Stereotypical gender-based emotions are not detectable in dream reports

Bibliographic Data

ID3900392
AuthorsDavid Kahn (0000-0002-2859-7801), J Allan Hobson
Year2002
Volume12
Issue4
Pages209-222
Publication date2002-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueDreaming (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1053-0797 • E-ISSN: 1573-3351
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1023/a:1021156511919
OpenAlexW2047827923
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited7

This study reports on the number of feelings evoked in men and women by their dream characters as well as on the relative frequency of different kinds of feelings. Thirty-five subjects recorded 320 dreams over a two-week period, submitted dream reports and a dream log of all characters that appeared in their dreams as well as any feelings involving the characters. We found that feelings were pervasive in dreams and that they were evoked by over 80% of a subject's dream characters. Further, negative and positive emotions were balanced for both men and women. We found no significant differences in the number or in the profile of feelings in men and women's dreams. The reasons for this are discussed in terms of a continuity hypothesis across dream and wake states or, on the contrary, that feelings expressed in dreams may be independent of learned gender differences

Developmental psychology · Dream · Psychoanalysis · Psychotherapist · Psychology · Sleep and related disorders · Sleep and Wakefulness Research · Social Psychology