Dream Content in a Representative German Sample: Gender Differences and the Effects of other Socio-Demographic Variables

Schredl, Michael; Keller, Katharina

doi:10.2190/ic.28.1.d

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…As pointed out in the introduction, there is strong evidence that the gender difference in dream recall is at least partly explained by socialization; similarly, sex role orientation (more femininity/ expressivity and less masculinity/instrumentality) is also related to dream length. Bizarreness was not related to gender or sex role orientation, confirming the finding of Keller (2008-2009) who studied gender differences in dream content in a representative German sample. Regarding dream emotions, male gender and masculinity seem to be associated with more positive and less negative emotions and problems within the dream.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…However, one has to keep in mind that most of the earlier studies (e.g., Hall et al, 1982;Hall & Van de Castle, 1966;Schredl, Sahin, & Schäfer, 1998) have included student samples. Keller (2008-2009) have shown that age has an effect on gender differences in dream content, for example, the percentage of male dream characters. Dream length was found not to differ in student samples (Schredl, Sahin, & Schäfer, 1998) but in adolescents (Schredl & Pallmer, 1998): Girls reported longer dreams than boys; a finding parallel to this study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Gender Differences in Dream Content: Related to Biological Sex or Sex Role Orientation?

Schredl

Paul

Lahl

et al. 2010

Imagination, Cognition and Personality

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Despite the large number of studies addressing gender differences in dream recall and dream content, research regarding whether these differences might be affected by sex role orientation is rather scarce. The present online-survey included a large sample of most recent dreams. The results clearly indicate that sex role orientation (femininity/expressivity and masculinity/instrumentality) affect the same dream characteristics that show marked gender differences (e.g., sexual dream content, physical aggression). Whereas the effect of sex role orientation on dream content support the continuity hypothesis of dreaming, the effect of biological sex on dream content does not exclude that other variables (such as, for example, the amount of sexual fantasies during waking) have an effect on dream content in addition to sex role orientation. Thus, future studies have to elicit more waking-life variables in order to model the varying daytime experiences of men and women in order to investigate whether these daytime differences sufficiently explain gender differences in dreaming or whether biological factors are also of importance.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender Differences in Dream Content: Related to Biological Sex or Sex Role Orientation?

Schredl

Paul

Lahl

et al. 2010

Imagination, Cognition and Personality

Self Cite

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“…Dream recall frequency can also be increased, especially in low dream recallers, by simple methods like keeping a dream diary (Cohen, 1969;Schredl, 2002). This effect of training is particularly interesting in representative samples because in a recent German study (Schredl & Keller, 2008-09) only 36.8% of the participants were able to report a most recent dream; i.e., in order to increase the representativeness of the dream sample, it might be valuable to apply some kind of "dream recall training. "…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The question, however, is whether and how the findings regarding factors that influence dream recall frequency can affect, for example, the ability to report a most recent dream or write down a dream in the diary; this has not been addressed empirically in a systematic way. A recent representative study (Schredl & Keller, 2008-09) found a moderate correlation between a 7-point dream recall frequency scale (Schredl, 2004a) and the report of a most recent dream (r = .487, p < .0001, N = 933), indicating a relatively close relationship between dream recall frequency and the ability to report a most recent dream (taking into account the different measurement levels of the variables: dichotomous vs. 7-point rating scale). The meta-analysis of Schredl and Reinhard (2008) reporting a substantial and robust gender difference in dream recall indicates that the effect size of this gender difference is not affected by the measurement method (questionnaire scales: d = 0.246; dream diaries: d = 0.309; reporting a most recent dream: d = 0.237).…”

Section: )mentioning

confidence: 95%

Different Factors Affect Different Aspects of Dream Recall

Schredl

2009

Imagination, Cognition and Personality

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Dream recall is naturally a prerequisite for eliciting dream content. Therefore it is of importance to study factors (e.g., personality traits) that might affect dream recall because these factors might bias the content analytic findings in the field of dream research. The present findings indicate that different aspects of dream recall (dream recall frequency, dream recall detail, longterm dream memory) are affected by different factors or at least in different magnitudes by the same factors (e.g., imagination). Whether these variables have a confounding effect on dream content analytic findings using different sampling methods (most recent dreams, diary dreams, and laboratory dreams) is poorly understood, but the present results clearly indicate that there is a need for systematic research in this area in order to increase the representativeness of content analytic findings.Dream recall is naturally a prerequisite for eliciting dream content. It is important, therefore, to study factors that might affect dream recall because these factors might bias the content analytic findings in the field of dream research. Mainly, three methods of eliciting dream reports have been applied: most recent dreams (interview or questionnaire) (cf. Domhoff, 1996); dream diaries (cf. Schredl,

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“…The data collection period of Hall and Van de Castle (1966) ranged from the late 1940s to the early '50s. Subsequent studies in the '70s (Hall et al 1982) and '90s (Schredl et al 2003), and very recent studies (Schredl & Keller 2008 replicated the higher prevalence of physical aggression in men's dreams compared with total aggression. This means that cultural developments such as the women's movement did not affect this sex difference in dreams.…”

Section: Michael Schredlmentioning

confidence: 91%

Human sexual dimorphism, fitness display, and ovulatory cycle effects

Sefcek

Sacco

2009

Behav Brain Sci

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I argue that the magnitude and nature of sex differences in aggression, their development, causation, and variability, can be better explained by sexual selection than by the alternative biosocial version of social role theory. Thus, sex differences in physical aggression increase with the degree of risk, occur early in life, peak in young adulthood, and are likely to be mediated by greater male impulsiveness, and greater female fear of physical danger. Male variability in physical aggression is consistent with an alternative life history perspective, and context-dependent variability with responses to reproductive competition, although some variability follows the internal and external influences of social roles. Other sex differences, in variance in reproductive output, threat displays, size and strength, maturation rates, and mortality and conception rates, all indicate that male aggression is part of a sexually selected adaptive complex. Physical aggression between partners can be explained using different evolutionary principles, arising from the conflicts of interest between males and females entering a reproductive alliance, combined with variability following differences in societal gender roles. In this case, social roles are particularly important since they enable both the relatively equality in physical aggression between partners from Western nations, and the considerable cross-national variability, to be explained.

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Dream Content in a Representative German Sample: Gender Differences and the Effects of other Socio-Demographic Variables

Cited by 10 publications

References 17 publications

Gender Differences in Dream Content: Related to Biological Sex or Sex Role Orientation?

Gender Differences in Dream Content: Related to Biological Sex or Sex Role Orientation?

Different Factors Affect Different Aspects of Dream Recall

Human sexual dimorphism, fitness display, and ovulatory cycle effects

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