A Comparison of the Emotional Content of Dreams Recalled by Young and Elderly Women
Kenneth A. Blick, Joan B. Howe
The Journal of Psychology 1984 DOI: 10.1080/00223980.1984.9923629 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 61 |
| Population | 24 college women and 37 elderly women |
| Duration | Six weeks |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Citations | 22 |
| Key findings | College women selected significantly more emotions for their dreams than elderly women. Enjoyment-joy accounted for a significantly higher proportion of emotions in the elderly women's dreams, while anger-rage and fear-terror occurred significantly less often in their dreams. The authors interpret this pattern as support for the continuity hypothesis, that dream content reflects daily life. |
Abstract
Twenty-four college and 37 elderly women kept diaries for six weeks, at the end of which they voluntarily submitted them for analysis. The college women selected significantly more emotions for their dreams than did the elderly women. Enjoyment-joy accounted for a significantly higher proportion of emotions in dreams of elderly than in those of college women; but anger-rage and fear-terror occurred significantly less often in dreams of the elderly. The results were interpreted as providing support for the continuity hypothesis which states that dream content is a reflection of one's daily life.
Citations in the library
Cited by 10
- How You Measure Is What You Get: Differences in Self- and External Ratings of Emotional Experiences in Home Dreams The American Journal of Psychology August 21, 2017
- Aging and Memory for Dreams Perceptual and Motor Skills October 1, 1991
- Methodological issues affecting the collection of dreams Journal of Sleep Research March 1, 1993
- Dreams and dreaming among the elderly: An overview Aging & Mental Health February 1, 1999
- The consistency and continuity hypotheses revisited through the dreams of women at two periods of their lives. Dreaming June 1, 2000
and 5 more in the library