Exotic dreams: A cross-cultural study.
Stanley Krippner, Laura V. Faith
Dreaming June 1, 2001 DOI: 10.1023/a:1009480404011 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1,666 |
| Population | Members of dream seminars held between 1990 and 1998 in Argentina, Brazil, Japan, Russia, Ukraine, and the United States; 910 dream reports from women and 756 from men |
| Citations | 13 |
| Key findings | Of 1,666 dream reports, 135 (8.1%) were classified as exotic. Women reported 8.5% exotic dreams and men 7.7%, a non-significant difference. Russia had the highest rate (12.7%), followed by Brazil (10.9%), Argentina (9.0%), Japan (8.1%), Ukraine (5.9%), and the United States (5.7%); Russian dreamers reported significantly more exotic dreams than those in Ukraine or the United States. |
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to identify “exotic” (i.e., puzzling, unusual, extraordinary, anomalous) dreams in a sample of 1,666 dream reports from six countries, and to make gender comparisons as well. Research participants were members of dream seminars that one of us conducted between 1990 and 1998 in Argentina, Brazil, Japan, Russia, Ukraine, and the United States. Only one dream report per participant was utilized, 910 dream reports from women and 756 from men. Scoring criteria were determined in advance for creative, lucid, healing, dreams within dreams, out-of-body, telepathic, mutual (and shared), clairvoyant, precognitive, past-life, initiation, and visitation dreams. When a dream fell into two categories, it received a score of 0.5 for each of the categories, rather than a score of 1.0, awarded when a dream represented a single category. In the sample of 1,666 dreams, there were 135 (8.1%) exotic dreams. Female dreamers reported 77 (8.5% of all female reports) exotic dreams, while male dreamers reported 58 (7.7% of all male reports), the difference was not statistically significant. The country with the highest percentage of exotic dream reports was Russia (12.7% of the total number reported by Russian seminar participants), followed by Brazil (10.9%), Argentina (9.0%), Japan (8.1%), Ukraine (5.9%), and the United States (5.7%). When chi square statistics were applied, it was found that Russian dreamers reported significantly more exotic dreams than dreamers in Ukraine or the United States.