Understanding Psychology (10th Ed)

 
(Source: Schneider & Domhoff , 2002.)
Percentage of Dreams
Reporting at Least One Event
Thematic Event
Males
Females
Aggression
47%
44%
Friendliness
38
42
Sexuality
12
04
Misfortune
36
33
Success
15
08
Failure
15
10
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Module 14 
Sleep and Dreams 
147
If you have had a similar dream—a surprisingly common dream among people involved 
in academic pursuits—you know how utterly convincing are the panic and fear that the 
events in the dream can bring about. Nightmares , unusually frightening dreams, occur 
fairly often. In one survey, almost half of a group of college students who kept records 
of their dreams over a two-week period reported having at least one nightmare. This 
works out to some 24 nightmares per person each year, on average (Levin & Nielsen, 
2009; Nielson, Stenstrom, & Levin, 2006; Schredl et al., 2009). 
However, most of the 150,000 dreams the average person experiences by the age 
of 70 are much less dramatic. They typically encompass everyday events such as 
going to the supermarket, working at the offi ce, and preparing a meal. Students 
dream about going to class; professors dream about lecturing. Dental patients dream 
of getting their teeth drilled; dentists dream of drilling the wrong tooth. The English 
have tea with the queen in their dreams; in the United States, people go to a bar with 
the president (Domhoff, 1996; Schredl & Piel, 2005; Taylor & Bryant, 2007). Figure 6 
shows the most common themes found in people’s dreams. 
But what, if anything, do all these dreams mean? Whether dreams have a specifi c 
signifi cance and function is a question that scientists have considered for many years, 
and they have developed the three alternative theories we discuss below (and sum-
marized in Figure 7).