Similarities and differences in dream content at the cross-cultural, gender, and individual levels.
G William Domhoff, Adam Schneider
Consciousness and Cognition October 4, 2008 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2008.08.005 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Measures | Hall and Van de Castle coding system |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Humans Sampling studies Gender identity Individuality Cognition Dreams Wakefulness Cross-cultural comparison |
| Key findings | The authors report that detecting gender and individual differences in dream content generally requires samples of 100-125 dream reports, because most dream elements appear in fewer than 50% of dream reports and the differences between groups or individuals are usually not large. The review engages Hobson and Kahn's (2007) contention that dream content is more generic than most researchers realize. |
Abstract
The similarities and differences in dream content at the cross-cultural, gender, and individual levels provide one starting point for carrying out studies that attempt to discover correspondences between dream content and various types of waking cognition. Hobson and Kahn's (Hobson, J. A., & Kahn, D. (2007). Dream content: Individual and generic aspects. Consciousness and Cognition, 16, 850-858.) conclusion that dream content may be more generic than most researchers realize, and that individual differences are less salient than usually thought, provides the occasion for a review of findings based on the Hall and Van de Castle (Hall, C., & Van de Castle, R. (1966). The content analysis of dreams. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.) coding system for the study of dream content. Then new findings based on a computationally intensive randomization strategy are presented to show the minimum sample sizes needed to detect gender and individual differences in dream content. Generally speaking, sample sizes of 100-125 dream reports are needed because most dream elements appear in less than 50% of dream reports and the magnitude of the differences usually is not large.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The cognitive neuroscience of lucid dreaming | 2019 | Review | |
| Sleep and dreaming are for important matters | 2013 | Review | |
| Nightmare Disorder and Isolated Sleep Paralysis | 2020 | Review | |
| My Dream, My Rules: Can Lucid Dreaming Treat Nightmares? | 2019 | Review | |
| Dream Recall: State or Trait Variable? Part I: Model, Theories, Methodology and Trait Factors | 1996 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 14
- Dream recall frequency and content in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy Epilepsia October 17, 2011
- Sleep and dream disturbances associated with dissociative experiences. Consciousness and Cognition July 1, 2024
- Nightmare experiences and perceived ethnic discrimination amongst female university students in the United Arab Emirates: a cross‐sectional study Journal of Sleep Research January 17, 2024
- Fréquence et contenu du rapport de rêve : approches comportementales et neurophysiologiques HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) December 8, 2017
- Ontogenetic and Gender Dimensions in a Normative Study of the Dreams of Canadians uO Research 2017
and 9 more in the library
Cites 5
- Dreams as the Expression of Conceptions and Concerns: A Comparison of German and American College Students Imagination, Cognition and Personality March 1, 2006
- California Women and Their Dreams: A Historical and Sub-Cultural Comparison of Dream Content Imagination, Cognition and Personality September 1, 1990
- The consistency and continuity hypotheses revisited through the dreams of women at two periods of their lives. Dreaming June 1, 2000
- Dream content: Individual and generic aspects. Consciousness and Cognition December 1, 2007
- Representation of the Self in REM and NREM Dreams. Dreaming June 1, 2007