Can we say then that the universal prevalence of male characters in men ’s
dreams proves this part of Freud’ s theory correct? Not entirely.
Unfortunately, other interpretations are possible. For example, men may
dream about men more than about women because they come into contact
with more men during the day. And even if we accept that men have more
conflicts with men than with women, it is still an open question as to whether
this conflict is a manifestation of unresolved Oedipal feelings. Nonetheless,TABLE 4.1
Percentage of Male Dream Characters for Men and Women
Percent Male Characters
Age of Participants Country/Culture Men Women
2–4 United States 59 49
7–12 United States 67 54
10–13 United States 69 52
Guatemala 72 43
Peru 68 50
14–17 United States 66 56
Guatemala 68 46Peru 59 57Zulu 81 49Cuna 59 55
College United States* 60 48
Australia 55 48Mexico 59 61Peru* 34 39Zulu 82 54
India 71 46
Nigeria 81 50
Adult United States 66 52
Ifaluk 80 53
Tinquian 61 66Alor 68 58Skolt 73 48Hopi 63 51
*Figures combined from more than one sample.
Source: From “A Ubiquitous Sex Difference in Dreams, ”by C. S. Hall, revisited, Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology , 1984, 1109 –1117.72 CHAPTER 4 The Freudian Approach