Content Analysis of German Students' Dreams: Comparison to American Findings

Authors: Schredl M.¹; Ciric P.²; Bishop A.²; Gölitz E.²; Buschtöns D.²

Source: Dreaming, Volume 13, Number 4, 200312 , pp. 237-243(7)

Publisher: Springer

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Abstract:

Studies have demonstrated that general dream characteristics, such as gender ratio and familiarity of dream characters, frequency and type of social interactions and settings, and gender differences (e.g., heightened physical aggression in men's dreams), are very stable over time and across different populations. The present study included 537 dreams of 106 women and 39 men (German students). The results confirmed earlier findings regarding the stability of general dream characteristics and gender differences. Only the gender difference regarding the gender ratio of dream characters has not been replicated; this finding might be explained by the relationship status (single vs. stable partnership) of the dreamers. The comparison of large dream samples may shed light on the similarities and differences between the inner worlds of people of different countries and cultures.

Keywords: dream content; gender differences; cross-cultural differences; reliability

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany;, Email: schredl@as200.zi-mannheim.de 2: Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany

Publication date: 2003-01-01