Presleep mood and dream recall.

Results showed that dream recall at home was more likely to occur on mornings preceded by presleep mood ratings that were relatively negative and that this was particularly true for infrequent dream recallers. The results failed to support repression hypotheses of dream recall that derive from the "afterexpulsion" concept of Freud. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that presleep mood affects the salience (vividness, emotionality, etc.), and thus the recallability, of the dream experience. In addition, negative presleep mood was associated with more unpleasant dreams (characterized by threat, helplessness, and vulnerability), especially for subjects reporting lower overall self-confidence.