1.058
Medium / 99 / 3.32 / .946
High / 97 / 3.24 / .955
The same one way ANOVA was calculated on a question about the social element of gaming and showed no difference between groups. All groups answered that they played games alone, but also on the net with others or with friends nearby. Video gaming seems not to be the solitary pursuit it is often thought to be.
Discussion
When the two data sets were merged on the variables collected by both sets, the online participants were more likely to be classified as high video game players than the in-class research participants. Thus additional data analyses were computed using the same model of high/medium/low video game groups and the same set of covariates on the various transpersonal variables available from both sets of data.
This new set of results was largely, but not entirely, similar to the in-class results. The high video game group had more control dreams, and along with the medium video play group, more lucid dreams than the low video game play group. However it was the medium video game group and not the high that had the most observing dreams. In terms of the mystical and the absorption items, the results were the same as in study 1. Specifically, the low video game group had “higher” scores on the mystical items (i.e., less disagreeing) but there were no video game group differences on the absorption scores, which again were higher than the mystical items. The same caveats noted earlier in this discussion apply here regarding explanations for these findings with the mystical and absorption items.
Appendix 4:
Table 5: Factor Analysis of Types of Games with Dream and Transpersonal Variables
Variables / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11action games / .480 / -.186 / .032 / .219 / -.186 / -.373 / -.175 / .289 / -.137 / -.021 / .123
adventure games / .499 / -.263 / -.284 / .223 / -.097 / -.116 / .030 / .300 / .166 / .016 / .114
arcade games / .418 / .055 / -.351 / -.137 / .127 / .404 / .150 / .111 / -.158 / .319 / .047
role playing games / .543 / -.073 / -.461 / -.126 / .009 / .276 / .182 / -.066 / -.059 / -.052 / -.176
strategy games / .409 / .096 / .094 / -.068 / .143 / .030 / -.123 / -.274 / .121 / .449 / .015
simulation games / .498 / -.249 / .257 / .044 / .159 / -.018 / .231 / -.324 / -.116 / -.154 / .162
driving games / .324 / -.044 / -.244 / -.178 / -.379 / -.061 / -.340 / -.262 / .179 / -.126 / -.062
puzzle games / .306 / -.057 / .532 / .109 / -.009 / .369 / -.186 / .297 / .035 / -.181 / .059
sports games / .209 / .028 / .669 / .067 / -.021 / .182 / -.130 / .138 / -.141 / .022 / -.306
violent games / .239 / .401 / -.026 / .237 / .192 / .179 / -.010 / -.070 / .041 / -.329 / .339
dream recall / -.195 / .132 / -.117 / -.363 / .166 / .151 / .139 / .469 / .044 / -.213 / .042
lucid dream / -.003 / -.182 / -.088 / .333 / .186 / .139 / .453 / .161 / .137 / -.378 / .035
watch dream / .107 / .020 / .099 / .117 / .128 / .421 / -.254 / -.076 / -.188 / .150 / .316
control dream / -.050 / -.093 / -.001 / -.459 / .266 / .253 / -.064 / -.017 / .079 / -.124 / -.281
archtypal dream / .246 / .136 / .245 / -.295 / .110 / -.306 / .305 / .071 / .376 / -.015 / .055
nightmare / -.072 / .105 / .133 / -.103 / -.238 / .304 / .329 / -.502 / .119 / -.103 / .145
night terror / -.044 / -.090 / .218 / .467 / .041 / -.045 / .307 / -.199 / .315 / .166 / -.240
REM paralysis / .229 / .243 / .078 / -.200 / .112 / -.145 / -.232 / .021 / .480 / -.059 / .262
prayer / -.143 / .302 / .014 / .078 / .559 / .009 / -.183 / .066 / .093 / .166 / -.039
meditation / -.048 / -.152 / -.212 / .326 / .125 / .250 / -.226 / .043 / .614 / .107 / -.205
OBE wake / -.465 / -.105 / -.186 / .349 / .062 / .073 / -.110 / -.057 / -.035 / .101 / .417
precog wake / .096 / .390 / -.026 / .268 / -.233 / .099 / .305 / .253 / -.078 / .344 / -.189
mystical wake / .027 / .138 / .124 / -.245 / .128 / -.200 / .311 / .132 / .022 / .379 / .319
sum of 6 mystical items same as cps / .192 / .608 / -.095 / .227 / .228 / -.260 / -.002 / -.183 / -.214 / -.173 / -.173
sum of 3 items on absorb same as cps / -.147 / .344 / .122 / -.069 / -.626 / .269 / .070 / .141 / .221 / .056 / .165
sum of all 20 items from personality aspect question-naire / .083 / .774 / -.148 / .129 / -.138 / -.011 / -.094 / .013 / .002 / -.160 / -.113
Appendix 5: Video Game Play Differences 1998 Versus 2005
The data collected online in 1998 involved far fewer people than that collected in 2005, however there were some noteworthy changes in the intervening 7 years as summarized in Table 6. These means are for the online questionnaire that included motion sickness (n=51) and does not include the earlier convenience sample. The two samples did not differ in age, but did in education, with the 2005 sample being more educated.
Insert Table 6 about here
Table 6: Mean Video Game Play Variables as a Function of Generation
Video Game Variable* / 1998Mean / 1998 Std Dev. / 2005
Mean / 2005 Std. Dev.
length of play session / 2.14 / 1.3999 / 3.39 / 1.3722
formats played / 4.60 / 2.2588 / 5.70 / 2.0906
age played first** / 6.74 / 2.1647 / 7.60 / 1.7913
age play at peak** / 4.65 / 1.6144 / 5.14 / 1.4721
who play with / 1.66 / .848 / 2.05 / .876
Play motion sickness / 2.70 / 2.36686 / 1.76 / .84742
*Vvariables are significantly different across year
** High numbers indicate playing younger
It can be seen that for most of the video game variables the 2005 group is more involved in video game play. They play longer and have played more types of games. Additionally, they started and peaked earlier in their lives. As more experienced players who started younger it’s not surprising that today’s players are not having as much motion sickness while playing video games.
These two samples were also compared on the various transpersonal variables. Because they were measured slightly differently, the data was converted to z-scores and then nonparametric statistics were calculated. This was true for all the transpersonal variables except for the prayer and meditation questions, which were identical items across samples. Although there were no differences in dream recall, lucid dreaming, nightmares, archetypal dreams, mystical experiences, and interest in and experience with meditation, there were differences in the reported incidence of night terrors, OBE’s, and precognitive experiences as well as in interest and experience with prayer. The 2005 group had fewer of each experience than the 1998 group except for prayer. The 2005 group had more interest in and experience with prayer than the 1998 group.
Discussion
Video game players from 1998 were compared to those from 2005 (online data only). Not surprisingly, video game players today started younger, play more and have fewer negative side effects (i.e. less motion sickness while playing) than those in 1998. However, in terms of the transpersonal variables most showed no generational difference. Specifically, there were no differences in dream recall, lucid dreaming, nightmares, archetypal dreams, mystical experiences, and interest in, and experience with meditation in the 7 years separating the two groups. There were differences in the reported incidence of night terrors, OBE’s, and precognitive experiences as well as in interest and experience with prayer. The 2005 group had fewer of each experience than the 1998 group except for prayer. The 2005 group had more interest in and experience with prayer than the 1998 group. Again we are presented with a mixed picture.
Footnotes
[i] Department of Psychology and Sociology
GrantMacEwanCollege
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
[ii] Items loading .3 or greater are italicized.
[iii] Nausea = A question asking about these three motion sickness symptoms; nausea, stomach awareness, or increased salivation. These have been conceptually linked in the motion sickness literature.
[iv] Headache = A question asking about these motion sickness symptoms; eye strain, difficulty focusing, blurred vision or a headache. These have been conceptually linked in the motion sickness literature.
[v] Dizzy = A question asking about these motion sickness symptoms; dizziness or vertigo. These have been conceptually linked in the motion sickness literature.
[vi] See Table 3 for specific mystical questions numbered 1 through 6.
[vii] I am often called "absent-minded" because I get so wrapped up in what I am doing that I lose track of everything else.
[viii]Often when I am concentrating on something, I lose awareness of the passage of time.
[ix] It often seems to other people like I am in another world because I am so completely unaware of things going on around me.
[x]F(3,280)=1.874, p=.134
[xi]F(3,280)=2.202, p=.088
[xii]F(3,280)=2.176, p=.091
[xiii]F(3,280)=2.564, p=.055
[xiv]F(3,280)=4.204, p=.006
[xv]F(3,280)=1.672, p=.173
[xvi] * significantly different