Memory for colour, visual imagery preferences and the reported colour of dreams

Abstract

The historical and individual differences in reporting colour or greyscale dreams have been previously investigated as factors of age, colour memory and experience with black and white media. The present study introduced visual imagery style as a potential factor (Kozhevnikov, Kosslyn and Shephard, 2005), using the Object Spatial Imagery Questionnaire and a custom colour imagery task. It was found that individual imagery preferences – the tendency to visualise in pictorial detail or in spatial sketches – was related to questionnaire reported dream colour, with object imagery skills being related to more frequent coloured dreaming. Incidental memory for colour was also examined, but neither recall nor recognition of colour properties was related to dream colour. Finally, age and childhood experience of black and white media were investigated, but were not found to be significant factors. The implications  are discussed in the context of memory effects and continuity of cognitive functions.