Cognitive Differences in Dream Content between English Males and Females Attending Dream Seminars Using Quantitative Content Analysis
Robert Tartz, Richard C. Baker, Stanley Krippner
Imagination, Cognition and Personality June 1, 2007 DOI: 10.2190/ic.26.4.d (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 200 |
| Population | Male and female dream seminar attendees and research participants in England |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Key findings | English males scored higher on the Aggression/Friendliness index, while English females scored higher on the Physical Aggression index and reported more Bodily Misfortunes. |
Abstract
This study investigated if dream content differences exist between male and female dreamers in England. One most recent dream report was collected from each of the 100 male and 100 female research participants during dream seminars and a dream research project held in England between 1990 and 2004. The Hall-Van de Castle System of Content Analysis (1966) was used to score each dream report. Major findings showed that English males scored significantly higher on the Aggression/Friendliness index compared to English females. By contrast, English females reported a significantly higher Physical Aggression index compared to males. Females also reported a much higher Bodily Misfortunes percentage compared to males. Although some findings were similar to past studies using American participants, others were unique to this study and may be attributable to the particular sample used in this study (dream seminar attendees), or may suggest actual underlying cultural patterns of contemporary English men and women.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lucid Dreaming: a State of Consciousness with Features of Both Waking and Non-Lucid Dreaming Student volunteers trained to become lucid and signal lucidity with horizontal eye... | 2009 | Observational study | n = 6 |
| Nightmare Prevalence, Nightmare Distress, and Self-Reported Psychological Disturbance Young adults with a mean age of 20 years | 2002 | Prospective observational study | n = 116 |
| Long-term effects of extreme situational stress on sleep and dreaming Survivors of traumatic events who complained of sleep disturbances, compared with... | 1987 | Case-control study | n = 11 |
| The relationship of nightmare frequency and nightmare distress to well‐being Adults who reported dreams | 2004 | Observational cohort | n = 147 |
| Dreaming in NREM Sleep: A High-Density EEG Study of Slow Waves and Spindles Healthy human subjects | 2018 | Observational cohort | n = 14 |
Citations in the library
Cites 4
- California Women and Their Dreams: A Historical and Sub-Cultural Comparison of Dream Content Imagination, Cognition and Personality September 1, 1990
- A Comparison of the Emotional Content of Dreams Recalled by Young and Elderly Women The Journal of Psychology 1984
- Was I Dreaming or Did it Really Happen? A Comparison between Real and Artificial Dream Reports Imagination, Cognition and Personality September 1, 1989
- GENDER DIFFERENCES IN A CONTENT ANALYSIS STUDY OF 608 DREAM REPORTS FROM RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS IN THE UNITED STATES Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal 2002