_———_————————.————
_-,._4...._- — .. a-uw--- , . .-._--‘._.-, ‘-"~‘W“’m-“ 1“"_

THE EFFECTS OF HYPNOTICALLY INDUCED DREAMS 0N
CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING

Thesis for the Degree of M. A.
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
ROBERT PRITAM DAVE
1976

 

[HESS

‘Q- .-

 

I III IIIIIIIII I III III II "I II III II I

 

 

 

 

 

ABSTRACT

THE EFFECTS OF HYPNOTICALLY
INDUCED DREAMS 6N CREATIVE
PROBLEM SOLVING '
BY

Robert Pritam Davé

Conceptualizing creativity along classical Freudian
lines, it was hypothesized in this study that creativity
could be enhanced through the cathexis of primary process
to the elements of a problem to be solved. Using problem
solving as the dependent variable to demonstrate enhanced
creativity, it was thus predicted that the representation
of the elements of a problem in the manifest content of
hypnotically induced dreams would result in enhanced
creative functioning.

‘gs participating in the study were males and females who
had reached an impasse in the course of working on a project
or solving a problem relating to academic, vocational, avoca-
tional, or personal concerns. gs were randomly assigned to
one of three treatment conditions: a hypnotic dream treat—
ment run by the author and designed to affect a primary
process/visually oriented approach to problem solving;

a rational/cognitive treatment run by a co-experimenter and

Robert Pritam Davé

designed to affect a secondary process/verbally oriented
approach to problem solving; and a control treatment involv-
ing a personality interview and designed to impress gs

that decisions regarding possible assignment to other treat—
ment conditions would be made on the basis of said inter-
view. Half the gs in the control group were seen by one

or the other co-experimenter.

Results of the study demonstrated a significant effect
for the hypnotic dream treatment over both the rational/
coqnitive treatment and the control treatment. §s in the
control group who remained at an impasse were subsequently
treated under the experimental condition run by their
respective co-experimenter. The results of this interven-
tion revealed that prior exposure to the control condition
did not affect the outcome for gs under either of the two
experimental conditions. Consequently, the results of all
gs receiving the two experimental treatments were combined,
yielding once again a significant effect for only the hypnot-
ic dream treatment.

In light of the successful outcome of this investigation,
the task of operationally defining creativity was addressed.
Creativity was thus operationalized as the formulation or
development of either a tangible or intangible product which
is novel in the context of an individual's or group's frame
of reference and which satisfies the particular needs

of the individual or group which demand innovation.

THE EFFECTS OF HYPNOTICALLY
INDUCED DREAMS ON CREATIVE

PROBLEM SOLVING

BY

Robert Pritam Davé

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

Department of Psychology

1976

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

When I stop to think of the combined input of people
involved in this study, I am amazed by the sheer number of
persons, from the subjects who participated to my friends
who kept me loose, whose contributions made this project
possible. Most of all, though, I wish to thank my chair-
person, Dr. Joseph Reyher, whose ideas, enthusiasm, Omahas,
and encouragement saw me through. More important than all
of that, however, thanks, Joe, for allowing me to remain
skeptical.

A word of gratitude is also in order for the members
of my committee. Many thanks go to Dr. Norman Abeles,
whose sharp questions and sense of responsibility have
helped me to formulate my ideas more critically. I also
wish to express a special word of appreciation to Dr.

Albert Aniskiewicz for his warm support and genuine interest
which has been more important than he really knows. Vito
Cicarelli lives! .

To Rick Noonan (E2), thank you a thousand times for
the major contribution you made. Your sense of duty, as well
as your thoroughneSs and eternal "blindness" are truly

appreciated.

ii

Finally, to Debbie Allen (E3), the cement who kept
this whole thing together, whose nimble fingers and entrOpy

know no bounds, thank you for just being there.

iii

LIST OF TABLES . .
LIST OF APPENDICES
INTRODUCTION . .

METHOD . . . . . .
RESULTS . . . . .
DISCUSSION . . . .
REFERENCES . . . .

APPENDICES . . . .

TABLE

OF CONTENTS

iv

Page

vi

31
42
51
58

63

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1. Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis
of variance by ranks of three
groups of subjects under
different experimental
conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

2. Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis
of variance by ranks of two
groups of subjects under
different experimental
conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

3. Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis
of variance by ranks of two
groups of subjects under
different experimental
conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

4. Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis
of variance by ranks of two
groups of subjects under
different experimental
conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

5. Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis
of variance by ranks of two
groups of subjects under
different experimental
conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix

A

"1! F1 U 0 w

Verbatim Transcripts of Subjects in the

Hypnotic Dream Treatment . . .
DiSplay Advertisement . . . . . .
It's What's Happening Column . . .
Letter to Graduate Students . . .
Departmental Research Consent Form

Audio Tape Recording Release Form

vi

Page

63
105
106
107
108
109

INTRODUCTION

The study of creativity is a vast potpourri of
scientific research, personality theory, cognitive theory,
and introspective accounts of "creative persons“ which
addresses itself primarily to two questions. The first of
these is, "What is creativity?" A great deal of energy has
been devoted to answering this question, the results of
which have been less than definitive. The second question
is, "How can we stimulate or enhance creativity?" Many
varied efforts have been made in this direction, some of
which have yielded methods currently being used by industry
with minimal to moderate success. It is in response to
the relatively low level of success which most attempts to
answer the second question have met that this research
explores the possibility of enhancing creativity through
the use of dreams. However, since the two basic questions
concerning creativity are interrelated, the first shall be
discussed before the second is pursued.

In defining creativity, three main concepts seem to
emerge. They are the concept of the creative person, the
concept of creative functions, and the concept of the
creative process, each of which is linked to some kind of

creative product. The concept of the creative person

1

2

defines creativity in terms of personality characteristics
which, presumably, may be develOped in less creative persons
in order to enhance their level of creative functioning.
Our knowledge about the "creative personality" comes largely
from case studies of individuals who have been generally
acknowledged as creative throughout history (da Vinci, for
example), and from psychometric personality tests adminis-
tered to persons judged to be creative by experts in their
respective fields. A review of the literature by Stein
(1968) has yielded a long list of "personality characteristics
that have been found associated with the creative individual."
A close inspection of this list reveals that studies finding
specific "creative" personality characteristics are disputed
by other studies which seem to find quite opposite character-
istics. Thus, Barron (1955, 1957) finds the creative indivi-
dual to be dominant and aggressive while Blatt and Stein
(1957) find him to possess a lack of masculine aggressiveness.
The creative individual has been found by R. B. Cattell and
Drevdahl (1955) and Roe (1953) to be emotionally unstable
by "psychological definition" while MacKinnon (1959a)
finds him to be stable. It would appear that at this point,
the concept of the creative personality has shed little
light on our understanding of creativity.

The concept of creative functions stems largely from
the work of Guilford. Using a method called morphological

analysis, Guilford (in Stein, 1974) conceptualized a

structure of the intellect which he believed accounted for
factors, particularly "divergent-production abilities,"
which were not accounted for by any of the then existing
intelligence scales. Briefly, Guilford's morphological
model consists of three dimensions called operations, con-
tents, and products. Operations is "the Operation performed
on material," contents is "the medium in which the thought
occurs," and products is "the combination of both operations
and contents" (in Stein, 1974). Each dimension consists of
several categories. It is Guilford's belief that the combi-
nation of any three categories from each of the three dimen-
sions consists of a psychological factor which can be
measure diL"

The fallout from this line of thinking has been the
development of psychometric tests (sometimes inaccurately
called "creativity tests") which seek to measure cognitive
functions assumed to be involved in the mental Operations
of creative thinking. This, in turn, has had a profound
effect upon research throughout the entire field of creati-
vity. Numerous studies have used these tests to differen-
tiate between groups of persons along creative/not (or less)
creative dimensions and to measure the effects of methods
designed to enhance creativity, even though the tests do
not relate strongly to external criteria of creativity and
are ”not necessarily independent of factors involved in

traditional tests of intelligence" (Stein, 1974).

The third concept of creativity, that of the creative
process, is in reality a grabbag of theories which indivi-
dually attempt to describe either a dynamic flow of mental
operations or a series of discreet stylized stages by which
a creative product is generated. Many of these descriptions
are derived from personality and cognitive theory. Others
seek to define a uniquely creative process which may or may
not also incorporate elements from the two concepts of
creativity previously discussed. A few samples of these
theories illustrate the point.

Several descriptions of the creative process come
from psychoanalytic psycholOgy. Freud (1958) viewed
creativity as the sublimation of instinctual drives and
unconscious conflicts. As such, it is attributed to the
temporary removal of repression, resulting in a regression
to infantile modes of thought and experience which are
dominated by unconscious impulses. The result of the
regression is considered creative if the product is
ego-syntonic.

Jung (1928), on the other hand, described the creative
process as the unconscious activation of an archetype which
is brought into relation with conscious ideas. In discus-
sing art, for example, Jung argues that its universality
stems from its archetypal expression, its representation
of the collective unconscious.

Another view of the creative process which has its

roots in psychoanalytic psychology is that of Kris (1953).

5

Here creativity is viewed as a regression in the service of
the ego (adaptive regression) which consists of two crucial
phases. During the first of these, the inspiration phase,
the ego is passively receptive to unconscious material.
Subsequently, in the elaboration phase, the ego critically
evaluates and organizes this primary process laden material
for its own creative purposes.

To Kubie (1958), however, the emphasis in the creative
process lies not in the unconscious but in the preconscious.
In this conceptualization, creativity occurs when the pre-
conscious is temporarily freed from.what Kubie feels is
a lack of flexibility characteristic of both conscious and
unconscious thinking.

Turning from psychoanalytic theory, we find descrip-
tions of the creative process by Rogers and Maslow. Rogers
(1959) primarily deals with the motivation underlying
creativity. Essentially this is seen as self-actualization,
the very motivation he views as basic to human nature. We
create, in other owrds, because creative behavior is self-
actualizing behavior. Maslow (1959), whose descriptions of
the motivation underlying creativity parallel those of
Rogers, nevertheless goes further by differentiating the
creative process into primary process creativity and second-
ary process creativity. Examples of the former include jazz
whereas examples of the latter include musical symphonies in
which primary process thinking first prevails, then gives way

to secondary process thinking which refines, criticizes, etc.

6

Associationistic psychology also offers a description
of the creative process. Perhaps the best known work in
this area is that of Mednick (1962) in which creative
thinking is described as the process of forming associative
elements into new combinations which are somehow useful in
solving a problem or in meeting Specified requirements.
According to the primary laws of association, thoughts
or ideas occur because of contiguity, similarity, or
contrast. In other words, an association occurs because two
stimuli occur together; because they are in some way similar
to one another; or because they are different from one
another. According to Mednick, the more remote the elements
of a new combination, the more creative the process has
been. Based upon this theory, Mednick has constructed
a "creativity test" known, not surprisingly, as the Remote
Associations Test.

Finally, there are descriptions of the creative
process which denote discreet stages leading to the develop-
ment of a creative product. Among such descriptions are
those of Helmholtz, Poincare, Wallas, and Stein. It should
be noted that Kris' concept of the creative process,
previously discussed within the context of psychoanalytic
theory, also includes a description of stages.

To Helmholtz (Whiting, 1958), the creative process
consisted of three important stages. During the first of

these, known as saturation, data, facts, and sensations

are gathered for the purpose of developing new ideas.
Saturation is in turn followed by incubation during which
the material previously collected is shifted about and
formed into new combinations without conscious effort.
Illumination then occurs when the solution or some concept
of the end state comes to mind.

The discovery by the mathematician Poincaré, that the
transformations used to describe the Fuschian functions are
identical to those of non-Euclidian geometry, led him
to produce both an interesting introspective account of
this particular creative act and, along more general
structural lines, an expanded version of the Helmholtz
model (Whiting, 1958). While essentially restating
Helmholtz' three stages (here the first stage is called
preparation rather than saturation), Poincaré adds a fourth
stage called verification. This conceptualization, along
with the introspective accounts of Poincaré, Helmholtz,
and other creative persons, led Wallas (Stein, 1974) to
his four-stage concept of the creative process. By now
familiar, these stages are labeled preparation, incubation,
illumination, and verification.

Finally, Stein (1974) presents an elaborate four—
stage description of the creative process which seemingly
attempts to integrate the concepts of the creative person-
ality, the concept of creative functions, and previous

accounts of the creative process. The result is a hybrid

8

theory which avails itself of a variety of specialized
methods designed to enhance creative functioning within a
given stage of operations. Stein's four overlapping
stages are called preparation, hypothesis formation, hy-
pothesis testing, and communication of results (presenting
the creative product to others for evaluation). To Stein,
the creative process is a unique orientation, a distinct
departure from.more traditional approaches. It may be
heavily influenced in the preparation stage which consists
of our entire realm of experience, experience which first
precedes, then exists within the stage of hypothesis for-
mation. The great bulk of one's experience which concerns
Stein is one's formal education through which he feels the
development of the creatiVe process may be either fostered
or impeded.

In fact, Torrance has conducted numerous studies on
the effects of the school environment on creativity. Not
surprisingly, he has found that teachers' objectives,
their attitudes towards creativity, their evaluation of
students, and the inflexible nature of existing teaching
techniques may combine withpotentially destructive beha-
vior by classmates within a pupil's peer culture to inhibit
creativity (Stein, 1974). On a more encouraging note,
Torrance et a1. (1961) demonstrated that teachers can be
taught "principles of creative teaching" which may in turn
improve students' creativity as measured by psychometric

tests.

Beyond the realm of formal education, though, a
variety of methods for enhancing creativity have been
develoPed and/or assessed. Unfortunately, some of those
which have been presented continue to exist without having
undergone any substantial systematic evaluation. A few of
the methods offered, such as morphological analysis as
expounded by Allen (Stein, 1974), exist in a virtual vacuum,
theoretically plausible but realistically unwieldy. Still
others are either too highly specialized or too simplistic
to have made significant contributions to the understanding
of creativity.

Among the techniques offered have been those designed
to stimulate the conscious production of ideas. Several of
these suffer from one or more of the above mentioned
deficiencies. While it is not within the sc0pe of this
review to elaborate upon these methods, a few are displayed
in the more or less self-explanatory list below. Included
among the methods designed to stimulate the conscious pro-
duction of ideas are the following (in Stein, 1974):

l. Brainstorming, developed by A. F. Osborn;

2. Morpholoqical analysis, developed by Dr. Fritz

Zwicky;
3. Attribute listing, described by R. P. Crawford;
4. Checklists, described by B. B. Goldner and C. S.
Whiting;

5. Forced relationships, described by C. S. Whiting;

10

6. PakSA (PackCorp Scientific Approach), developed
by J. W. Taylor for the Packaging Corporation of
America;

7. Input-Output, developed at General Electric; and

8. Use of the ridiculous, developed by E. K. Vanange.

In addition to the techqqflues designed to stimulate
the production of conscious ideas, methods seeking to enhance
creativity by affecting personality characteristics have
been offered, almost entirely on a theoretical basis. Most
prominent among them are role playing and psychotherapy.
Research evidence supporting the former comes primarily
from a study by Barron and Leary (1961) in which role
playing "an extraordinarily original and creative person"
enhanced creativity as measured by increased posttest
scores on Guilford's Unusual Uses Test. Role playing "a
highly intelligent, authoritarian person," on the other
hand, lowered posttest scores. Support for the enhancement
of creativity through psychotherapy comes largely from
anecdotal accounts and second hand case studies. As yet,
there have been no large-scale systematic investigations
of the effects of psychotherapy on creativity.

Far more substantive work has been carried out in
assessing the effectiveness of techniques designed to en-
hance creativity through so-called altered states of con-
sciousness. .Predominantly, research in this area has

studied the effects of drugs on creativity. Other recent

11

efforts, more germane to the present study, have focused on
the effects of hypnosis and, in at least one case, the ef—
fects of dreams. Beginning with the relatively long list of
drug studies, a brief summary of the research dealing with
the effects of drugs ranging from mild stimulants such as
caffeine to powerful hallucinogens such as mescaline,
provides an overview.

Research into the effects which caffeine has on creativ-
ity was conducted in a study by Nash (1962) in which the
effects of alcohol were also assessed. With respect to
caffeine, Nash found two main effects. The first effect
found was that caffeine (in this case two cups of coffee)
facilitated work on mechanized logical tasks. Subjects were
more spontaneous in their associations, thought more quickly,
produced more associations, and were less likely to be at a
loss for words or ideas. The second effect found was that
caffeine enabled subjects to better organize and assimilate
information which they had heard. On the less positive side,
Nash also points out that previous research has found a
decrease in hand steadiness to be an effect of caffeine.

Within the same study, Nash evaluated the effects of
two and four martinis, operationally defined as small and
large doses of ethyl alcohol respectively. His findings
were that while the small dose of alcohol somewhat facili-
tated the associative process of subjects, the heavy dose
seemed to impair visual acuity, the ability to coordinate

eye movements, perceptual closure, and short term memory.

12

Concludes Nash (1962, p. 109), ". . . the present findings
suggest that alcohol can induce a freer flow of ideas . . .
While creative solutions to diffiCult problems are unlikely
to be conceived and fully elaborated under the influence of
large quantities of alcohol, more moderate quantities of
alcohol may shake onekseveryday, unquestioned views, or
otherwise render permeable the boundaries of previously
fixed belief."

Less rigorous has been the study of the effects of
marijuana on creativity. Representative of those offering
evidence attributing creative "powers" to marijuana is
Grinspoon 0971) who cites numerous anecdotal accounts
by creative artists, including Allen Ginsberg, which are
supportive of the premise that marijuana enhances creativ-
ity. On the other side of the issue is the American
Medical Association whose 1967 report discredits the claims
of artists on the grounds that there is no hard evidence
linking the use of marijuana to enhanced creative function-
ing. A highly emotional issue, this debate continues to
rage without resolution. Unquestionably, the larger body
of research evaluating the general psychological effects of
marijuana must become more focused before the relationship
between the drug and creativity can be accurately defined.

The effects of morphine and amphetamines on creativity
have been studied by Evans and Smith (1964) with mixed
results. Compared to a placebo, subjects taking morphine

performed significantly better on Guilford's Perceptual

13

Speed Test, Logical Reasoning Test, and Apparatus Test.
Subjects taking amphetamines performed better on the
Apparatus Test, Spatial Orientation Test, and Consequences
Test. However, neither drug facilitated performance on
the Alternate Uses or Anagrams tests. Nor did they improve
scores on tests of ideational fluency, or general reasoning.
Since most of these tests require divergent thinking, which
is related to creativity on a theoretical basis by GuilfOrd,
it was concluded that morphine and amphetamines apparently
have little or no positive effect on creative functioning.
LSD, like marijuana, has received considerable
anecdotal support for its presumed creativity enhancing
properties. Further evidence comes from Krippner (1969) who
reports that the administration of LSD to a navy captain
in 1966 enabled him to work out the solution to a problem
in pattern recognition. On the other hand, two more ex-
tensive studies cloud the issue. McGlothlin, Cohen, and
McGlothlin (1967) conducted first a pilot study, then a
larger study in which the effects of LSD on creativity were
assessed through pre- and posttest scores on psychometric
"creativity" tests. Posttest scores taken in the pilot
study one week following the administration of 200
micrograms of LSD showed no significant changes. In the
larger study, three 200 microgram doses of LSD were ad-
ministered to subjects on three separate occasions after
the pretest battery of psychological measures had been

given. Results of the posttest battery, given six months

14

after the third dose of LSD, showed no evidence to support
enhanced creativity despite the feelings of 25 percent

of the subjects that LSD had effectively done so. This
finding was corroborated in a study by Zegans, Pollard,
and Brown (1967) in which posttest measures of creativity
were obtained from subjects to whOm 0.5 micrograms of LSD
per kilogram of body weight were administered two hours
prior to testing. While these subjects performed signifi-
cantly better than control subjects on originality of
word associations, the remainder of the results were not
statistically significant. The authors thus concluded that
the administration of LSD to unseleCted individuals is
unlikely to increase their creativity.

Two drugs left to be considered are psilocybin and
mescaline. The effects of the former as they relate to
creativity may be summarized succinctly by noting that
once again there is anecdotal support attributing enhanced
creativity to psilocybin but no research evidence con-
firming the same. The effects of mescaline, however, have
been studied in a fascinating piece of research employing
an outcome measure rarely used in the various attempts to
enhance creativity. Its potential significance warrants
a more detailed description.

Harman et al. (1969) began their study on the rela-
tionship between mescaline and creativity by using the
knowledge that drug effects on creativity, or any other

psychological function, are influenced by the subject's

15

immediate psychological state, his belief in the effective-
ness of the drug, his trust in the experimenter, and his
comfort in the experimental setting. To others studying
drug effects, these factors have often proved confounding or
have been used to qualify their results. Harman et al., on
the other hand, attempted to use this information advanta-
geously by building up their subjects' expectations about
a positive effect prior to administering the mescaline.
Harman's subjects for the study were twenty-seven pro-
fessional men, most of whom had no prior psychedelic drug
experience. Among the fields represented were physics,
architecture, and commercial art. The subjects, who worked
in academic institutions and industry, were selected because
the experimenters felt that they satisfied the criteria
of possessing jobs which required creative problem-solving
ability, of being psychologically normal as determined by
psychiatric examination, and of being motivated "to discover,
verify, and apply problem-solutions within his industrial
or academic work capacity" (Harman et al., 1969, p. 449).
Each subject selected one or more problems in his field
which required a creative solution. Some of these problems
had been worked on unsuccessfully for weeks or months. They
then had the above mentioned psychiatric examination which
also served the dual purpose of acquainting subjects with
the psychiatrist who was to supervise the experimental
session. Additional interviews with the staff and meetings

between subjects were held for the purpose of allaying

16

subjects' anxieties and to aid in the establishment of
trust and rapport. The structure of the experiment was
also discussed so that the subjects fully understood what
was to take place and were prepared for any problems which
might come up.

The experimental session began with the administration
of 200 milligrams of mescaline to each subject. This was
followed by three hours of relaxation during which the
subjects were requested not to do any analytic thinking
while they listened to music through stereo headphones.

Three hours later they were then encouraged to talk with one
another while they took a break for snacks. This was fol-
lowed by an hour of psychological testing in which alter-

nate forms of the tests administered prior to drug ingestion
were given. Following the testing session, three to four
hours were allotted for each subject to work on his problem(s)
alone. Finally, the subjects were brought together once again
for a meeting during which their experiences were shared and,
in some cases, their problems worked on in groups.

The assessment of the effects of the above procedure
was carried out on three fronts. Change scores on the
psychological tests were analyzed, subjective reports of
the experience (which were submitted a few days after the
experimental session) were studied, and the theories or
solutions to the problems which the subjects generated
within three to six weeks following the experimental session

were evaluated.

17

The most impressive aspect of the results concerns
the work carried out on the problems brought in by the
subjects. Of the forty—four problems worked on, new
avenues for further investigation were Opened for twenty;
the go-ahead for a developmental model to be tested was
given for one; working models of solutions were completed
for two; solutions were accepted for construction or pro-
duction for six; and partial solutions that were under-
going further develOpment or were being applied in practice
were generated for ten. No solutions were found for four
problems and one problem was simply not worked on after
the experimental session. Among the various solutions were
an architectural design for a building, a design for a
linear electron accelerator beamesteering device, a mathe-
matical theorem.for circuitry, and a design for a letterhead.
MOst interesting in light of the results was the finding
that while the fluency of ideas as measured by the Purdue
Creativity Test significantly increased following the in-
gestion of mescaline, the flexibility or range of solutions
to the test items did not.

Performance on the Miller Object Visualization Test
was found to be significantly increased as was performance
on the Witkin Embedded Figures Test. The latter of these
two findings was significant in suggesting to Harman et a1.
a possible shift from an external dependence on the environ-
ment for the stimuli necessary to respond (field dependence)

to an internal locus for the stimuli necessary to respond

18

(field independence). This is evidenced in part by two
additional findings. The first of these was that the effects
of visual distractions, which were debilitating to subjects
in the pretest administration of the Witkin, were lowered
in the posttest administration. The second finding was
that subjects' posttest visual memory was improved over
their pretest visual memory.

Lastly, analysis of the subjective reports of the
experience by Harman et al. found evidence of lessened in-
hibition and anxiety, increased visual imagery and fantasy
improved concentration, increased empathy with Objects and
people, a greater desire to achieve elegant solutions, and
evidence of unconscious material becoming more accessible.
Justifiably, this study may be criticized on the grounds
that it lacks proper experimental controls. Ideally, one
would like to be able to weigh the contributions of each
of the several procedures carried out within the larger
experimental method. However, one cannot ignore the impli-
cation that within this research there may 1ie immensely
promising possibilities for the enhancement of creativity.

Hypnosis, like drugs, has also been used in attempts
to enhance creativity. Prior to 1971 these attempts were
minimally successful at best. P. Bowers (1967) hypothe-
sized that the reduction of defenses which allegedly occurs
under hypnosis would result in a greater openness to 1
experience which, in turn, would lead to enhanced creative

functioning. Using scores from Guilford's Alternate Uses,

19

Consequences, Plot Titles and Simile Insertions tests as
measures of creativity, Bowers reported slight evidence for
an enhancement effect. This finding, however, did not
survive replication by K. Bowers (1968) nor by K. Bowers
and van der Meulen (1970).

Strongly influenced by psychoanalytic ego psychology,
K. Bowers was aware that creativity had been explained by
Kris (1953) in terms of adaptive regression or, in other
words, regression in the service of the ego. He also
noticed that hypnosis had been explained by Gill and
Brenman (1959) in terms bearing a striking resemblance to
the construct of adaptive regression. With the apparent
relationship between creativity and hypnosis in mind,
Bowers reasoned that hypnosis could be used to enhance
creativity. In the face of apparent theoretical soundness,
several factors seem to account for the lack of success
met by P. Bowers (1967), K. Bowers (1968) and K. Bowers
and van der Meulen (1970). Casting aside for the moment
the issue surrounding the questionable validity of
"creativity" tests, a closer look at the individual proce-
dures involved in each of these studies may shed some light.

Three main points for consideration emerge. In the
first place, subjects in all three studies were fully
aware that their creativity was being tested. This may be
viewed as a challenge to their self-esteem which, in turn,
may have provoked enough anxiety to counteract whatever

potential enhancing effect hypnosis may have had. In the

20

second place, the three investigations also included
defense reducing suggestions which were designed to reduce
conformity in thought by essentially instilling the fear
that conformity would be criticized. Reyher (1968), however,
has found in his clinical experience that suggestions di-
rected against defenses and security operations are inef-
fective, due to the powerful response producing properties
of the anxiety supporting these self-protective functions.
Most importantly, though, the failure to demonstrate
enhanced creativity in these studies may be linked to the
unanticipated trance-inducing properties of certain proce-
dures used to prepare the subjects simulating hypnosis and
the subjects in the waking control group. Each Of these
subjects was highly susceptible to hypnosis. In K. Bowers
(1968), the subjects simulating hypnosis were simply
requested to resist becoming hypnotized upon a posthypnotic
cue. Subjects simulating hypnosis in K. Bowers and van der
Meulen (1970) were asked to resist a taped hypnotic induc-
tion procedure. However, Burns (1972) and Sommerschield
(1969) have both reported that highly susceptible subjects
are likely to become hypnotized if instructions to resist
are given in a waking state. In all probability, then,
subjects "simulating” hypnosis were inadvertently hypnotized.
With regards to the waking control subjects, those in each
of the three hypnosis/creativity studies were given relaxa-
tion instructions and listened to music. Relaxation proce-

dures, as demonstrated by Reyher and Wilson (1973), are

21

themselves trance-inducing. Given the high hypnotic
susceptibility of each Of the subjects in the three studies,
it seems likely that those in the "waking" control group
also became hypnotized.

While unsuccessful in their attempt to demonstrate
enhanced creativity, K. Bowers and van der Meulen (1970)

did report a relationship between creativity and hypnotic
susceptibility for females, as did K. Bowers (1970).
Additionally, K. Bowers (1971) reported a high correlation
between a questionnaire of trancelike (regressive) exper-
iences and high hypnotic susceptibility for females. These
findings, however, in conjunction with the failure to
demonstrate enhanced creativity per se suggest that the
construct of adaptive regression may not be adequate for
the purposes of integrating hypnosis and creativity.
Indeed, P. and K. Bowers (1972) have both rejected Gill

and Brenman's concept of hypnosis as an adaptive regression
choosing at this time to simply acknowledge hypnosis as

a "kind of regression."

Conceptualizing creativity along classical Freudian
lines, Gur and Reyher (in press) reported enhanced creativity
for a group of subjects under hypnosis when compared with
two control groups, one simulating hypnosis, the other
waking. Once again, each subject in this study was highly
susceptible to hypnosis. Using the Torrance Test of Creativ-
ity as the treatment outcome measure, Gur and Reyher computed

a one-way analysis of variance which.denonstrated a

22

significant effect (p_< .01) Of the treatments on the General
Creativity score of the test. This score was based on
standard scores derived from the verbal and Figural portions
of the test. For each of these portions considered separate-
ly, the treatment effect was also reported to be significant
(p < .01). Furthermore, post-hoc comparisons among means
showed that the hypnotized subjects performed significantly
better than either those subjects simulating hypnosis or
those subjects in the waking control group. (These statis-
tics portray a virtually unqualified success, yet they do
not reveal possible procedural discrepancies which may
render a portion of the results to the status Of experi-
mental artifacts. Once again, a closer inspection is
warranted.

Gur and Reyher employed four procedures which were
designed to enable subjects to benefit from primary process
thinking. The first of these was to hypnotize Subjects for
the purpose of facilitating a regression. Second, the tasks
given to subjects were not identified as measures of
creativity in order to reduce anxiety which, in turn,
promotes secondary process thinking. Third, free imagery
was used as a mode of representation for the elements of
a problem.because of the ease with which visual imagery
is structured or shaped by primary process (Burns, 1972;
Rehyer, 1973, 1969; Reyher and Smeltzer, 1966; Reyher and
Morishige, 1969). Finally, the instructions for each task

were phrased in the passive voice so as to minimize a

23

problem solving, task oriented (secondary process)
approach (Reyher, 1962).

The possible procedural discrepancies alluded to
refer primarily to the third and fourth procedures mentioned
above as they relate to scores on the verbal portion of the
Torrance Test of Creativity. The verbal_portion used by
Gur (1971) consists of seven subtests from which scores on
verbal fluency, verbal flexibility, and originality were
derived. Within these seven subtests, it does not appear
that the use of free imagery was either systematic or
consistent. For example, in ”Ask and Guess," free imagery
precedes the phase during which responses to the stimulus
(in this case a picture) are elicited. In "Unusual Uses,"
imagery is elicited i§_addition to ideas in the response
phase of the task. Finally, in "Just Suppose," imagery is
directly tied to the elicitation of responses to be scored
(". . . images will come to your mind that will show all
kinds of exciting things that would happen as a result of
this situation").

The phrasing of the instructions to "Just Suppose"
which are mentioned above, leads into a discussion of the
use of the passive voice. There is no doubt that the
instructions to the response phase of the seven verbal
subtests were indeed phrased in the passive voice. Yet,
within each passively phrased instruction lie key qualifying

words. Portions of these seven subtest instuctions, in

24

which the key words are underlined, comprise the follow-

ing list:

1.

Ask and Guess: "Now you'll find that several
questions will come to your mind. . ."

Guessing Causes: "All kinds of possible causes

 

of the action shown may now come to your mind."

Guessing Consequences: "All kinds of such possible

 

consequences will come to your mind. . ."

Product Improvement: "Now all kinds of interest-

 

ing and unusual ways . . . will come to your mind."

Unusual Uses: ". . . images of all kinds of

 

cardboard boxes will come to your mind's eye, as

well as all kinds of interesting and unusual

 

uses. . .”

Unusual Questions: ". . . all kinds of questions

 

will come to your mind. . ."
Just Suppose: ". . . ideas and images will come

to your mind that will show all kinds of exciting

 

things. . ."

Given the concrete, literal minded state of a highly

susceptible subject under hypnosis, it is not improbable to

attribute Gur's group differences on the verbal portion

of the test to the demand characteristics of each task

which seem to call for a fluency Of responses (”all kinds,"

"several"). Fluency, as defined by Torrance is "the total

number of relevant responses" (Gur, 1971, p. 8). When it

is taken into consideration that scores on verbal flexibility

25

and originality are influenced by the scores on verbal
fluency, and that the F for originality in Gur's study does
not remain significant when verbal fluency is taken into
account in an analysis of covariance, the possibility
emerges that the verbal Creativity scores and, conse-
quently, the General Creativity scores of subjects in the
hypnotic group may be inflated. Virtual confirmation of
this hypothesis comes from Gur's analysis of variance of

the raw scores of the three groups of subjects in figural
fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration. Of

the three figural subtests used by Gur, none of the passivly
phrased instructions to the response phase include any-
thing remotely resembling the key demand words enumerated
above. Not coincidentally, the F for figural fluency and
figural flexibility are not significant. What is most
interesting is that when figural fluency, which influences
figural flexibility, originality, and elaboration is taken
into account in analyses of covariance, the F for flexibili-
ty becomes significant while the F for originality and
elaboration remain significant.

The role of hypnosis in the Figural portion of the
test cannot be understood in isolation, however, because of
an apparently vital link to visual imagery. Unlike the
Verbal portion of the test, visual imagery was an integral
part of each figural subtest, both as the mode of represen-
tation for the elements of each task and as the mode of

response for each task. The need to further explore the

26

lrelationships between creativity, visual imagery, hypnosis,
and primary process leads directly into the present
research.

The need to explore is taken quite literally here,
for this research is exploratory in nature. For centuries,
dreams have been historically accorded a problem-solving
function for which there is only theoretical and anecdotal
support. Notes Freud (1965, p. 97), "Reports of numerous
cases . . . seem to put it beyond dispute that dreams can
carry on the intellectual work of daytime and bring it to
conclusions which had not been reached during the day, and
that they can resolve doubts and problems and be the source
of new inspiration for poets and musical composers." Perhaps
the most widely known manifestation of this statement is
Kekulé's dream of a tail-to-mouth ring of snakes which
revealed to him the manner in which carbon atoms are linked
in the benzene ring (Lewin, 1969). Just as the first snake
took the last snake's tail into its mouth, Kekulé awoke,
knowing he had found the solution to his problem.

While numerous additional anecdotal accounts lend
their testimony to the problem-solving capabilities of
dreams, research evidence has not been forthcoming. The
most relevant study appears to have been conducted by
Snyder (Parloff, 1972) in which the problemrsolving
characteristics of dreams were studied as part of the dream
research program at the National Institute of Health.

Subjects were first presented a problem, then monitored

27

during sleep for EEG, respiration, and rapid eye movements
to enable the experimenters to determine the occurrence of
dreams. Once a dreamwwas completed, each subject was
awakened and asked where he stood on the problem. After
several months of study it was concluded that while there
was substantial evidence that the subjects were dreaming,
there was little evidence that they were dreaming about
the problem.

Stein (1974, p. 109) in discussing Snyder's research
speculates that, "creative solutions in dreams may well be
a function of the amount of time and effort an individual
has devoted to trying to solve his problem, his motivation
to do so, and the fact that the individual has selected
his own problem and tried to solve it in his own way. It
is quite evident that none of these Obtained in the study
cited."

Such considerations were, however, taken into account
in the present research along with one important procedural
addition. That is, the elements of problems being worked
on were used to stimulate the manifest content of hypnot-
ically induced dreams in order to ensure that subjects
were indeed dreaming about their problems.

Subjects participating in this study were persons
who had reached an impasse in the course of pursuing
academic, professional, avocational, and/or personal
problems or projects. Problem solving, our dependent

variable, is but one relatively gross measure of creativity

28

which VOn Fange (Williams, 1960) puts into perspective when
he states, “Since a problem involves a perplexity, something
new to our experience, it is therefore creative in nature.
Thus, a problem may also be defined as a situation demand-
ing creativeness on the part of the individual seeking a
solution."

Our theoretical conceptualization Of creativity is
a direct reflection of that advanced by Gur and Reyher
(in press). Conceived along classical Freudian lines, we
conceptualize creativity as being a function of repressed
drives becoming cathected to the elements of a problem to
be solved. For this reason, these elements become deriva-
tives under the sway of primary process because one or more
of them has functioned as a day residue (is cathected by a
repressed drive). Since the derivatives are remote, the
expression of repressed drives is disguised and thus fully
capable Of becoming conscious, sometimes through nocturnal
dreams or reverie states. Through the mechanisms of con-
densation, displacement, and symbolism the elements are
synthesized in novel, if not unique, ways. This new material
may be recognized as valuable by the as yet passively monito-
ring ego, then creativly utilized by a reactivated ego.
Should the creative product be too blatent an expression
of repressed drives, it will be rejected or treated with
indifference. Once the elements of a problem have come
under the influence of primary process representation, they

can continually serve as remote derivatives of repressed

29

drives. These derivatives may become conscious when some
conscious activity serves as a stimulus for a new integra-
tion of the elements of a problem by primary process thinking.
A study by Wiseman and Reyher (1973) offers compelling
empirical support for this conceptualization.

In this study, the subjects of an experimental group
were given the Rorschach inkblots as stimuli for hypnotically
induced dreams. One week later the same subjects were given
a standard administration of the Rorschach test. These
protocols were then compared with those of two control
groups, one simulating hypnosis and one waking. The follow-
ing pattern, which survived replication, emerged. Protocols
from the hypnotic group showed an increase in degree of
drive representation, deviations from logical orderly
thinking, and most importantly, an increase in human movement
which is considered to be the best indicator of creative
imagination. Studies by Dudek (1968a, 1968b) support the
relationships between creativity and human movement.
Apparently, the inkblots, having become sources for the
manifest content of dreams, reactivated primary process
thinking during the posthypnotic administration of the
Rorschach, influencing the interpretation of the inkblot
by subjects in the hypnotic group.

Stimulated by the empirical findings of Gur and Reyher
(in press) and Wiseman and Reyher (1973), and conceptualized
within the theoretical framework of these studies, the

hypothesis to be tested in this research is that through

30

the use of dreams, one's level of creative functioning may

be enhanced, resulting in successful problem solving.

METHOD

Subjects

Twenty-four male and female subjects drawn from the
Michigan State University community-at-large participated
in the study. Most participants were either undergraduate
or graduate students attending the university although
university staff members as well as persons not affiliated
with the university were also included. Each subject was
at an impasse in the course of working on an academic,
vocational, avocational, or personal problem or project
at the time of his or her participation in the study.

Subjects were solicited on three fronts in an effort
to reach as diverse a population as possible within the
limited monetary confines and time restrictions given this
study. First, a four-column-inch display advertisement
was placed in the Michigan State University student newspaper,
the State News. A sample of the advertisement is contained
in Appendix B. Second, a column was placed in the ”It's
What's Happening" section of the State News, a student ser-
vice describing various activities in and around campus.
Due to State News regulations, the wording of the original
display advertisement had to be altered. A sample of this

column is contained in Appendix C. Finally, letters

31

32

describing the study were sent to residents of the univer-
sity's graduate student dormitory. A sauple of the letter
is contained in Appendix D.

Depending on which solicitation was responded to,
initial contact between the subjects and the author (E1) was
made over the telephone in one of two ways. That is, subjects
responding to either the display advertisement or the letter
telephoned El while those responding to the "It's What's
Happening" column were telephoned by El. In each case,
information was gathered fromIthe subjects according to the
following interview schedule: I

Name Address Phone #

 

 

 

Sex Age Occupation Briefly describe

 

 

your project/problem

 

 

Describe the point at which you are "stuck" as clearly as

possible

 

 

 

Approximately when did you begin work on this project/

problem?

 

By what date must this project/problem be completed?
At the close of the interview, each subject was
informed that he or she would be re-contacted as soon as

possible to confirm an appointment time and date.

33

Procedure

 

Subjects were randomly assigned to one of the three

following groups by a co-experimenter (E3):

Group 1. Hypnotic dream treatment;

Group 2. Rational/cognitive treatment;

Group 3. Personality interview control.

The eight subjects in group one were re-contacted, then
seen for one treatment session by E1. The eight subjects
in group two were re-contacted, then seen for one treatment
session by a male co-experimenter (E2) who was blind to

the actual experimental design. Subjects in group three
were randomly divided into two sub-groups of four persons
each. Subjects in one of the sub-groups were re-contacted,
then seen by El, while subjects in the other sub-group were
re-contacted, then seen by E2.

Prior to the actual treatment session, none of the
subjects were informed as to any of the particular procedures
used with each group. Before proceeding with the treat-
ments proper, however, subjects were asked to sign the
Human Subject Consent Form which includes the provision
that the consent to participate may be withdrawn at any time
without penalty. Additionally, subjects in groups one and
three were requested to sign a waiver permitting audio
taping during the treatment session. Again, the waiver in-
cludes the provision that the consent to tape may be with-
drawn at any time. Samples of these two consent forms are

contained in Appendices E and F respectively.

34

Once all forms were signed, the treatments proceeded

as follows:

Group 1.

El stated tolg the following:

"This study involves the use of hypnosis. We know
that both hypnosis and most of the creative functions are
mediated by the right hemisphere of the brain (Dimond and
Beaumont, 1974). In addition, music is mediated by the
right hemisphere. We will use music and relaxation to help
get you into hypnosis, or, in other words, into your right
hemisphere. Then, while your suggestibility is enhanced,
you will have a series of dreams or dream-like experiences
which we hOpe will help you come to some new and satisfactory
solution to your project/problem. Perhaps you are aware
that several scientists and mathematicians have made their
discoveries in a dream or while they were in a dreamrlike
state. A well-known example of this is the discovery of
the manner in which carbon atoms are linked in the benzene
ring which occurred when Kekulé dreamed of a tail-to-mouth
ring of snakes. Just as the first snake took the last
snake's tail in its mouth, Kekulé awoke, knowing his
problem.was solved. Any questions?"

If at this time S had questions, as much time as was
necessary was allotted for this purpose. Following this
period, §_was asked by E1 to recline in the overstuffed
chair in which he or she was already sitting, to close his’

or her eyes, to relax, and to listen to the music and El's

35

voice. The music used to mediate the hypnotic induction
was Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" which was selected
because its clear and interesting transitions, highly
repetitive melody and driving rhythms make it well suited
for directing S's attention.

Fifteen minutes into the hypnotic induction the
music was gradually phased out. At this point, §_was
operationally defined to be under hypnosis. El then stated
to g the following:

"As the music softens, some image or images will come
into your mind's eye. When you see this image or these
images, please raise your right hand about six inches."

Once the hand was raised, g was asked to describe
what he or she saw. If a single image (as opposed to a
series of images) was reported, El stated to S:

"Now several other images will come into your mind's
eye. Please describe them to me as you see them."

Once three images had been reported, §_was instructed
to stop and to lower his or her hand. El then stated to
§_the following:

"Now some dream or dreamrlike images will come into
your mind's eye. When you see this dream or these dreams
like images, please raise your right hand six inches.”

When the hand was raised, §_was asked to describe
what he or she saw. If S failed either to sustain three
images or to visualize a dream/dreamrlike images, he or she

was given a post-hypnotic suggestion for nocturnal dreams,

36

then formally awakened. The post-hypnotic suggestion was
administered by El who stated the following:

"Every night, including tonight, for the next seven
nights, the elements of your project/problem will become
very lively and represent themselves in your dreams in one
way or another. You will be able to remember everything
about these dreams once they are over. If you understand
what I have just said, please nod your head (if g failed to
nod, the instructions were repeated). I will now count
backward from five to one. When I reach the count of one,
you.will be fully awake."

Once awakened, g was informed that El would telephone
precisely one week from the date of the session for a brief
follow-up interview.

If, however, § completed the two imagery tasks, El then
stated the following instructions:

"Now I would like you to picture in your mind's

eye all the elements of (project/problem was

 

referred to by name: for example, 'your M.A. thesis' or
'the magazine article'). When you see all of these in your
mind's eye, raise your right hand about six inches to let
me know.”

Once the hand was raised, §_was asked to describe
what he or she saw. These descriptions were recorded on
tape. El then stated, "Now drop your hand (or 'nod your
head' if S had already drOpped the hand) when these things

disappear from your mind's eye."

37

Following S's indication, El stated the following
instructions:

"Even though you cannot see these elements any longer,
they are still very alive in the back of your mind, out of
sight. In fact, they have a life of their own where you
can't see them and when I count to three they will cause a,
dream or dream-like experience to come into your mind's
eye. Please raise your right hand when this dream or dreamr
like experience ends. If you understand what I have just
said, please nod your head (if g failed to nod, the instruc-
tions were repeated verbatim). Ok, I will now begin to count.
One . . . two . . . three."

If §_did not raise his or her hand within two minutes,
El stated, "I am going to count and by the count of ten your
dreammwill come to some cOnclusion. One . . . two . . .
three . . . four . . . five . . . six . . . seven . . . eight
. . . nine . . . ten."

§_was then asked to describe his or her dream. Once
again, these reports were recorded on tape. Following the
dream report, one minute was taken to rest. El then stated,

"Now the elements of will once again come into

 

your mind's eye. When you see all of these in your mind's
eye . . ." The instructions were repeated twice, giving g

a total of three dreams or dreamrlike experiences. Once the
final dream report was recorded, §_was given the identical
post-hypnotic suggestion described previously and then

formally awakened. Once awakened, S was informed that El

38

would telephone precisely one week from the date of the

session for a brief follow-up interview.

Group 2.

After the Human Subject Consent Form had been signed,
E2 stated to g the following:

"We feel that the many theories presently linking
creativity to abstract or free-form thinking do not stand up
when actually tested. Rather, it is our belief that one's
ability to be creative is often stifled to varying degrees
by more or less irrational elements which creep into our
everyday thoughts. No matter how much we are concentrating
on a task, trying to be completely logical in our approach,
various distracting thoughts can subtly interfere with our
work. Unfortunately, consultation on a problem is almost
always done with persons who unwittingly interfere with the
purely rational thinking process due to the emotional impact
they have on us. Thus, we consult with superiors we are
trying to impress, with co-workers with whom we are
competing, with spouses we love or hate, etc. In addition,
this consultation often occurs in distracting settings
such as bars, homes, or noisy offices.

"Here in the lab we have a setting with minimal
distractions. My job will be to act as a relatively neutral
person who will try to focus your thinking in a logical,

orderly way. I would like you to tell me everything about

 

your project/problem from its beginning to the present.

I will ask questions about your approach as we proceed and

39

I will point out occasions on which distracting elements
appear to be interfering. You will be asked to justify or
explain the rationale behind decisions you made regarding
your project/problem. Your job is to reconsider all the
elements of your project/problem as you verbalize them to
me. Assume that I am completely naive about your area of
study/occupation. That is, begin describing your project/
problem at its most basic levels. Our time limit is one
hour although it may not be necessary to use the full sixty
minutes."

E2 was thoroughly trained in a number of mock interviews
to follow two basic rules regarding the treatment. The first
rule was to never allow the tOpic of conversation to stray
from the project or problem at hand. The second, and most
important rule was to never suggest possible solutions or
problemesolving approaches, either directly or indirectly
through subtle questioning or intimation. Once the interview
was completed, §_was informed that E2 would telephone precise-
ly one week from the date of the session for a brief follow—

up interview.

Group 3.

After both forms were signed, El/E2 stated to S the
following:

"We are using several methods in our attempts to en-
hance creativity. However, before actually employing any
of these methods, we would like to get to know you better.

That is the purpose of this session. I would like you to

40

tell me about yourself--your family background, what brought
you to MSU, your likes and dislikes, etc. We will tape this
session and during the next week the tape will be analyzed
to determine which. if any, of the methods will be used. I
say 'if any' because it is not unusual for some people to
complete their projects or to solve their problems during
the week following this session. Once the tape has been
analyzed, it will be destroyed."

El/EZ then conducted an interview covering any "back-
ground" material permitted by S, making sure to exclude any
discussion relating to the project or problem brought
in for consideration. The interview was not to exceed sixty
minutes. Upon its conclusion, g was informed that E1/E2
would telephone precisely one week from the date of the
session for a brief follow-up.interview.

Those subjects in group three who were still at an
impasse at the time of the follow-up interview were resche-
duled for appointments as soon as possible. The sub-group
seen by E1 was administered the identical treatment given §$
in group one while the sub-group seen by E2 was administered

the identical treatment given SS in group two.

Follow-up:

SS in each of the three groups were telephoned one week
following any given treatment session. At that time, an in-
quiry according to the following interview schedule was

conducted:

41

What is the current status of your project/problem?

 

 

(If S was still at an impasse, he or she was thanked for
participating and the interview was terminated. If S reported
a change in status, the interview proceeded).

What solution did you implement to overcome the impasse?

 

How did you arrive at this solution?

 

 

Are you satisfied with your solution as it now stands?

 

Have you had any outside assessment of your solution (grade,

critique, etc.)? If so, please elaborate

 

Scoring:

The treatment was scored "successful” if at the time
of the follow-up interview, S met three criteria. First, a
change in the status of the project or problem must have
been reported. Second, S must have been able to describe
the solution implemented to overcome the impasse. Third,
S_must have been satisfied with the solution as it stood.
Failure to meet any one of the three criteria rendered the

scoring of the treatment to “nOt successful."

RESULTS

Of the twenty-four Ss who participated in the study,
the treatnent was scored successful for six of the eight
in the dream group, for one of the eight in the rational
group, and for none of the eight in the control group. A
Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance by ranks (Siegel,
1956) was computed, yielding the following results:
Table l. Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance by

ranks of scores of three groups of subjects under
different experimental conditions

 

 

 

 

Group Data
Group E ZIRj2 df = 2

H = 7.44

Hypnotic Dream 8 20736 Total Correction
for Ties = .68

Rational/Cognitive 8 7056 H Corrected
for Ties = 10.94*

Control 8 5184

*2 < .01

With the finding that the above results were signifi-
cant, a one-way analysis of variance by ranks was computed
for the rational and control groups, yielding the following

results:

42

43

Table 2. Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance
by ranks of scores of two groups of subjects
under different experimental conditions.

 

 

 

Group Data
Group E ZRj2 df==l
=-4.6
Rational/Cognitive 8 5184 Total Correction
for Ties = .18
Control 8 4096 H Corrected

for Ties = -25. 55

 

Thus, it was determined that only the differences
between the dream group and the rational and control groups
contributed significantly to the over-all H, as the differ-
ence between the rational and control groups did not reach
statistical significance.

Since none of the eight Ss in the control group were
scored successful, each of them participated in an addi-'
tional treatment session. Of the four Ss in the control
group who were first seen by El for the control treatment
(denoted Group 3-E1), three were scored successful upon
subsequently undergoing the dream group treatment. In
order to assess the effect of control group participation
on the outcome of the hypnotic dream treatment, a one-way
analysis of variance by ranks for the dream group and the
E1 control group was computed, yielding the following

results:

44

Table 3. Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance
by ranks of scores of two groups of subjects
under different experimental conditions.

 

 

 

Group Data
Group r_1 ZRj 2 df = 1
H = 0.00
Hypnotic Dream 8 2704 Total Correction
for Ties = .57
E1 Control 4 676 H Corrected

for Ties = 0 . 00

 

These results indicate that prior exposure to the
control treatment did not affect the outcome of subsequent
participation in the hypnotic dream treatment, as there
was no significant difference between the two groups.

Of the four Ss in the control group who were first
seen by E2 for the control treatment (denoted Group 3-E2),
none were scored successful upon subsequently undergoing
the rational group treatment. In order to assess the effect
of control group participation on the outcome of the
rational/cognitive treatment, a one-way analysis of variance
by ranks for the rational group and the E2 control group

was computed, yielding the following results:

45

Table 4. Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance
by ranks of scores of two groups of subjects
under different experimental conditions.

 

 

 

Group Data
Group E XRj 2 df = 1
H==.12
Rational/Cognitive 8 2916 Total Correction
for Ties = .23
E2 Control 4 576 H Corrected

for Ties = . 52

 

These results indicate that prior exposure to the
control treatment did not affect the outcome of subse-
quent participation in the rational/cognitive treatment,
as there was no significant difference between the two
groups.

Given the results computed in Tables 3 and 4, the
scores of Ss in the El control group were combined with the
scores of Ss in the dream group while the scores of S8 in
the E2 control group were combined with the scores of Ss
in the rational group. Thus, of the twelve Ss now included
in the dream group, the treatment was scored successful
for nine. Of the twelve §s now included in the rational
group, the treatment was scored successful for one. A
final one-way analysis of variance by ranks was computed
for the two expanded groups, yielding the following

results:

46

Table 5. Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance by
ranks of scores of two groups of subjects
under different experimental conditions.

 

 

 

 

Group Data
Group E 21232 df = 1
- H = 7.68
Hypnotic Dream 12 39204 Total Correction
' for Ties = .73

Rational/Cognitive 12 10404 H Corrected

for Ties = 10.52*

*p < .01

These results (which narrowly missed reaching
significance at the .001 level), in addition to the pre-
ceding computations, are measures which must be considered
in conjunction with non-scorable data in order to gain a
greater perspective on this study.

Of the twenty-four Ss, fifteen were females, nine
were males. The breakdown by groups was as follows:
Group 1. Four females, four males;

Group 2. Five females, three males;

Group 3-E1. Three females, one male;

Group 3-E2. Three females, one male.

Several other Ss who were to participate in the study
cancelled their appointments. Some of them called,
indicating that they had suddenly solved their problems
or completed their projects. Others called to withdraw
because of a lack of time, even though at this point they

were aware that their participation would consume little

47

more than one hour. In addition, one S appeared for his
appointment momentarily before suddenly leaving without
explanation.

The twenty-four Ss who did participate, however,
brought in a variety of problems and projects which covered
a number of academic, vocational, avocational, and personal
concerns. Among the areas represented.were the expression
of art through poetry, the expression of art through music,
the expression of art through painting, a problem in the
measurement of a physiological function, the develOpment
and organization of theses and dissertations, problems in
the organization and expression of prose for magazine and
newspaper articles, interpersonal problems involved in
marriage, and intrapsychic conflicts.

Among the nine solutions generated bnys administered
the hypnotic dream treatment, there was considerable indi-
vidual variation as to which aspects Of the treatment were
reported to have been reSponsible for success scores. Six
of the nine Ss attributed the resolutions of their problems
directly to the dream.material produced during the treat—
ment session. Two Ss reported that the combination of
dream material produced during the treatment session and
material arising from subsequent nocturnal dreams was
responsible. These two Ss, incidentally, were the only
ones who reported experiencing nocturnal dreams which they
were able to remember during the week following the treat-

ment session. Finally, one S reported that the change in the

48

visual representation of the elements of her problem which
occurred during the treatment session led her to a success-
ful resolution.

Of the three Ss administered the hypnotic dream treat-
ment who were not scored successful, two requested tran-
scripts of the recordings made during the treatment session.
Both expressed the feeling that they would like to be able
to utilize this information which they found difficult to
retain. One of these Ss was very close to a resolution at
the time Of the follow-up interview, having developed two
alternatives over which he had not yet made a decision.

The other S has been recently delivered his transcript
with the agreement that he will report any change in the
status of his project. This transcript, as well as the
tape transcripts of all other Ss administered the hypnotic
dream treatment are contained in Appendix A.

The third S receiving the hypnotic dream treatment
who was not scored successful, reported that the material
produced during the treatment session was enabling her to
overcome an impasse reached in the course of writing poetry
until she began experiencing nightmares of unspecified
content mid-way through the week following the session.
This, she reported, reinstated the impasse, the net result
being no change in the status of her problem.

Finally, with regards to Ss administered the hypnotic
dream treatment, it was noted that ten of the twelve

spontaneously expressed enthusiasm over having undergone

49

the experience prior to leaving the treatment session.
Three of these Ss seemed reluctant to leave, wishing in-
stead to discuss their experiences with El. One of the ten
"enthusiastic" Ss reported at the time of the follow-up
interview that he had purchased "Tubular Bells” and had
proceeded to hypnotize himself every night following the
date of the treatment session in order to enable himself
to vividly recapture the imagery he had produced.

Enthusiasm was not restricted to the hypnotic dream
treatment, however. E2 noted that eleven of the twelve
Ss administered the rational/cognitive treatment expressed
some form of unsolicited enthusiasm regarding the experience
prior to leaving the treatment session.

Also of interest was the finding that of the eleven
Ss administered the rational/cognitive treatment who were
not scored successful, five reported at the time of the
follow-up interview that they had generated solutions.
These could not be scored successful, however, because they
were identified either as temporary measures which S
acknowledged as needing to be altered or replaced altogether
in time or, in one case, as something which seemed insight-
ful at the time of the treatment session but which turned
out to be not wholly Satisfactory in practice.

In concluding, it should be noted with regards to
all Ss who participated in this study that the amount of
time spent working on the individual problems or projects

prior to the initial contact with El ranged from one week

50

to several years. As yet, no discernible pattern linking
this factOr to the outcome of either treatment has been
identified. Additionally, it should be noted that in no
case was the imposition of an impending deadline by

some outside source a factor which might account for the

resolution of a project or problem.

DISCUSS ION

In our analysis of the results, two main points for
consideration emerge. One of these, central to our
theoretical formulation, involves a discussion of the
factors which made the hypnotic dream treatment more
effective than the rational/cognitive treatment. The
effort to provide a thorough examination raises a more
immediate issue. Was the outcome measure, and the proce-
dure used to gather the data, a valid assessment of the
effectiveness of the two treatments? Keeping in mind the
exploratory nature of this study, the answer seems to be
yes.

Of the three criteria for scoring success, the second--
the implementation of the solution--helps to Offset reports
of success motivated by a need to please the experimenter.
Subjects could not be scored successful merely by saying
that they were unstuck. Even so, an alternative explana-
tion is that E1 was more enthusiastic or somehow more
effective in develOping a strong positive transference in
his Ss than was E2, despite the fact that E2 was incorpor-
ated into the experimental design to offset this possibility.
The effectiveness of our second criterion notwithstanding,

E2's "ability” to nurture the develOpment of positive

51

52

transference in the rational group Ss is documented by the
unsolicited enthusiasm of eleven of the twelve Ss.

Nonetheless, it should be recognized that potential
demand characteristics may not be fully accounted for due
to the fact that follow-up interviews were conducted by.
co-experimenters invested in the treatment outcome. It is
recommended that future research in this area employ a
double blind procedure for the purposes of data collection.

Still, the multiple criteria for success enabled us to
observe possible differences in the potency of the two
treatments. That is, five temporary resolutions to prob-
lems or projects were generated by the rational group Ss
which, while not scored successful, may be considered indi-
cative of the relative ineffectiveness of the rational/cog-
nitive treatment.

Whether or not the permanent solutions generated were
themselves creative raises the difficult task of defining
and assessing creativity. At this stage in our explorations
we are content to take note of outside evaluations by appro-
priate experts if and when they become available and come
pare the groups in terms of positive outcomes. Lest the
potential significance of outside evaluation be over-
estimated, however, it should be pointed out that many
examples of creativity which we now take for granted were
initially viewed as creative only by their creators. A
good recent example is the system which the United States

has used to land men on the moon. The concept of an

53

orbiting Space capsule from which a lunar module was launched
for a landing on the moon and subsequent rendezvous in space
was ridiculed for years at N.A.S.A. before it was finally
adOpted and put into dramatically effective use.

While an assessment of the worth of permanent solu-
tions generated in this study is not considered crucial,
the need to Operationalize creativity has become increas-
ingly evident over the course of our research. AS a result,
our original theoretical formulations have been found to
be inadequate to the task of conceptualizing creativity.
Consequently, we have expanded our initial theoretical
conceptualization with a more critical eye directed toward
the definition of creativity as follows.

Creativity is a descriptive term which may be opera-
tionally defined as the formulation or development of
either a tangible or intangible product (thoughts, musical
expression, for example) which is both novel in the context
of a given individual's or group's frame of reference and
which satisfies the needs of the individual or group which
demand innovation. That is, the creative product is not
the result of simple memory retrieval. Nor is it the result
of applying a learned set of operations, principles, or
behaviors to a task or Situation, as in the case of multi-
plying multi-digit numbers once the multiplication tables
have been learned.

Individual or group needs which are met through

innovation range from the highly idiosyncratic at the one

54

extreme to universal at the other extreme. This presupposes
the fact that previously encoded information and experience
on the individual or group level is insufficient to the
task Of meeting those needs, insofar as creativity involves
the synthesis of said information and experience into new
integrations. The need may be relatively simple and reac-
tive as is the need of a beleaguered mother to invent new
forms of amusement for her nagging children on a rainy day
when all of the "old tricks" have failed. On the other hand,
the need may be relatively complex and goal oriented as is
the need for achievement in a chemist striving to create
another man-made element.

Once individual and group needs have been taken into
consideration it becomes unnecessary to seek out exceptional
persons for the study of creativity. We do not conceptual-
ize creativity in terms of productivity which receives out-
side acclaim. Rather, we choose to view it primarily in
terms of the transformational qualities of two major mental
functions which seem to mediate creative phenomena in
virtually every individual. That is, the synthesizing
process involved in creativity may be conceptualized as
the confluence of verbal cognition and visual imagery. While
both have a transformational function, Paivio (1971, in
Singer, 1974, p. 177) notes,

Visual imagery, when readily generated may
be more effective than verbal mediation because
the information in the image is spatially

organized permitting a rapid read-out of the
relevant components, whereas the information in

55

verbal storage is sequentially organized as a

string of 'mental words' that may take up more

Space in memory, or require longer search time

with less efficient retrieval of the relevant

response during recall, or both. In addition,

a symbolic motor component may contribute to the

transformational efficiency Of mediating imagery.

Where both systems are relevant to the task,

however, they presumably interact continually in

their mediational functioning, and imagery
mnemonics may be eSpecially effective because

they enhance the probability that both sym-

bolic systems will be brought into play in the

. . . task.

It is the complexity Of the task which seems to dic-
tate the generation of visual imagery. Once again,
complexity must be considered in the context of each
individual's given frame of reference. In acts of what
might be called simple creativity, verbal mediation pre-
dominates as it is sufficient to the task at hand. The
synthesis required in simple creativity involves a
transformation which might be considered only a minor
departure from previously encoded information and exper-
ience. The presence of visual imagery here is likely to
be subliminal.

Once verbal mediation no longer serves an Optimal
or sufficient transformational function in creativity, the
role of visual imagery may increase such that it may even
predominate, as in the case of an adaptive regression.
Kekulé's dream, cited in the introduction, exemplifies this
phenomenon.

With this in mind, it is intriguing to recall the

details of the three Studies cited in the introduction

56

which demonstrated some degree of enhanced creativity. It
will be remembered that Krippner (1969) reported that LSD,
an hallucinogenic drug, enabled a navy captain to solve

a problem in pattern recognition. Harman et al. (1969) found
that mescaline, another hallucinogen, facilitated creative
problem solving. Additionally, subjective reports of the
mescaline experience documented evidence of increased
visual imagery and fantasy. Gur and Reyher (in press)
demonstrated enhanced creativity on the Figural portion

of the Torrance Test of Creativity when visual imagery was
used both as the mode of representation for the elements
of tasks and as the mode of response for those same tasks.

In the present study, each S was at an impasse in
problem solving after having failed to mediate success-
fully his problem in his own way. In the context of each
S's frame of reference, their respective tasks may be con-
sidered complex insofar as creative solutions were not
readily available. SS in the rational/cognitive group
were instructed to mediate their problems verbally. Any
departures from these instructions were discouraged by E2.
AS a result, eleven of the twelve SS were unable to
overcome their impasse.

On the other hand, SS in the hypnotic dream group
were instructed to mediate their problems visually. This
was accomplished in two phases. SS were first instructed
to represent the elements of their problems visually in

their mind's eye. An inspection of the hypnotic dream

57

transcripts (Appendix A) reveals that in many cases, this
procedure alone had a transformational function. AS such,
the visual representation of the elements of problems may
be considered to be imagery mnemonics which, as Paivio
notes, enhance the probability that both visual and verbal
symbolic systems will be brought into play in the task.

In the second phase of the treatment, the imagery
mnemonics were used as the stimulus for hypnotic dreams.
Another inSpection of the dream transcripts reveals that
while most Of the images generated during the first phase
were relatively static, virtually all of the imagery
produced in the dreams was more dynamic. As Paivio has
indicated, a symbolic motor component may contribute to
the transformational efficiency of mediating imagery. In
this light, the transformational efficiency of dreams may
prove to be superior to other forms of mediating imagery
because of "built in” motor components associated with the
mechanisms of the dreamrwork. Thus, because of its
transformational function, our original hypothesis concern-
ing primary process representation remains an integral

part of our theoretical conceptualization of creativity.

REFERENCES

REFERENCES

American Medical Association. Council on Mental Health
and Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence.
"Dependence on Cannabis (Marijuana)." Journal of the
American Medical Association, 1967, 291, 368-371.

 

Barron, F. Threshold for the perception of human move-
ment in inkblots. Journal of Consulting Psychology,
1955, SS, 33-38.

Barron, F. Originality in relation to personality and
intellect. Journal of Personality, 1957, SS, 730-742.

 

Barron, F. and Leary, T. To find and foster creativity.
A report of the Rhode Island School of Design.
Providence, Rhode Island: 1961.

Blatt, S. J. and Stein, M. I. Some personality, value, and
cognitive characteristics of the creative person.
American Psychologist, 1957, 13, 406. (Abstract)

Bowers, K. S. Hypnosis and creativity: a preliminary in-
vestigation. The International Journal 9f Clinical
and Experimental Hypnosis, 1968, SS, 38-52.

Bowers, K. 8. Sex and susceptibility as moderator variables
in the relationship of creativity and hypnotic
susceptibility. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1971,
ZS, 93-100.

Bowers, K. S. and van der Meulen, S. J. Effect Of hypnotic
susceptibility on creativity test performance. Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology, 1970, 12! 247-256.

Bowers, P. G. Effect of hypnosis and suggestions of reduced
defensiveness on creativity test performance. Journal
of Personality, 1967, SS, 311-322.

 

Bowers, K. S. and Bowers, P. G. Hypnosis and creativity:
a theoretical and empirical rapprochement. In:
Hypnosis: Research Developments and PerSpectives.
Fromm, E. and Shor, R. (Eds.) New York: Aldine
Atherton, 1972.

58

59

Burns, B. The depiction of posthypnotic conflict via
visual imagery: a study of repression and psycho-
pathology. Unpublished doctoral dissertation.
Michigan State University, 1972.

Cattell, R. B. and Drevdahl, J. E. A comparison of the
personality profile of eminent researchers with that
of eminent teachers and administrators, and of the
general pOpulation. British Journal of Psychology,
1955, 3S, 248-261.

Dimond, S. J. and Beaumont, J. G. Experimental studies of
hemisphere function. In: Hemisphere Function in the
Human Brain. Dimond, S. J. and Beaumont, J. G. (Eds.)
New York: Halstead Press, 1974.

 

 

Dudek, S. M: an active energy system correlating Rorschach
M with ease of creative expression. Journal of
Projective Techniques and Personality Assessment,
1968a, SS, 453-461.

 

Dudek, S. Regression and creativity: a comparison of the
Rorschach records of successful and unsuccessful
painters and writers. Spprnal of Nervous and Mental
Disease, 1968b, 111, 535-546.

 

Evans, W. D. and Smith, R. P. Some effects of morphine and
amphetamine on intellectual functions and mood.
PsychOpharmacology, 1964, S, 49-56.

 

Freud, S. On creativity and the unconscious. Papers on
the Psychology Of Art, Literature, Love, Religion.
New York: Harper and Row, 1958.

Freud, S. The Interpretation of Dreams. New York: Avon,
1965.

 

Gill, M. M. and Brenman, M. Hypnosis and Related States.
New York: International Universities Press, 1959.

 

Grinspoon, L. Marijuana reconsidered. Cambridge, Mass.:
Harvard University Press, 1971.

 

Gur, R. The effect of free imagery under hypnosis on
creativity. Unpublished M.A. thesis. Michigan State
University, 1971.

Gur, R. and Reyher, J. The enhancement of creativity via
free imagery and hypnosis. American Journal of
Clinical Hypnosis, in press.

 

60

Harman, W. W., McKim, R. H., Mogar, R. E., Fradiman, J., and
Stolaroff, M. S. Psychedelic agents in creative
problem solving: A pilot study. In: Altered States
of Consciousness. Tart, C. T. (Ed.) New York:

Wiley, 1969.

 

 

Jung, C. G. On the relation of analytical psychology to
poetic art. In: Jung, C. G. Contributions to
Analytical Psychology. New York: Harcourt Brace,
1928.

 

 

Krippner, S. The psychedelic state, the hypnotic trance,
and the creative act. In: Altered States of
Consciousness. Tart, C. T. (Ed.) New York: Wiley,
1969.

 

 

Kris, E. Psychoanalytic Explorations in Art. New York:
International Universities Press, 1953.

 

Kubie, L. S. Neurotic Distortion of the Creative Process.
Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1958.

 

Lewin, B. Remarks on creativity, imagery, and the dream.
Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 1969, 149,
115—121.

 

MacKinnon, D. W. The creative worker in engineering. Paper
read at Eleventh Annual Industrial Engineering Insti-
tute, University of California at LOS Angeles and
at Berkeley, February 6-7, 1959(a).

McGlothlin, W., Cohen, S., and McGlothlin, M. Long-lasting
Effects of LSD on Normals. LOS Angeles: Institute
of Government and Public Affairs, 1967.

 

 

Maslow, A. H. Creativity in self-actualizing people.
In: Creativity and Its Cultivation. Anderson, H. H.
(Ed.) New York: Harper, 1959.

 

Mednick, S. A. The associative basis Of the creative
process. PSychological Review, 1962, SS, 220-232.

 

Nash, H. Alcohol and Caffeine. Springfield, Illinois:
Thomas, 1962.

 

Parloff, M. B. Creativity research program: A review.
In: Climate for Creativity. Taylor, C. W. (Ed.)
Elmsford, New York: Pergamon Press, 1972.

 

Reyher, J. A paradigm for determining the clinical relevance
of hypnotically induced psychopathology. Psychological
Bulletin, 1962, SS, 3449352. .

61

Reyher, J. Free imagery: an uncovering procedure. Journal
of Clinical Psychology, 1963, SS, 454-459.

Reyher, J. Hypnosis. Dubuque, Iowa: William Brown Co.,
1968.

Reyher, J. A comment on "Artificial induction of post-
hypnotic conflict." Journal of Abnormal Psychology,
1969, ZS, 420-422.

Reyher, J. and Smeltzer, W. The uncovering properties
of visual imagery and verbal association: a compara-
tive study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1966,
ZS, 218-222.

Reyher, J. and Morishige, H. Electroencephalogram and
rapid eye movement during free imagery and dream
recall. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1969, ZS,
576-582.

Reyher, J. and Wilson, J. G. The induction of hypnosis:
indirect vs. direct methods and role of anxiety.
The American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 1972, SS,
229-233.

Roe, A. A. A psychological study of eminent psychologists
and anthropologists and a comparison with biological
and physical scientists. Psychological Monographs,
1953, SZ, No. 2.

 

Rogers, C. R. Toward a theory of creativity. In:
Creativity and its CuStivation. Anderson, H. H. (Ed.)
New York: Harper, 1959.

Siegel, S. Nonparametric Statistics for the Behavioral
Sciences. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.,
1956.

Singer, J. L. Imggery and Daydream Methods in Psychotherapy
and Behavior Modification. New York: Academic Press,
1974.

 

Sommerschield, H. Posthypnotic conflict, repression and
psychopathology. Unpublished doctoral dissertation.
Michigan State University, 1969.

Stein, M. I. Creativity. In: Handbook of Personality
Theory and Research. Borgatta, E. F. and Lambert,
W. W. (Eds.) Chicago: Rand McNally, 1968.

 

Stein, M. I. Stimulaging Creativity. New York: Academic
Press, Inc., 1974.

62

Whiting, C. S. Creative Thinking. New York: Reinhold,
1958.

Williams, P. E. Foundations of Creative PrOblem Solvigg.
Ann Arbor, Michigan: Edwards Bros., Inc., 1960.

Wiseman, R. J. and Reyher, J. Hypnotically induced dreams
using the Rorschach inkblots as stimuli: a test of
Freud's theory of dreams. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 1973, SZ, 329-336.

Zegans, L., Pollard, J. and Brown, D. The effects of LSD-
25 on creativity and tolerance to regression. Archives
of General Psychiatgy, 1967, SS, 740-749.

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A

VERBATIM TRANSCRIPTS OF SUBJECTS IN

THE HYPNOTIC DREAM TREATMENT

APPENDIX A

S1
Background Summary: S1 was a 20 year Old female under-
graduate who was writing a poem.which she hoped to even-
tually submit as part of a senior honors project. Her
impasse concerned an inability to develop an image for the
concept that the poem was supposed to embody.

At the time of the follow up interview, S1 had decided
to write the poem in the form of an ode. Based upon the
images produced during the treatment session, she elected
to separate the poem's concepts, beauty and faith. One
hour following the treatment session, S1 concluded that the
images were "substantial.” She then proceeded to write

several stanzas, feeling ”quite satisfied" with their form

and content. The treatment was scored successful.

Dream 1

The Elements: Tape did not record.

 

The Dream: There's a girl in front of a window that's

 

spattered with spring rain and she desires to reach for some
blossoms knowing the task is impossible. In fact, She's
inflicting upon herself pain purposely but all the while
knowing her pain will lift her to heights. So She plunges
her hand through the glass and the silver glove is placed on
the hand by a black man. But this man, he is of flesh. He

is, he is . . . onyx . . . black onyx? And I saw the man

63

64

that put the glove on (laugh). So the girl grasps the trunk
of the blossom tree with her gloved hands while this onyx
man watches from a, no . . . a hillside constructed over
revolving suns? It's no good, it's too myriad. It should
be one. It shouldn't be revolving suns. It oughta be,

oh . . . (Sigh) the uh . . . there's a flower, this large
golden flower that's swallowing up the sun which is the sun
itself. But somehow the sun has drOpped into itself of

the image of itself on earth. But the image is the golden
flower swallowing the sun and the sun goes through the stem
of the flower to the roots, into the earth and disperses
itself. And uh . . . and uh it rises but the form, it

rises and is the form of an arc with Of course the SlOpe
underground but I don't like these two pillars sticking

up with the source, with the arc underground. That's no
good at all. Well then I guess the arc could be like up-
righted and the earth would be convulsed rather but not
disturbed. It would hardly be Shaken, the earth is hardly
Shaken by the uprighting of this arc. This arc, this arc is

my heart. Except it's golden.

Dream 2

The Elements: I, it recalled to mind a painting I had done

 

Of this silver structure that I've been sort of like string-
ing together with my hands. And beside it there's the
virgin and She has . . . I don't want to get into the paint-

ing, She . . . She has constructed this structure, the virgin

65

has. And it's piled one on top of the other but it's very
very haphazard and it's no good image, no good image (S's
eyes pOp Open and S1 asks her to close them. S does so
with a Short laugh).

The Dream: There,there is a girl which is myself with
braceleted arms laying on a marble floor. It's very cold
and white. And she's in draperies. Silk, Persian. And
these gentlemen enter. She knows not who they are. She
knows not who they are (almost sung). (Laugh). They're
neither armed nor decorated in any recognizable sense. And
these men conduct her to a boat which is wooden and has a
very plain prow and no figurehead. No sails, but a mast.
And She's taken, or She rises and then finds herself in a
throne room facing the father god of resurrection who pushes
the sun down through her shoulders. And it expands within
her and is released, if you'll excuse me, in urine. Now I

realize the disparity of an image like that. That's all.

Dream 3

The Elements: It was a girl with a two-handled pitcher.

 

Yet it's very small, it's clay. And She, it changed from
what I saw, she raised it to see what was in it thinking
she could see through it. But water spilled upon her, or
so she thought. But instead it turns out to be another
transformation. And she looks very very pre-Raphaelistic.
She's very white and she has this armor on. She is a god-

dess Amazon but not Diana. ~She is, She is Rossetti's

66

Elizabeth Sittle (Sp.?), or Ruth Morris--May Morris. That

is who She is. She's May Morris. Berne Jones. For some
reason I'm recalling painters, I mean by name. I know them
all the time but I don't know why I'm thinking of Berne

Jones (Sp.?). Well, this armored woman is emerging from
water and she is stepping upon these grasses. The water
beneath them is like, uh . . . (laugh) is like, is like

. . . it's like a gem. But it is like a gem that's not
created, that, oh, that . . . that's fallen from the Virgin's
eyes, the main idol. (Laugh).

The Dream: Well, the dream was a memory of a boat my parents

 

had. A cabin cruiser with a fly bridge, on the Chesapeake
Bay. And I saw no connection whatsoever with that and the
virgin. And I supposed that it was an ancient link, if

I have to be poetic (laugh). It's a link. And uh why . . .
it was the mention of the marsh and the grass. I tried so
hard to get the image of what the water looked like under
these stalks strands of grass. And all I came up with was
this stupid boat plowing through the water and me on top of

the fly bridge.

67

S3

Background Summary: S3 was a 35 year old female graduate
fellow whose academic career was being jeopardized by the
circumstances surrounding her marriage. Prior to the
treatment session, She viewed her only alternatives as
remaining married and giving up her degree or getting
divorced and continuing her career. She wished to explore
alternatives.

At the time of the follow-up interview S3 had worked
out a contract with her husband which She felt was only
made possible by her acknowledgement that She was largely
responsible for her marital problems, something which She
had previously denied. This was made clear to her by the
reduction of the visual elements of her problem to only
herself by the third dream of the treatment session. S3

reported that she "no longer feels weighted down" and that

she feels "happier." The treatment was scored successful.

Dream 1

The Elements: I see my husband, my children, myself, the

 

future, time, and my mother--but she doesn't belong there.

The Dream:_ I didn't want to do it. It was very frighten-

 

ing because it was a terrible white storm. There was no
control over the storm. (S now sobbing). I could see a

calm ahead, and the dream ended before you said count to ten.

68

Dream 2

The Elements: I see my children, their future, and myself.

 

The Dream: I don't understand. There's constant movement.

 

Big puffy clouds, big white ones. No peOple. A real sense

of elevation. There's nothing more.

Dream 3

The Elements: I see only myself.

 

The Dream: First there were transparent triangles. And

 

then there were pyramids, and grass. Then I was walking

around with (mumbled). Now I was alone and then

 

I was what? There were buildings and I didn't know which
one to go in. And it's sunny. Warm. And I don't know

which one to go in.

69

S4

Background Summary: S4 was a 30 year old male graduate

 

student who was developing an archaeological test of a
socio-psychological theory for his dissertation. His
impasse concerned the actual design and Size of the pro-
ject which had been stagnating for two years. Mainly, he
wished to cut down its original Size while keeping it
within his own standards of professionalism.

At the time of the follow-up interview, S4 was
"seriously" considering eliminating the Mayan subculture
from his original list of three subcultures which he wished
to test with the instrument he was developing. He credited
the imagery produced during the treatment session with
stimulating this consideration. As S4 had not yet actually
made a decision, however, the treatment was scored not
successful. S4 requested a transcript of the treatment
session, but left the country for the summer before one

could be delivered.

Dream 1

The Elements: I see a frieze, like at Mitla which is

 

stylized with Grecian friezes. And even though there are
few of them, the feeling of constant repetition is almost
physically present. It almost stands out beyond the masonry.
And it seems to represent an element of . . . of sameness,
of repetition and of a lack of breaking away or a lack of
being different. At the same time I can see Engleman, whose

theory on testing almost . . . I can see him as a person,

70

his features and his full figure. Um, and I can't tell
whether this is, whether these are floating images just
separate or the same and that he represents, or that this
is or that the Mitla frieze is an expression of . . .
whether this will break, or this will be adequate to prove
that the theory is, whether the information from Mitla is
adequate to test the theory, or whether other Sites are
necessary. This is, I only see the one frieze which is
only one of the three culture areas I'm using. And I don't
know that that means this is the critical one. Anyway,
that's what I see and, and Engleman.

The Dream: It was a stelle at Corigua with um, there was

 

no color on it. It was as it is depicted in books or as

it actually is now without all the elaborations and paintings
and paint that was originally on it when it was in ethno-
graphic use. It merely had all the multitude of curvi-
linear, heavily filled spaces typical of a highly active,
earth oriented culture. It's, as far as I could tell, it's
the way I would think of it in a conscious attempt, or as

in fact it probably is. It was just the stelle, nothing

else.

Dream 2

The Elements: The field was fused with red, like from the

 

Pompei murals. On the left is a particular ceramic face
which I've seen before but I can't place, with an elaborate

headdress. It's Mayan, face in the headdress, the specific

71

figure. And the headdress has in a few places some green
paint staying on. And the headdress has the, again it is

in the image or the pottery figure, waving fronds that curve
up. The head is on the left hand side of the field facing
to the right. The fronds are leaning over at an angle
perhaps thirty degrees off the vertical. And the fronds

are tilting apparently sort of arbitrarily off to the back
and off to the front as the peeling off of the main, what
looks a stem or a stalk as it leans forward. But the head
itself is erect. And then in front, facing me, extending
at the base, extending the full length of the field and
running even to the tip of the face, of the head is the
skeleton of a Texas longhorn. The horns are an ivory white
and they extend with the, barely tipping it, barely curving
up at each end, otherwise being quite straight. And then in
the front is a nondescript grayish white skeleton of just
the face or just the head of the cow.

The Dream: From the left, from my left ear far far away

 

came a sound like ocean roaring but without the constant
beating. It was a swelling roar. Again, very quiet, far
off. But there was no beating, no coming again and again
the way the surf does. It was just the far Off sound of the
ocean roaring. But then, was it maybe cheering, no closer
but it almost sounded as if first here then there distinct
voices coming out of the mass roar. And as it changed
perhaps into voices I saw a lentil Spread above two pillars.

The pillars and the lentil were a light gray stone. The

72

pillars were four maybe five times as tall as wide the

Space in between. The width was almost as far across aS

the height of each pillar. Now the pillars were not exactly
symmetrical, closely Shaped, close to rectangular in Shape
but at least the one as I faced it on the left was, it's
outer side canted in a bit. The lentil was much thinner,

a slab extending just barely beyond the edges of the two
pillars. And then as I watched I thought, is this Mysia?
And with that thought, animal figure or figures appeared at
the top like at Mysia and seemed to rise up. But it didn't,
or stretch up, but it didn't leave. It was like a flame,
but an unmoving flame. There was no flickering but rising
and staying where it was, in the Shape of a funnel or trian-
gle. A cone with a base at the bottom. And between the
pillars the inside grew blacker and darker until all there
was was the black and it was over. And towards the end

the sound had been lost. Perhaps the sound disappeared

about the time I asked the question.

Dream 3

The Elements: In the Shape of an Indian inkwell but with the

 

part held by the hand much elongated, there's a figure which
has a black with no shine to it, like the black of cast iron.
But the figure is like the image of the goblet or the two
faces. It keeps going in and out with figure of a vaulted
arch where instead of a nondescript background around the

inkwell figure, the white is the facing of the building

73

forming the arch. It's a Catherwood painting, or rather
it's the subject of a Catherwood painting. This very, very
steep vaulted arch. That's all there is.

The Dream: Starting about the middle half of my right Side,

 

sweeping over from a line moving on the bottom, but a con-
nected line touching the front of the lOwer line, sweeps up
like the top half of a barb, sweeps up and over and moves
across over to the end of the right side of the field and
off the field. I can feel myself being pulled. There's

so much force, SO much pressure, no, force, pulling as if
the chair's tilted or there's a magnet pulling my head.
Then, another wave. This one concave, sweeps, swept across
with the top catching up with the lower part and then
actually crossing out of the field first. It's not exactly
lines. The lines are more divisions between tones of gray
and other grayS. And then another and another and there are
Slight tone variations vertically that almost appear like
waves or ripples. And then I was worried, how can I count,
how can I remember how many? Then the waves, the lines that
were coming over, convex lines, give way or become a crew
team working in unison, again from left to right but this
time starting almost from the full left end of my field of
vision and going rapidly across. And then going the other
‘way, not necessarily rowing differently, but going in the
Topposite direction, almost coming out or coming from,
emerging in existence from.the other one is a crew team

going the other way. And then a number more, I don't know

74

how many. And then there are present crew teams in two
difference lanes. It's like traffic going. The ones on
the lower half going to the left, the ones in the upper
half going to the right. The crews are probably real but
the distance, the resolution is too poor to see any colors,
sex, or any characteristics other than they're human. And

then it fades.

75

S7

Background Summary: S7 was a 21 year old female undergrad-
uate who had been playing the guitar for a little more than
two months. While she was able to read music, she found
herself incapable of improvising, particularly bluegrass
music which was her favorite.

At the time of the follow-up interview, S7 reported
"lots of improvement" which was corroborated by her husband
whom She characterized as an accomplished bluegrass banjo
player. She attributed her success to ”relaxing while
playing" which was facilitated by the constant repetition

of the words She heard in the third dream of the treatment _

session. The treatment was scored successful.

Dream 1

The Elements: I see the fingerboards on the guitar and I

 

just see, I don't know what it is. I don't see how they
play.

The Dream: I just dreamed that a friend of mine was trying
to play the guitar and then he had to leave. It was just,

he had to go. And he just left.

Dream 2

The Elements: I feel that I can carry the tune of a song

 

but I just can't fill in the notes.

The Dream: I didn't have a dream.

 

76

Dream 3

The Elements: Well I can't arrange a song like the way I

 

want it to sound. Like the way I hear it.

The Dream: I didn't really have a dream. I just keep

 

hearing the words to a song over and over. "I got a
peaceful easy feeling" and something about I won't tie you

down. Something like that.

77

S9
Background Summary: _S9 was a 24 year old female under-
graduate whose problem concerned her propensity for start-
ing projects but finding herself unable to complete them.
She wished to overcome what She described as a "mental
block" SO that She would be able to at least complete one
overdue project in environmental design;

At the time of the follow-up interview, S9 reported
that she had wrapped up the overdue environmental design
project and was wrapping up a project involving the paint-
ing of wall graphics which had been avoided for over one
year. She found herself now unable to put down these pro-
jects once she started them. S9 credited this to the im-
agery she produced during the treatment session which she
took to her psychotherapist. There, She and her therapist
"really hashed it out," with S9 discovering that she has
unconsciously felt that she must assume responsibility for
her mother, or she will die. Consequently, she overloaded
herself with extra responsibility (projects) but found her-
self unable to OOpe with the burden. She then would be-
come disinterested in her projects and add on even more pro-
jects to ease the guilt over not having completed her pre-
vious work. At the time of the follow-up interview, S9
was paring down her list of projects to those which were
relevant to herself, eliminating those which served mainly
to sustain a neurotic conflict. The treatment was scored

successful.

78

Dream 1
The Elements: The little girl who wanted and needed those
things and always wanted something to do was always told to
go play by yourself and you really don't need those things.
IS that valid? She feels angry but she won't complete any-
thing She starts 'cause she wants to punish them by not
giving her what She wanted.

The Dream: It first starts out, um, with a series of

 

different shapes, very large Shapes composed of different
kinds of materials. And a little infant is crawling
through the semi-circles and triangles and very strange
types of shapes and is happily playing through them ex-
cept there seems to be that it's leading nowhere. There's
no end, there's no beginning, there's just the constant
crawling through shapes. The Shapes then leave the ground
and they're floating up in the clouds. And most of them
seem to be circles now. There's no beginning, there's

no end. They just go round and round. And there, not only
an infant but a form that is crawling through the shapes in
a very consistent kind of way, like forming a chain. And it
Ibecomes more and more involved and more tangled up in the
circles and at a point it's like it's trapped because it's
all wound up in these circles that it's been entwining

~ through. And it's up above the clouds and it's very peace-
ful up there, very quiet. .And there's sunshine and.white
(clouds below and it's a very light feeling. But it's trap-

ped in the circles and it's struggling to get out.

79

Dream 2

The Elements: It's a question of Simplicity versus com-

 

plexity. Simplicity holds no value, it gains no recogni-
tion. Simplicity is a waste of my time. The more elements
that are involved the better. Take on the impossible.
There's always those words of you can do it. And then
sometimes I don't want to. I feel that I must. And I

feel very heavy. Very very heavy.

The Dream: I am a musical note. I'm an eighth note.

 

Nothing special, just an eighth note. The eighth note is
trying sit high, love. It's sitting on a page of music.

But it cannot Sit long enough. It continues to move around.
The player tries to play the eighth note but it's very
impossible. The eighth note is So heavy it falls Off the
page. The eighth note then stumbles on the stage and is
feeling safe. It is dancing and enjoying itself. It
becomes animated. It spreads legs and arms. And it's
pretty Spontaneous and it's dancing. It tried to fly
through the air but all of a sudden it becomes much too
heavy. And it falls. It crushes into a wall. The eighth
note then tries other things. They're not well defined.
But it's no longer in it's own environment. Seems to be very
diminutive now, but very heavy. And, uh, it seems to have
a lack of spontaneity. Rather that of mechanical precision

Ibecause it was trained to be a note. That's all.

30

Dream 3

The Elements: It's far more fun to conceive the problem

 

that it is to execute it. There's a fear of execution.

But one must not be as capable of perfecting it as the con-
cept. It's a fear of the actual doing. Not being capable
of doing it. Also things move far too Slowly. It's pain-
ful, it's very painful to Sit with a project. There's so
little gained by completing it. It moves far too slowly.
One becomes involved with the microcosm of one square inch
and painstaking hours are Spent with the one square inch
that really has no long range humanitarian benefit. It's
so irrelevant, insignificant, and difficult.

The Dream: There are many duplicate images of me, but one

 

of which is hanging from a noose from a very tall ceiling.
And I'm just about ready to die from hanging myself. But
all these duplicate images of me are standing on top of one
another on their shoulders all the way to reach me at the
tOp to try to hold me up so that I don't choke. And there
must be eight or ten of them Standing on tOp of one another.
And the load is very heavy and it's very precarious and

the whole load of bodies is swinging back and forth slightly
almost ready to fall over. But they have to hold up the
tOp of me which is juSt about ready to hang.' And I was

ready to die.

81

_s_10

Background Summary: S10 was a 27 year old male free-lance

 

writer, professional chess player, and film maker who had
done extensive research for a magazine article on a local
art store but found himself unable to develop a suitable

form of expression for the article.

At the time of the follow-up interview, S10 reported
that the article was virtually completed. He chose to adopt
the format of taking the reader on a tour of the store which
he credits directly to images produced during the third
dream of the treatment session. Immediately following the
session, S10 went home and wrote a rough draft of the article
which he found to be satisfactory. The treatment was scored

successful.

Dream 1

The Elements: Uh . . . just a vast plain. It's lit almost

 

like sunset. But it's not a sun out there. It's a very

very great disc, or half of a disc. And it's made of two
parts. A very bright inner part that makes up about 90 per-
cent of the disc. And a dark gap, then about the same bright-
ness but uh, now it's all bright. The whole thing is bright.
It's not like intense sunlight 'cause I can keep my eyes

open to see it.

The Dream: I was back on a train. But it was light. This

 

train was full. A lot of peOple. I can't, I couldn't

describe them. Just a lot of people, friendly peOple.

82

And the train went through the tunnel and then another
tunnel and another tunnel. And I found myself in darkness,
just standing alone and waiting for something to happen.
And looking around. And She started coming, the train
Slowly came by and I jumped up on the step, grabbed the
hand railing and rode the train into the station. And it
Slowed and I jumped off the train and took a few rapid
Steps. The train never stopped, it just kept<rxgoing and

I waved goodbye.

Dream 2

The Elements: I don't have words for it. It's just I feel

 

something that I see. There's no description for it. It's,
it feels, uh, large and.warm. Uh, warmth.. There's a lot
of contrast. It's like a lot of things together, piled
together. I just feel it there. I don't see anythings,
just . . . well it's very large, very tall. There's some
books piled upon each other. And it reaches up to the sky.
They're all the same book.

The Dream: I didn't see anything. I felt the room and the

 

chair. I felt, just inside a cocoon and something push-
ing on the right side of my face. And I heard the wind

and just . . . felt (sigh) . . . suspended, floating.

Dream 3

The Elements: It's, it's hard to describe. It's like, um,

 

piles of Specifics. A large uh, a large pile of . . . hum,

I don't know . . . I can't describe it. (long pause)

83

Well, it's three piles. The piles are all the elements of
the article. One pile is already done. And a large pile Of
a lot of small bits and pieces. And a third smaller pile

of little bits and pieces that are not, are kind of in the
dark. They're not there yet. The bits and pieces are
quotations and imagery of the store and little short
sentences and paragraphs and descriptions.

The Dream: It's uh, I'm looking down Grand River from

about Abbott Road to, um, toward the east. And I float

up in a, like a balloon, like a glider. And just take a
look towards campus and then look left toward the stores

on Grand River. And, uh, just float toward the second floor
window and float in the window. And through a room into the
hallway just a little ways and then raise up and, and then
be higher than the walls. It's like there's no ceiling.

And down into the rooms where Sunshine Art Supply is located.
It's like taking a walking tour except floating up above
everything and looking at everything down below. And

seeing Doris walk from the paint room to the weave room.
Ernst Sitting at the counter. And just taking a nice
leisurely Stroll along the hallway and just floating out

down the stairs out onto Grand River.

84

S11

Background Summagy: S11 was a 23 year Old female under-

 

graduate who was writing a poem about her mother. She
had written only one stanza which she found to be "unsatis-
factory." At the time of the treatment session, she had
been unable to write anything beyond the stanza, stating
that, "I have never had so much trouble with a poem before."

At the time of the follow-up interview, S11 had
completed most of the poem. Three stanzas were written
immediately following a dream on the third night after the
treatment session. Additional verses were composed from
the images produced during the treatment session which S11
weaved into the poem. She reported that the images from
the session came into her mind's eye in "channels or tracks
like a switching station at a railroad track)“ When the
images were too hard to focus on, I just automatically
discarded them and‘went on to another track. The other
images were better ones."

The treatment was scored successful with S11 stating,
"I'm really happy with the way it's shaping up." While
she eventually sent me a copy of the poem, it is not included

here as per her request.

Dream 1
The Elements: Mom's taking Dale to work. He needs a ride
to work and she's giving up sort of part of her day to
help him. And She's sewing stuff for my Sister Jeanine and

me. And she's washing clothes for everybody. That's a big

85

job, it keeps her busy. And she's taking me to work.

She's going to visit us now and takes a bit of time in
everything. She rarely says no. She's usually willing to
come and help. And all these are just things I admire her
for. She just, she isn't mad that she has to do them. She
just likes to do them for us. She just accepts it. And
that's sort of cool. A

The Dream: Mom's baking Christmas cookies. We're all baking

 

Christmas cookies. And she's at the sewing machine sewing
pink, hot pink curtains. They're dotted swiss. She's
putting on black boots to go out to the car to take Dale to
work. He's early. And I, we're up at the cabin. It's

the middle of summer. We have to leave to go home and go

back to school.

Dream 2

The Elements: I see a white rose bush. It's outside in our

 

yard and it's all covered with wild white roses. And a
yellow, red rose bush. And everything I said before, every-
thing she helped us with. And I see a car outside. Every-
one knows she's coming over to visit us.

The Dream: There's this star. It's a big one and it's way

 

up and it's very bright. And I see a shooting star and I
see my mother looking at it. She's just enjoying the watch
at it. And then when I see the star I see, I remember be-
cause She mentioned, she told me about seeing the Shooting

star. And then I see a fern. A green fern and a fawn. And

.86

I see the fawn seeing the stars at night and I imagine the

fawn sees them like we do.

Dream 3

The Elements: All I see is Mom standing by the rose bush.

 

The Dream: Mom's picking the roses, cutting them from the

 

bush with the scissors and putting them in the basket.

And turning to Jeanine and me. And then we walk off with

them.

87

S14
Background Summary: S14 was a 22 year old unemployed female
artist who found herself "artistically at a stalemate.”
She wished to apply to VISTA for a job doing graphics but
found herself having "a problem with artistic expression"
in the preparation of her portfolio.

At the time of the follow-up interview, S14 reported
that she had discovered that her stalemate was self-imposed,
reflecting a fear of failure. This was made clear to her
by her fear of the images "observing" her in the treatment
session. Since the session, she had found herself force-
fully expressing herself in the preparation of her port-
folio. She intended to apply "aggressively" for the VISTA
position, noting that it was clear to her that she needed
to put herself in a position to be judged. S14 also
expressed satisfaction with the lifting of her stalemate and,
consequently, with the develOping quality of her work. The

treatment was scored successful.

Dream 1

The Elements: I see a person. It's not clear. I see people

 

leaning over me, in a way. Watching, you know.

The Dream: I don't know. There were just abstract forms.

 

Faces that drift in and out. Across, you know, darkness

really. It's not like anything clear at all.

88

Dream 2

The Elements: It's a tunnel that's triangular. And it

 

breaks, and different forms come up. And there's a pendulum
going back and forth. And that's it, it's not clear to me.

The Dream: They're just thoughts about when, you know, it's

 

like when will I do it, you know. It's my mother saying,
"When will I do it." You know, She's always there asking
the question. And it's her face. She's not angry or any-
thing. But I just see myself as being really frustrated,
not being able to do it. And I don't know, it's just not

clear.

Dream 3

The Elements: I just see parts of peOple'S faces. Like an

 

eye, a side view of an eye. Someone's mouth. Just part
of their face, not the whole thing. And they come in and
out.

The Dream: I didn't see anything. Nothing happened.

 

89

Background Summary: S17 was a 24 year old male pre-medical

 

student who was highly interested in Jungian psychology.

HiS impasse concerned an inability to bring the mandala,

the symbol embodying the concept of the self, into con-
sciousness. ‘Sl7 wished to do this in order to help him-
self overcome conflicts which inhibited him from interacting
comfortably with others. Prior to the treatment session,

he had gone to a hypnotist seeking to overcome this problem
but he was unable to be hypnotized at the time.

At the time of the follow-up interview, S17 reported
that the mandala had taken "Specific terms" which were in
part generated during the treatment session. These included
his images of the sun, the spaceship, and the Spaceman with
the umbilical cord which he found to be helpful in enabling
him to feel more at ease around others during the week.
This, he noted, was something which had not occurred before.
‘Sl7 also reported a nocturnal dream which he credited with
helping what he described as "my develOping personality"
to emerge. In this dream a voice said, "I'm just gonna
stOp forcing it. I'm just gonna go out and live." S17 then
asked, "Who are you?" before he suddenly woke up, feeling
that the dream was trying to direct him in Specific ways which
he found difficult to elaborate. He also reported that he
had purchased "Tubular Bells" and was successfully hypnotizing
himself each night in order to vividly recapture dream

imagery. The treatment was scored successful.

90

Dream 1

The Elements: There's a circle. It's not quite a perfect

 

circle. It's more like an egg. And within it is two jagged
lines. They look like lightning but they're supposed to
represent the spiral staircase of DNA. And outside the
circle is a square. And diagonally are two swords pointing
from right to left and from left to right coming from the
top. And straight up and down is another sword.

The Dream: After the mandala left, it seemed to turn into

 

a shield with just two swords, two crossed swords. And there
seemed to be a kind of red, um, fire behind it like a sun
setting on a horizon. And then there was an old building,
an old room with a fireplace with fire in it. And a woman
was peeping in through a door. Then there was a white horse
and at first I thought the horse was on a hill. And then

it seemed as though the horse was on the moon or another
planet looking at the earth. Then the earth became the
Shield with the two crossed swords again. Then a Spaceship
appeared. And it took off and it just kept going and going
and going. And it did a Spiral. And then it dived into the
sun and it seemed as though it wasn't completely swallowed
up. The rocket engines could still be seen outside the sun.
But the rest of the ship had disappeared. Then the whole

thing disappeared.

Dream 2

The Elements: It was the shield again. This time there

 

were no swords and the shield.was more like a Spear-point.

91

The tOp of it tapered up, so like at the tOp there were
three points. One high point in the center and two lOwer
points. And there was a circle inside with the lightning.
And then the image of the Shield seemed to reverberate out
like there was one image inside of another image inside of
another image. And they got progressively longer and
smaller until the one with the earth in it . . . and the
earth was with the lightning. TwO parallel pieces of light-
ning. And the earth was divided. It was Split in two.

The Dream: There was a reverberation of the earth. One

 

inside of another SO that it looks like waves of the earth.
Images. And that turns into a picture of Stonehedge (Sic)
in England. And you're seeing it from the Side. And then
Stonehedge seems to turn on its Side so it's a circle on
something like a square piece of ground. Then there's the
one who's all dressed up in royal robes and I thought for

a moment that he was the pope. But I wasn't sure. He was
just some royal person. And he knighted someone. And then
there was a symbol of the peace symbol except for the prongs
were made out of a, like a three-pronged pitchfork. There
was a circle around it. Part of the pitchfork end was out

of the circle. And then it disappeared.

Dream 3

The Elements: There's just a peace symbol made with the

 

pitchfork like before. And it's the handle that's kind of
like its axis.“ And it just keeps rotating, making circles.

And that' s it.

92

The Dream: There was a Spaceship. And it just kept going
and going. Then it passed by a planet. And it looked to
see if there was any life on the planet. And a man came
down with them, like an umbilicum (sic) cord attached to

the ship and him. He was in a spaceship, spacesuit rather.
And there were seen some steel beams. And so it proved‘
that life had been on the planet. But it was totally de-
vastated. So he walked down on the planet a bit and he came
to a pit. There was just water in it. Then he went back

up to the spaceship and the spaceship passed the sun, a sun.
And the sun became the focal point. And the ship disappeared

in the distance. And then the sun disappeared.

93

E21

Background Summary: S21 was a 29 year old male graduate

 

student majoring in English. His impasse concerned an
inability to pose a question or generate a theme for his
dissertation on medieval literature.

At the time of the follow-up interview, S21 reported
that he had developed a theme for his dissertation, the
lyrics of mysticism. He credited this to the progression
of dreams in the treatment session in which the content
went from highly anxiety-arousing to very pleasant. This
progression told S21, "Maybe if you get Off your ass and
do something about it, you'll have a pleasant life like this
one." Here he was referring to the third dream in which he
felt he stood in a newly adopted relationship with his
dissertation. He now views it as a "career goal rather
than something intimidating and mysterious." S21 felt
fully satisfied with the theme he developed and the treat-

ment was scored successful.

Dream 1

The Elements: I can't see everything because there's so

 

much. But I can see all the poems on the page and in-
numerable vignettes, images from the poems. And I can see,
uh, the writers, the, uh, church fathers. And their books.
I can't, uh, they're separate. That is the mystical
writings and the poems. I tend to see them as words

printed. And poetics. I can't imagine poetics. But I see

94

like, uh, set pieces in a very rustic tableau. Like from
the beginning of Canterbupy Tales or any springtime romance.
So they all come together there but it's a very remote,
abstract imaginary sort of landscape. The things, the books,
the printed words ought to generate I can't quite grasp.

They tease.) The harder I try and think about them the more
they become words on a page.

The Dream: There was a figure. It looked like any sort of

 

conventional sanctified figure on a holy card with long
robes surrounded by an aura. And it drifted backwards. And
then it became distinctly male and clerical. It looked
something like a Mandarin or the famous picture of Chaucer.
And then it was just in a (mumbled) an expectant, inviting
look. Then he sort of, he just faded out, away and up. And
I was in a . . . room.with a man seated at a table. It

was a medieval scene or at least primitive. It looked like
the room that . . . wasn't Jotteau, it was someone else
famous. The painting of St. Francis receiving the stigmata.
That room behind him was a sort of cave. A big inclined
table. I was looking over the edge of the table into the
face of the man on the other side who had a very large bald
head. He was reading. He looked up from his reading and
looked to me . . . very patiently. So he weren't surprised
to see me there. He was just waiting for me. Sort of looked
and said, "Now did you want something." Then I just looked
at him. We looked in each Other's eyes. He had pale blue

eyes. A very hairless face. It had for a period of time.

95

Then he looked down at his book again and kept reading.

And then it just faded out.

Dream 2

The Elements: It's a, I see the books again. They're not

 

specific books. It's like the laid on glass, on the other
Side of the glass, stylized medieval May. And then there
are a lot of images. They don't come together coherently.
They come in sequence. I see (mumbled) head of the Univer-
sity of Paris in 12th century. I have no idea what it

must have looked like. I just have an idea of what it
must have looked like. I think of that just sort of me-
dieval campus scene. I think of the landscape that always
comes with the cloud of unknowing. Just an English land-
scape. And the poetics, I keep thinking, those poetics.
It's just a word. Something, something more wants to come
of it. It's just, it's autumnal. And it's like the word
'Stant' (Sp.?) there in Roman in caps. But . . . elements,
I hate elements. Yes . . . I think of the author of The
Cloud. He's always Sitting in a small building. And he's
looking out at a direction that I know is southwest, that's
toward the channel. But he can't see any water or anything.
But he's looking out that way and speaking. And nobody's
there. And the landscape iS like a medievalized Wyeth
painting. And he's speaking and there's the sense of
tranquility and uncompromising Simplicity. I can never

see his face. It's like I'm sitting next to him and we're

96

staring in the same direction. There's all these words.
Always seem to be in the air. It's like he Speaks them
and they get written in the air. When I think of disserta-
tion, it's just a momentary organization. Books. Some-
thing golden like the (mumbled) paintings. There's

things scattered there. Words and I can't, I can't make
them relate. It just gets so diffuse, sequential, associa-
tions. They don't go anywhere. Not at the same time.

The Dream: It's almost nothing. Just that figure came

 

again. Only he's less, less medieval. He was just a man
in robes, a good old mOdern caftan. And he looked younger.
And he just beckoned come down a corridor. Kind of tall.

I came out the other end over a city; It's very light,
bright . . . and gold. And I just stood there above it,

looking. And then it faded out.

Dream 3

The Elements: Again the first thing is a book. Only now

 

it's on a table, inclined like dictionaires sometimes are.
It's a library and it looks like the Lowell House library.

Or that kind of library. very Georgian and elegant. And
Edie is standing a little way, looking at me right in front
of the book. It's like it's one color of the library. Where
my books are. And I know that they're the ones that I need.
And it's over there. And I have a sense of it. Suddenly

I see what enterprise, what scholarly endeavor, what work to

be done. That's all.

97

The Dream: It was a country road, dirt road lined by very

 

tall trees. And mainly paSture on either side. It was
either stone walls or hedge rows, I don't know which. But
it was a beautiful, beautiful spring day. And it was cool.
And the sunlight was bright. Shade in the trees. And I

was walking with a woman and we just both felt very full and
content. And there's that sense of brightness, of clarity
of the context of the textures, the cOntrast of it.
Textures. The skin on her neck and the collar was, the
white cotton next to it was one of those things that was
incredibly vivid. It, you could perceive every layer of
depth. And the most minute and proximate detail to infinity.
And we walked to a house in a garden. It was our house,

I knew. It was a place with lots of sunlight, white winds
coating window jams. And I went into my study there and

it was bright. And the sun coming through the windows cast
shadows of every pane, every molding of the panes across

the rug and the furniture. And just an overwhelming sense
of contentment and fruition and excitement. But not frantic
excitement. Just the excitement of full moments, of feeling
things are worthwhile. I was working. A sense of worth

and contentment, appreciation. I just sat there and looked

out the window at the garden. That's it.

98

S23
Background Summary: S23 was a 23 year old male graduate
student who was attempting to devise a technique to measure
certain animal parameters in vivo. Specifically, he wished
to measure a hormone in a brain artery but this seemed
impossible at the time of the treatment session.

At the time Of the follow-up interview, S23 reported
that he had been unable to overcome the impasse. However,
he requested a transcript of the treatment session, feeling
that he might be able to use this potentially valuable
material if only he could remember it. A transcript has
been recently delivered with the agreement that S23 will
report any change in the status of his problem. The treat-

ment was scored not successful.

Dream 1

The Elements:_ It's very anatomical. The hypothalamus part

 

of the brain with its neurons emptying into a capillary bed.
This capillary bed then flows down to the pituitary gland.
The hypothalamus, made up of individual cells, is producing
neurohormones which are released into these capillaries.

The neurohormones then flow through the capillaries down
into the pituitary where they then again cross the capillary
wall at, upon the pituitary cells. All these things are

in my, I see them but ’a little bit different than I would

ordinarily see them, again based on what I've been taught.

99

The Dream: Well, I imagined the same anatomies that I just

 

described only in quite distorted imagery. A great deal of
dashing elements, seemingly symbolic of the hormones

going from the brain portion, hypothalamus, to the pituitary
with unusual Speed. Throughout the time, I imagined dif-
ferent thoughts I've had over a period of time aS to how I
may be able to solve this problem. But none of them seemed
to be more likely than before. And then, when the ten

count began, I visualized this onslaught of streaking

dashes to increase in density and to almost seem to increase
in velocity, as if to all dash across by the count of ten.
And then at the count of ten everything more or less stood

still.

Dream 2

The Elements: It's a, not really the anatomy that I des-

 

cribed earlier but evidently a symbolic resemblance and,
well at least a resemblance. And it is a vision of the
western hemisphere of the Earth. Evidently the a, North
.America symbolizing the hypothalamus which they both some-
*what resemble the shapes.somewhat, part of the area of
Central America being the capillary system I just described
leading down to the pituitary which I guess is, which
resembles what I see as South America which again is a
'very shocking resemblance. I don't see at all the biologi-
cal picture.

The Dream: It began as I pictured the northern portion of

 

South America. And again elements which were not distinct,

100

but certainly not the dashed, fast lines of the prior dream.
Elements were moving in a northerly direction or, more
correctly around the Gulf area from the northeast protion
of South America up around the Gulf up into the Central
America area presumably then dispersing into the United
States, the United States area at least. It was a slow
motion and I guess the idea or the impression was that
these moving Objects were persons. Then I perceived a

very nondescriptive, somewhat of a, possibly a black X

or a flare of some sort approximately in the Louisiana-
Mississippi southern area. Just a, just a kind of a rash
over this area that I suppose somewhat distorted the picture.

That's about it.

Dream 3

The Elements: It's a, not a Silhouette, but just a three

 

dimensional or superficial image of this hypothalamic-
pituitary axis that I described with a structure between
them containing capillaries. I, once in a while I note

the redness of the capillaries. They appear as much thicker
vessels than I know they must be. Every once in a while,
just a flash of cutaways of those tissues, as if a slice

has been taken out of it, as in a pie so like I'm seeing

the whole structure for the most part. There's a triangular
slice taken out where I can look in and see the cytology

of the hypothalamus and the pituitary.

101

The Dream: Well, obviously my choice of words seem to

 

suggest to me in describing the slice-outs as pieces of
pie, I envisioned blackbirds coming to peck at the, these
tissues . . . whatever blackbirds have to do with pie.
Anyway, they were unable to diminish it at all it seems,
until I realized in fact that they hadn't diminished it.
And then it seemed as though it somewhat disintegrated from
the pituitary upward, leaving a shambled hypothalamus
remnant. But then just this picture remained for a while
until I then saw a sunset, a quite beautiful sunset which
blocked out the picture of the tissue. And after the sun
had set I then saw a view from above some clouds, looking
down upon these clouds as if in an airplane climbing over
the clouds. A quite attractive sight. Then things got dark
as the night. I pictured briefly the other visions that

I previously described from other dreams. And that was it.

102

_s_34

Background Summary: S34 was a 32 year old female insurance

 

claims executive and free-lance poet with three prior
publications to her credit. Recently she had been unable
to write anything satisfactory and wished to overcome this
impasse.

The the time of the follow-up interview, S34 reported
that she had experienced nocturnal dreams during the two
nights following the treatment session. These dreams,
which were pleasant, in conjunction with imagery produced
during the treatment session, led her to feel that her
"creativity was being stimulated" until she began to ex-
perience nightmares which seemed to reimpose a block on
her creative expression. She was unable to recall the
content of these nightmares. However, Since they "caused
anxiety which seemed to thwart my creativity" the treatment

was scored not successful.

Dream 1

The Elements: It's a large card. It's a large, like a

 

playing card. It's very shiny. It has a picture on it.
The picture is a blue Sky with very thin clouds. It's
very cold.

The Dream: It was a man, or, it was a man in a knight's

 

suit, or a knight on a horse. It was a flat plain. And
the knight had a sword and there was an ornate blanket on
the horse. And this figure was making jerking movements

back and forth. And a sun was at the horizon and the sun

103

was doing the same thing. The sun was moving from one
Side of the horizon to the other. And the man was confused
. . . When you said that it had to end, I tried to decide

how it should end. It's a very sad picture, so I stopped.

Dream 2
The Elements: It's the card again only there's a sun
behind the clouds in the right hand corner.
The Dream: I took a tall glass, a tumbler, and I had one
of those Japanese toys that is a shell, or two Shells glued
together with paper flowers and I took the shell and I
dropped it in the glass of water. And I watched the shells
Open and watched all the flowers float to the tOp. And
watched the bubbles in the glass. And then I drank the

water.

Dream 3
The Elements: I see a very straight middle-class lady's
face. And I smelled dust, stuffiness. Like a meeting.
It has to do with people. It's not, it's an unpleasant
smell but it isn't meant to be. It's a very ordinary
smell. Like this middle-class lady, she's very comfortable
with that smell.

The Dream: I was looking at this, at earth and I could

 

see underneath. And there was this clump of carrots growing.
And they were growing one at a time. And they were kind of,
they were synchronizing. And they were making room for

each other as they were growing. And they were nudging

104

and pushing against each other and they were brilliant
orange. And they had a big bright green tOp, green tOpS.
And as they pushed into the ground they would move and they
sort of clasped like . . . like hands. And then all of a
sudden there was a large tree. Well, it was a drawing of a
tree. But all the leaves were in the shape of a huge ball
and the very oak tree with very thick branches and very big.
And all of a sudden there was this big oak tree there.

The Sky is very black and again it's a very flat horizon.

Very flat terrain. That's it.

APPENDIX B

DISPLAY ADVERTISEMENT

_.--__.1

r__.

APPENDIX B

 

RESEARCH ON
ENHANCING
CREATIVITY
Participants need to have reached
an impasse on some problem or
project. Call Bob Davé at 4890734
or 8829780 between 8 and 10 P.M.

 

105

APPENDIX C

IT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING COLUMN

APPENDIX C

 

Participate in research
on enhancing creativity.
Participants need to have
reached an impasse on
some problem or project.
Leave name and phone num-
ber in envelope outside
113 Olds Hall.

106

APPENDIX D

LETTER TO GRADUATE STUDENTS

APPENDI X D

Greetings,

My apologies for the impersonal nature of this letter.
I am a graduate student here in clinical psychology, and I
am conducting research on enhancing creativity. More
specifically, I am testing the effectiveness of several
methods to facilitate one's ability to overcome an impasse
or "mental block” which is encountered in the course of
working on a problem or project. This encompasses a
wide range of academic, professional, avocational,
and personal concerns, from difficulty creating imagery
for a poem to problems resolving a conflict between husband
and.wife.

My purpose in writing this letter is to invite inter-
ested persons to participate in this research. The amount
of time requested of participants is a maximum of two hours.
The only requirements are:

1. that you are currently working on a problem or

project; and

2. that you are "stuck" in any way, shape, or form

which prevents you from reaching a satisfactory
solution to that problem or from completing that
project.

If you wish to participate, or simply have questions,
please call me at 489-0734 or 882-9780* any weeknight
between 8:00 and 10:00 P.M. Thanks for reading this.

Sincerely,

Bob Davé

* After August 7, call 394;2922.

107

APPENDIX E

DEPARTMENTAL RESEARCH CONSENT FORM

APPENDIX E

Michigan State University
Department of Psychology

DEPARTMENTAL RESEARCH CONSENT FORM

I have freely consented to take part in a scientific
study being conducted by: Robert Davé

 

under the supervision of: Dr. Joseph Reyher

 

Academic Title: Professor, Dept. of Psyghology

The study has been explained to me and I understand
the explanation that has been given and what my parti-
cipation will involve.

I understand that I am free to discontinue my partici-
pation in the study at any time without penalty.

I understand that the results of the study will be
treated in strict confidence and that I will remain
anonymous. Within these restrictions, results of the
study will be made available to me at my request.

I understand that my participation in the study does
not guarantee any beneficial results to me.

I understand that, at my request, I can receive addi-
tional explanation of the study after my participation
is completed.

Signed

Date

 

108

APPENDIX F

AUDIO TAPE RECORDING RELEASE FORM

APPENDIX F

CIG Misc. 74-32
Audio and/or video playpack of clients or research subjects
Whenever audio and/or video tape of clients may be viewed
by persons other than those directly involved in the taping
and service delivery to the client, a release form of the
type shown below is to be used. If the material is to be
used in research and/or teaching the client must be so
informed and his/her written consent obtained using the
Departmental Consent Form and a release form of the type
shown below. In addition, the parental consent form is to
be used when children are involved.

RELEASE

I, , hereby agree to permit
films, kinescopes, videotape recordings, photographs or
audiotape recordings portraying and depicting psychological
interviews in which I appear to be used for demonstration
and instructional purposes and for duplication for up to
20 years from the date noted below. I understand that I may
withdraw my permission for use of these materials in general,

or for any Specific purpose or situation, at any time, by

making a written request to Michigan State University or the

Department of Psychology. I understand that the confidentia-

lity of the material presented will be protected. I likewise

authorize Michigan State University to use such materials

so prepared for exhibition purposes with professional psycho-

logy groups and to permit the right Of use to other parties
for such purpose so long as they also agree to protecting

the confidentiality of the material.

109

110

The materials recorded by the processes noted above will

be stored and protected as confidential material by the
researcher or therapist. The specific method for main-
taining confidentiality and storage are determined by the
professional supervisor and the student. When the materials
are no longer useful for demonstration, instructional, or
research purposes, or at my written request, they will be

withdrawn from use, mechanically erased, or destroyed.

Signed:

 

Date:

 

Witness:

 

 

"III!IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS