People's Views on Dreaming: Attitudes and Subjective Dream Theories, With Regard to Age, Education, and Sex

摘要

The study investigated subjective theories of dream function (why do we dream)measured as level of agreement with selected prescientific and contemporary views of science (N = 667) and thus explored differences in dream attitude with respect to age, educational level, and sex. A factor analysis revealed 3 factors. One can be described as seeing dreams as meaningful information processing (memory consolidation, sorting inputs, and solving problems), a 2nd included prescientific dream theory (dreams as messages from outside and/or from deceased, or dreams as prophecies). A 3rd factor included viewing dreams as insignificant products of the brain (random chemical signal interpretation and garbage products of the brain). Factor 1 was highly related to dream attitude-the more generally approving of dreams and dreaming, the more participants would regard dreams as meaningful information processing. Factor 2 was related to sex (women being more approving) and negatively related to level of education. Factor 3 was negatively related to the dream attitude scale but positively related to dream recall, which seemed counterintuitive. This could be seen as a way of explaining the often irrational content of dreams that participants were then able to recall. Women had a more supportive attitude toward dreams and dreaming.