Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Dreaming in Colour
A recent publication by Okada, Matsuoka and Hatakeyama (2011) examined the developmental and generational differences in dreaming in colour. They found that the frequency of dreaming in color has increased in the population from 1993 to 2009for people 20 years of age and older. How might this be explained?
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I feel like this could be explained by the fact that the media surrounding us has been progressing. Television and photography has gone from black and white to being in colour and many advertisements are made to be colourful and eye catching. The fact that colour has been implemented into our society more and more may be why the frequency of dreaming in colour has increased for people 20 years of age and older.
ReplyDeleteThe increased exposure to dense media, specifically the internet, could be a factor here. Environment changes brain function, and the web wasn't a prominent feature prior to the early 1990's. Perhaps the prior cohort was more exposed to black and white elements like newspapers and books. Music used to not have colour (or any)video associated with it; perhaps this is a factor too.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Chris and Sandra, in regards to the changing media (most specifically, increased colour exposure) and its ability to impact people's dreaming (ages 20 and up). This could be an explanation for this particular age group because their extracurricular activities may involve increased participation in watching many movies, music videos, surfing the internet, and reading popular magazines. As the media use the bright and captivating colours to catch their audience's attention, these elements continue to linger on our minds even after we have gone to sleep. These waking day factors will always influence what elements are occurring in our dreams.
ReplyDeleteTechnology advancement is definitely a factor in introducing more colour into dreams because it is in our waking life. It is becoming more high quality, with a higher resolution and more colourful, so we are stimulated with more colour. The amount of time we spend glued to it is also a factor. The amount of time people spend watching tv or using their cellphones has increased. This colour increase in dreaming probably coincides with obesity, people are becoming more lazy and spending less time exercising, more time watching tv as well. TV contains many flashes of colour and light that capture attention. Another thing is that video games have increased in popularity too with guys in their 20s spending hours playing them, huge difference between the colour in nintendo games and xbox or playstation now.
ReplyDeleteThe frequency of dreaming in colour increasing would likely have a relationship with more color in our environment. But as for it being becuase of media seems odd becuase we have had colour t.v's since before 1993.
ReplyDeleteI think that in todays world there is alot more colour surronding as opposed to earlier years. We dont seem to focus only on the blacks, whites, browns that surrounded us before. Instead today we are introduced to a vast majority of vibrant colours that always seem to catch our attention. Also we might seem to ignore the things that are of a duller colour more now because they dont attract us anymore, thus explaining why we dream less in black and white and more in colour.
ReplyDeleteI agree with many of the above comments. I think it makes sense that people would report more dreams in colour now, due to the explosion of technology that we are exposed to. I think we have become much more visual in many aspects of our lives due to the introduction of technology. Even something as simple as a phone, than back in the 1990’s would have been a primarily auditory experience is now a visual experience due to Blackberries and I phones. We are always exposed to dynamic, colourful images from phones to computers, I pads, 3d images, etc. If we dream about our waking day experiences, than it makes sense that with the increased exposure to dynamic images, our dreams will become more dynamic and colourful as well.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what everyone is saying so far. Even though we have had colored televisions for quite some time now, the increase in colored dreaming may be due to an increase in visual appearances such as the increased hours of watched television among individuals and also the increase amount of hours spent in front of a computer screen. Also, our dream research has advanced so much which may very well be a factor in the increase colored dreams. We are now able to effectively analyze dreams that result in knowing information about the dreamer without even getting to know them. We are able to identify experiences, trauma, potential healthy risk or even individual issues with simply looking over ones dreams. It may be that today we are so advanced and we are more capable at knowing for sure if an individual dreams in color, compared to the past where we might not have had proper research done, telling us for sure whether or not an individual's dream was in fact in color.
ReplyDeleteWe dream in the way that we see the world. Therefore most of us dream in colour. It makes sense that there is colour in our dreams as it is a reflection of our waking day life. There has been a rise in the number of people who reported dreaming in colour over the years. More people may be aware of their dreams now and therefore they are accurately able to report that they dream in colour. I agree that having televisions, iPods and cell phones in colour does have an impact on people’s dreams. This makes sense as in the 20th century when there were black and white televisions I am sure less people reported they dreamed in colour then, than in 1993 when only some media was in colour. As media becomes more advanced and colourful people’s dreams are also more often being reported to be in colour. There are also differences in how quickly different cultures advanced. Coloured movies, television and photographs started replacing black and white media in the more technologically advanced countries. Today many countries have more advanced technology and this could account for the increase in number of people dreaming in colour.
ReplyDeleteI see where everyone else is coming from and it would make more sense if colour in dreams started increasing earlier such as when colour tv's became popular and magazines started being printed in colour etc. But this states that colour reported in dreams increased between 1993 and 2009. I don't personally think a lot has changed THAT significantly since 1993 in regards to the media other than the greater use of the internet and the fact that pictures on television screens or from cameras are now of better quality. I would be really surprised if that were the only reason for this increase. So other than the obvious contributer which is most likely due to more exposure to colours in general or more time spent with various media outlets compared to the past, it is really hard to say what else may explain the increase of colour reported in dreams during that time.
ReplyDeleteI feel this could have to do with the advancement of technology and the media. Those in their 20s right now (including myself) are known as the generation now. We constanly feel the need to have everything at our reach and we want it instantaneous. Growing up in this generation I find that if people don't get what they want when they want it they lose interest.
ReplyDeleteA while back TV use to be in black and white and now as technology has changed we have introduced colour to the television. This is because colour is visually stimulating. I believe this is why those in their 20s are dreaming more in colour. We find our dreams to be important when they appeal to us. The more visually stimulating the dream is the more entertaining we find it. When dreams are more visually stimulating we tend to focus on them and remember those dreams that are in colour as opposed to not.
Increased media exposure does seem to be the biggest obvious influence in the increase in coloured dreams versus non-coloured dreams. Watching the news on T.V. versus listening to the radio or reading newspapers is an example of increased colour exposure in the media over the last couple of years. Even online blogs are more likely to be very colourful and include colour pictures nowadays, and there is an increased accessibility to the internet at younger ages as well to account for this.
ReplyDelete- Carey-Ann Bette
Aside from the media aspect, I feel that there is an increase in dreams being in colour because there has been an increase in the importance of dreams. This is due to the fact that people are paying attention to their dreams more so now than ever. Since dreams are an extension of our experiences and we view those experiences in colour in waking day, during dreams we could see those same colours. Everything around us is so colour orientated that we are built to constantly perceive those colours. We make schemas and connections to those waking day colours in our dreams.
ReplyDeleteAs many people have said before, the constant bombardment of full colour media is probably the most likely cause of the increase in dreaming in colour. I think that because we see these things all the time, not just television and movies, but internet, and even of colour in print media, such as newspapers and magazines, may affect our dreams as they are all part of our waking day life.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the idea that this is likely to do with this particular generation being technology-hungry. People in this age group are constantly using computers and phones, with high definition screens creating bold and vivid colours. These colours are not only presented realistically and clearly, but they are often within an arms length of a person for several hours a day. Since we experience this vivid and bold colouring throughout our day in such a direct way, it is not surprising that we are dreaming in colour more now than in the past.
ReplyDeleteAgain...I also agree with what everyone else is saying. However; just adding to this idea, with the increase in dual parent occupation and/or need for dual income, leads to less time for parents to spend with children, thus, we have the convenience of things such as televisions to plop children in front of. A readily available and free baby sitter. This would cause younger populations of people (younger than 20) to have dreams that are consistently filled with colour which would explain the lack of increase in colour for younger people. People older than 20 would have remembered a time that was not filled with as much colourful stimulation. For example, when I was younger and it was a nice day outside I was not aloud to stay in and watch tv therefore I never got the same amount of stimulation from a tv than say a six year old would today.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with the previous comments about the changing media impacting the amount of colour seen in dreams. With the increased emphasis on the media, it would make sense that people are dreaming in colour, when much of what their days consist of is coloured media (television, video games, the internet, magazines, etc.). As we have learned in class, colours in dreams are symbolic of the emotional state of the dreamer. With the increasing importance of psychology in our current society, people may be paying more attention to their emotions and inner feelings, which could affect the amount of colour seen in their dreams as well.
ReplyDeleteI think media has a large part in this. Not only animated movies, but also music videos. Media is much more prevalant than it was years ago. We dream what about what we are exposed to, and with the increase in media exposure, we likely have influence from the media.
ReplyDeleteMelissa Van Grootel
I believe dreaming in colour has increased since 1993 due to our exposure to new stimuli. Individuals are more exposed to the media images in a variety of ways. Like my classmates have said, the change in black and white television to colour has probably had a huge impact. People often watch TV before going to sleep, which allows these coloured images to be brought through into the dreaming mind. There is also a variety of different colours and shades we refer to in our society. For example there is probably 10 different shades of red with different names for them. 20 years ago, it was simply black or white, red or blue. It could also have increased due to our exposure in new technologies. Not just the television, but computers and cell phones. I believe all these things could contribute to dreaming in colour.
ReplyDeleteI believe that dreaming in colour has increased since 1993 because of the exposure our society and generation has had to the constant media influences around us. In 1993, there were more television shows in black and white, and internet was used rarely unlike today. With the progression of technology (such as cell phones, television, internet, movies, etc.) this has allowed our dreaming minds to explore and expand our imaginations. Colour is constantly surrounding us, and with the increasing amount of technologies that have expanded and are being exposed to us, it must have an influence on our minds and could contribute to dreaming in colour.
ReplyDeleteIn taking this course, we have learned that what we think about, we dream about. Since media surrounds us and has an impact on our daily lives, especially in today's society, I think it is fair to say that this is why the frequency of dreaming in colour has increased.
ReplyDeleteA lot of people watch T.V., movies, access the internet, and read magazines on a daily basis, all of which are presented in colour for the most part. Because we do this throughout the day and a lot of the time watch our favourite shows or check the internet before we go to bed for the night, it could be the last thing you think about before you go to bed. If it is the last thing you did/thought about then maybe it will appear in your dream. If so, you would probably dream about it in colour because you were exposed to it in colour and your dreams are a reflection of your waking day life experiences. For instance, if something in a movie really scared you and you couldn't get it out of your head, then you may dream about it in the detail and colour you witnessed it in.
These generational differences could likely be explained by the continuity hypothesis. The older generation spent much of their life exposed to black and white media such as newspapers and televisions where significant events occurred, while the younger generation is being exposed to colour media right from infancy. There are colours everywhere- on television, computers, newspapers, story books, billboards, cell phones, video games, and even family photo albums. People are literally collecting memories of their lives in vibrant colour- in photographs, home videos, etc., made able by new technologies. Because of these differences, the younger generation has likely dreamt in color their entire lives, as they have been exposed to very little black and white technologies, while the older generation may have dreamt in more in black and white in the past, and are slowly beginning to incorporate more colours into their dream world, depending on how much they are exposed to current media and technology.
ReplyDeleteAs many people are stating the generational effect on dreaming in color could be due to the technological advancements that the past two generations have experienced. We are living through a technological revolution, experiencing a lot of new stimuli and quality of color, movement, effects and much, much more (HD, blueray, graphics cards, etc). However, i am hesitant to believe that this could be the only reason why the frequency in dreaming in color has occurred. after all, most of us see in color... and that has not changed over the years. We see many things in vibrant colors (beyond the t.v and computer) and that has not changed either. Perhaps using these devices before falling asleep has something to do with this phenomenon. Maybe people are on their retina display phones, computer or watching HD tv before bed and this effects how they are dreaming.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the other comments on this blog so far. Between 1993 and 2009 there have been a lot of media changes. Even looking at old Disney movies, the colour is not as bright and crisp as it is now, and everything is being remade into HD and re-defined colours. Also, the emergence of more video games, with vivid and life like colours, can also play a part in people dreaming in more colours. Between 1993 and 2009, colour images have been re-mastered and made more vivid and exciting to capture people’s attention. Also, advertisements are all over the place, including on the streets, on TV, on the computer, in bus stops, etc. so the exposure that we get nowadays is ten-fold to what it once was. Also, with kids staying inside more often, watching TV or playing on the computer/video games instead of being outside, it is more likely that they will be exposed to more vivid colours, so dreaming more in colour would increase as time goes on.
ReplyDeleteThis may be explained due to vast amount of colour that is used in today’s society. From TV, to magazine, to websites and internet, we are always partaking in some sort of media that is produced in the form of colour. It makes sense because in the early years of the television, shows and movies were broadcasted in black and white. It is also most relevant now that people are dreaming more in colour now because not is only television is colour, but so are cellphones, Ipods, and gaming consoles. Since individuals’ dreams are about their waking day experiences, it only makes sense that more and more dreams are in colour today than they were 20 years ago.
ReplyDeleteThis may be explained by the fact that we have more colour in our enviorment. At age 20, our enviorment is more broad then in previous years and we are exposed to more types of media and technology which produce a wider range of colors.
ReplyDeleteBecause we are exposed to more colors and have more colors in our waking day life, we therefore dream in and of more color.
Grace Williamson
I agree with what everyone has said so far about the increase in exposure to colour vividness. This can definitely be a possibility for colour dreaming. We are living in a world that is very technological and is broadening what we are exposed to. Along with this, the importance of dreaming has become more popular so paying attention to our dreams can reveal why they are now in colour. In the past, dream interpretation was not very popular so people did not pay much attention to detail when it came to their dreams. With this new popularity, detail is being recognized and dreams that could have been colour in the past are now being noticed.
ReplyDeleteI think people dream in colour more because of popular culture and the progression of social media, and television shows and reality television.
ReplyDeletePeople are so focused on technology that everything is more advanced even our dreams seem to be more colour focused,
Another reason is that fashion and the way we dressed have evolved into different colours and brighter spectrums so people could be dreaming in colour more because we are more used to seeing a variety of colours.
I agree with much of what has already been stated. In our life today, we are exposed to so much more colour wise than what has been seen in earlier years (like the use of black and white television, pictures and lack of the internet). Because we are in an age of a increasing technology, our world and mind is also constantly increasing. Since our dreams are directly related to our waking day life, it is not surprising that our dreams have had an increase in the colour content as we are exposed to it more often on a regular basis.
ReplyDeleteI agree with a lot of what has been said. The amount of visual stimuli we are being exposed to every day has increased over the years. From t.v. to movies, internet, even a lot of textbooks we have now include coloured pictures. All of these things are becoming more and more popular.
ReplyDeleteI think that because we are actively seeking these things out and we have an increased exposure to them, that they are a large part of our world today. This causes them to impact the things we dream about, and could be one explanation as to we more people are dreaming in colour
I agree with my fellow classmates. I think our society has changed drastically in twenty years, specifically with technology and media. I think our society is more "colourful" in general now. Kids have been gradually exposed to more and more as time has gone on. The increase in colour could be due to an increase in experience, the media, and technology.
ReplyDeleteLike many of my classmates above, I think that the frequency of dreaming in color has increased due to a combination of different media streams such as color television, HD video games, Internet, high resolution in magazines, photographs and advertisements, and the advancement of social media networks. Because there is color everywhere in our environments, seeing it in our dreams is a reflection of waking day.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the previous comments as well, especially Jennine Langley's comment about our phones and technology becoming more visual. Blackberry's, i-Phone's etc... this jump from auditory to visual stimulus would be make sense in relation to the continuity theory of dreams. Other than the idea of visual stimuli being increased in our everyday life e.g. with cell phones, another idea to why there is more colour reported in our dreams, is that people are more open to accepting that dreams are important and therefore people have started to pay attention to their dreams and as such have reported more colour. That is not to say that before there wasn't colour in their dreams, but instead now they have payed attention to them.
ReplyDeleteI think this could be explained through technology and the media, I have heard that a lot of dream imagery can come from TV and movies and in 1993 any projection from the screen or from photographs were always in black and white. It can even be seen that the fashion and decorating itself in that era was very colourless. However, every media image in our current generation is saturated with colour everything is about color even our technologies are designed to come in different colours. As a result of the cultural emphasis that is now placed on colour I feel that we are now more likely to see it in our dreams.
ReplyDeleteI agree with many of the posts above. Technology is constantly dragging us in with flashy colors to represent many different messages. colors have become drilled into our minds because they are literally everywhere. For example, while driving, we abide by colors to know when to go, slow down or to stop. If someone got into an accident because they went through a red light, maybe they will start to dream about red things.
ReplyDeletei also agree with posts above. modern technology is very much visual and auditory for example iphones. it helps us more continuity dreams.media is the most powerful one.
ReplyDeleteI think our dreams are more colourful because of media and modern technology. every advertisement we look at is really flashy and colourful.
ReplyDeleteI'll agree with most of the posts above me. I think it could be explained by the fact that virtually everybody has more and more access to television and computers. It is also increasingly more common for people to have a television or computer (normally in colour these days) in their bedroom that they often use before going to sleep. Perhaps viewing media that is constantly saturated in colour has a large effect on the amount of colour in the person's dream. Advertising over the years seems to get more and more colourful and attention grabbing as well and it stands to reason that that could have an effect as well.
ReplyDeleteI don't ever remember dreaming in black and white, even though I was born in the late 50s, with black and white TV and the advent of colour TV happened during my childhood. I am exposed to as much advertising and colour as anyone else in western culture, except that I do not watch TV or movies or video-games.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe media exposure is the full story. And I think that age/generational is too simplistic. I decided to have a look at the journal article. I think researchers will need to think out of the box to discover causes and correlations… and perhaps there are no correlations at all! Just like a person who has a psychological diagnosis is a mix of genetic and environmental factors. It seems to me it would make more sense that there could be physiological differences, ocular nerves, something in the brain and perception rather than attributing black and white dreaming to environmental factors. I wonder if it doesn't have more to do with physiology, maybe colour blindness. Maybe shift work has something to do with it (those who work night shifts). Maybe we need to do some research on people who live in areas where there isn't as much sunlight (Yukon, northern latitudes - the land of the rising sun) where they must spend more time in darkness. I think we need to think out of the box here.
I think the reason for the increase in dreaming in colour for adults over the age of 20 would be because of colour television, video games, and other forms of media. While television was introduced to people a long time ago the idea of bright and colourful screens to play games on for hours at a time is a relatively new concept. Our world is increasingly evolving and so are our dreams.
ReplyDeleteTara- Lee Upshall
I think the reason for this increase in dreaming in colour is due to the use of modern technology. People 20 and over usually spend alot of time on the computer, or watching movies and T.V shows. Almost everything these days is in HD and bright vibrant colour especially in comparison to before 1993. It seems that this may have a large part in why people dream in colour much more often these days.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the previous posts. I think that as technology changes our world, we are more likely to experience "technological" changes in our dreams. I think we pay much more attention to colours nowadays because most of the media we are subjected to each and every day depends on it. We constantly see advertisements for paints that are "true colours", or paints that can be matched to whatever colour we want. Televisions are priced based on how clear pictures are and how defined and beautiful colours are shown. We can change our hair colour, eye and skin colours simply by going to the local drug store. Fashion designers are creating new looks that are bright and bold.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that to be full of colour means one is full of health. How many of us have heard someone comment "you look so pale, are you feeling ok?" When we are sick, we tend to lose our "colour". After a roll in the hay, many people have more colour in their faces. We, as humans, are drawn to colour. The more "colourful" one is, the more content and happy they are, and possibly even more healthy. We attribute black, grey and white to be sad and sick while reds, pinks and blues can be seen as happy vibrant.
Corresponding with previous posts, advances in modern technology have modelled our minds to produced defined images with colours. Day to day we are relating ourselves and our images with colour which can reflect how we see our dreams as well.
ReplyDeleteI agree with a lot that has been said. I believe that dreaming in colour has increased since 1993 because of the amount of exposure our society, and our generation has had to the amount of media influences around us. In 1993, the internet was not used nearly as much as it is today. (Case and point, how many of you can actually say you do NOT have a Facebook account?) Also, when discussing the production of technology in the last few years, TV’s have constantly being introduced with new and improved features available (i.e. HD TV’s , 3D TV’s) . Also, we now have gadgets previous generations never thought possible (i.e. Ipods, Ipads, Iphones, etc.). These gadgets expand our minds, and these expansions are reflected in our dreams.
ReplyDeleteI would definitely have to say that I agree with most people`s opinions that technology probably has a huge impact on the dramatic increase of colour dreams. I feel over the last 10 years there has been a dramatic increase in the use of technology and production of technology. Now almost everyone has a cellphone, many with internet use, and everyone is connected to some type of media source throughout the day, whether it is a cellphone, computer, television, or just the mere exposure of advertisements on billboards, busses, etc. These media sources are filled with bright and vibrant colours to catch the audience`s attention, and this higher exposure to colour definitely can influence a person`s experience in their dreams. Previously in class we even learnt of several different experiments that looked at how exposure to certain stimuli can affect dreams and it was found that movies have a large impact on dream content, and also if someone wears pink tinted glasses throughout the day, all their dreams at the night will have a pink tint. This seems to be the case with the increase of coloured dreams in the population, if people are exposed to more colour, then this exposure will definitely result in more colour being experienced in their dreams.
ReplyDelete