Abstract
The CI (Central Image or Contextualizing Image) can be considered the emotional center of the dream. The CI can sometimes be seen as picturing the emotion behind the dream—as in the paradigmatic “Tidal Wave Dream.” The CI is the best-remembered part of the dream. CI Intensity, rated on a reliable scale, is higher after trauma, after 9/11/01, and in dreams considered “important” by the dreamer. In this study we examined CI Intensity, as well as “dream-likeness” and “bizarreness,” of recent dreams, dreams that stand out, and earliest dreams in 40 students, 20 who scored very “thick” and 20 who scored very “thin” on the short form of the Boundary Questionnaire. Results showed, first of all, that for the group as a whole, CI Intensity was rated higher in dreams that stand out, and in earliest dreams, than in recent dreams. “Thin” students had higher CI Intensity than “thick” students in recent dreams and dreams that stand out, but not in earliest dreams. In “dreams that stand out,” there was a significant positive correlation between CI Intensity and how long ago the dream had occurred. The same was true for bizarreness but not for dreamlikeness. There was a significant interaction between thick versus thin boundaries and earliest versus recent dreams: in the earliest dreams (generally reported as occurring at age 5–7) thick and thin students had equal CI Intensity, but in recent dreams (experienced usually at age 18–20) there was a great difference between the groups, thin students having a higher CI Intensity. This is consistent with the view that all children may start with fairly thin boundaries, but that some undergo more change (”thickening“) than others between age 6 and 18.
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