Superego and the repression of affective and dream experiences

Abstract

Affect is a key factor for both repressive defensiveness and dream experiences, and repression is only one of the functions of the superego. Most previous studies, however, have not factored both trait and state affect into the effect of repression on dreaming. Nor have they investigated superego functioning as a personality dimension. Therefore, this study tested the structural relations between superego functioning, emotional distress, and dreaming that characterize a person’s mental life, and compared the affective and dream experiences of repressors and nonrepressors. The sample was composed of 601 voluntary young adults, whose dream experiences, superego functions, and emotional profiles were thoroughly assessed. The analyses indicated that repressors experience less intensely various types of emotions and dream activities than do the nonrepressors. In addition, this study provides the first evidence that emotionality plays a critical role in mediating the dynamic interaction between superego functioning and dreaming. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)