The relationship between video game play and threat simulation dreams

Revonsuo proposes an evolutionary theory of dreaming in which dreams allow an individual to prepare for real world threats in the safety of the virtual setting of the dream world. Based upon previous work examining the dreams of video game players, it was hypothesized that high-end gamers would experience fewer threat simulation dreams due to frequent threat resolution rehearsal during game play. Subjects were asked to report a night before dream and fill out surveys regarding their gaming history, media use, and dream experiences. Using a factor analysis, support for the main hypothesis was found. Individuals with a history of game play experienced fewer threat severity variables in their dreams. The Effects of Video Game 3 The Relationship between Video Game Play and Threat Simulation Dreams The emotion regulation theory of dreaming suggests that by expressing our emotions in the dream world, our psychological well-being is maintained (Revonsuo, 2000; Kramer, 1991; Nielsen & Lara-Carrasco, 2007). Numerous researchers have found that the content of dreams are commonly linked with real world occurrences and the accompanying emotions experienced by the individual. For instance, a study by Hartmann (1998) found that the dreams of trauma victims first focused on the event itself and as time progressed the content of the dreams shifted to emphasize the emotions associated with the trauma. Thus, as the trauma was being processed and overcome, the manifest content of the individual’s dreams changed yet the underlying emotions of fear, anxiety, and survivor guilt often persisted. Dreaming has also been shown to aid in the therapeutic process with children who have been exposed to a trauma. Researchers noticed that therapeutic gains were witnessed when these children incorporated wished for or imagined actions into their dreams of the traumatic event (Pynoos & Nader, 1990). For example, Nader and Pynoos described the experiences of a young adolescent rape victim. Originally, this young girl’s dreams focused on the events involved in the trauma itself. Yet as therapy progressed, the content of her dreams began to focus on her rage toward her rapist (Nader & Pynoos, 1990). The girl would recall hitting the aggressor or injuring him with a spear during her dreams. The emotions linked to these dreams shifted dramatically during this process. The fear and sadness that first surrounded her dreams were overcome by the anger and the satisfaction she felt with her ability to finally retaliate against her aggressor. Some critics note, however, that the examination of dreams from subjects involved in trauma may be biased. That is, the resulting findings may have been influenced by a symptom of a given psychopathology, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or depression triggered by the The Effects of Video Game 4 event (Blagrove as cited in Punamaki, 1998). Others point out, however, that trauma dreams are characteristically distinct from dreams triggered by PTSD. For instance, Ross and colleagues assert that unlike dreams caused by psychopathology, trauma dreams often lack recognizable content and disturb continuity of sleep, due to their disturbing content (Ross, Ball, Sullivan, & Caroff, 1989). Recently, it has been suggested that character-self interactions during dreams are especially important when considering the role of negative emotion regulation in dreams (Nielsen & Lara-Carrasco, 2007). These interactions are believed to be significant for two reasons. First, emotional elements are generally social in nature, thus character-self interactions focus on the emotions being experienced by the dreamer. Secondly, social conflicts experienced by dreamers in the waking world are frequently carried over into the content of their dreams. Nielsen notes that most character-self interactions focus on emotions such as anxiety, fear, or anger. Thus, it appears that negative emotions are given privilege in the dream world (Nielsen & Lara-Carrasco, 2007). Like many theories of dreaming, there is still no perfect agreement but there is an emerging consensus regarding the emotionally adaptive function of dreaming. That is, dreams do seem to have an emotional regulation function, especially with regard to the regulation of negative affect. Related to theories of emotional regulation is a theory based on evolutionary assumptions and is the focus of the current study. Revonsuo’s (2000) dream simulation theory claims that dreams hold a specific and important purpose, which has been refined through the process of evolution. According to his theory, dreams are meant to mimic threatening situations that may be encountered in the real world, in the safe virtual environment of the dream world (Revonsuo & Valli, 2000). By allowing an organism to refine its threat avoidance skills in a protective The Effects of Video Game 5 environment, these skills would likely transfer into the waking world, increasing the organism’s chances of survival. A similar process of skills transference is used by many athletes when training for sporting events. In fact, visualization, mental rehearsal, and cognitive enactment are some of the most commonly used techniques for improving athletic performance (Short, RossStewart, Monsma, 2006). Revonsuo also suggests that the victim in a threat simulation dream would likely be an individual who plays a large role in the reproductive success of the dreamer, such as themselves, a sexual partner, or a biological family member (Revonsuo & Valli, 2000). Dreaming would increase the reproductive fitness of an organism by allowing it to prepare for situations that might jeopardize the transference of its genetic material to future generations. Thus, dreaming would be a valuable tool that would be maintained by evolution (Revonsuo & Valli, 2000). Revonsuo provides six testable propositions that compose the complete threat simulation theory (Revonsuo, 2000). First, he purports that dreams are not a disorganized or useless phenomenon, but instead a purposeful manifestation of the perceptual world. In support of this assertion, Revonsuo points to the finding that dream consciousness is organized in a manner similar to waking consciousness. For instance, a study conducted by Zadra, Nielsen, and Donderi (1998) found that a variety of sensory experiences, such as audition, olfaction, and (more rarely) gustatory sensations, are reported by dreamers in a manner similar to those experienced in the waking world. Hence, it appears that sensory experiences during dreams occur in a meaningful manner and imitate parallel processes that occur during wakefulness. Thus, the ordered and realistic perception of the virtual world presented in dreams implies a more specialized purpose for the phenomena. Revonsuo’s second principle states that dream experiences are dedicated to the imitation of threatening events. He notes that many researchers have found negative emotion and The Effects of Video Game 6 threatening events to be highly prominent in dream reports. For example, Domhoff (1996) examined the “enemies” category of the Hall and Van de Castle model and found that for both males and females, an enemy was most commonly defined as a male stranger or an animal, rather than a significant person within the individual’s life (Hall & Van de Castle, 1966). This has special significance to the theory of threat simulation in that these individuals would most likely pose a threat to a person living in the Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness (EEA), that is one where humans were constantly faced with threats to their survival and reproductive potential. Next, Revonsuo’s third principle maintains that threatening events encountered in the waking world can have huge implications for ensuing dream content. Many individuals who have experienced a traumatic event often have repeated dreams related to the trauma. Researchers suggest that PTSD nightmares are both qualitatively and quantitatively different from regular nightmares (Hartmann, 1990). PTSD nightmares occur more frequently and are more akin to re-enactments of the traumatic event itself, with the addition of certain elements such as survivor guilt or witnessing one’s own death. Revonsuo suggests, however, that a traumatic event can serve as a trigger to the threat simulation system, causing a sudden increase in the frequency and intensity of these dreams (Revonsuo, 2000). He notes, however, that unlike PTSD induced dreams, which persist for years, threat simulation dreams return to normal weeks after the event, with only small remnants of the trauma enduring over time. In this way, Revonsuo asserts that dreams contain traumatic elements, not to address unresolved emotional turmoil as would be suggested by emotional-regulation theories, but rather due to the physical threatening (and potentially fatal) nature of these events. Thus, as in the prehistoric environment The Effects of Video Game 7 and consistent with Maslow’s theory of motivation, the need for survival overrides the need for psychological well-being (Maslow, 1943). Revonsuo’s fourth proposition claims that threat simulations are efficient re-enactments of harmful situations due to their sensory and perceptual integrity (Revonsuo, 2000). Various neuropsychological studies have found that, even though the brain creates these virtual environments, it still appears to react to them in a manner similar to the real world. For example, researchers have found that the amount of neural firing in the pyramidal tract of cells in the motor cortex increased during REM sleep to a level equivalent to that experienced during waking world movement (Hobson as cited by Revonsuo, 2000). Thus, movements engaged in during dreaming are processed in a similar manner to movements experienced during a state of wakefulness. This high level of dream realism often prevents the recognition of the dream state as separate from the real world. Revonsuo suggests that