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Dreaming

Certain types of dreams are found in all human cultures. Compare the following lists of dream themes, one from college students in the United States, the other from people on the Solomon Islands (located in the South Pacific, east of New Guinea). They are very similar.

What are dream themes common to college students and Solomon Islanders of the 1930s?

Dreams by college students (Most to least frequent)

Dreams by Solomon Islanders (Most to least frequent)

Being attacked or pursued	Death and spirits of the dead
Falling	Incidents in everyday life
Trying again and again to do something	Incidents with sexual implications
Schools, teachers, studying	Food and eating
Sexual experiences	Fighting, beating, or being beaten
Arriving late for some event	Incidents involving animals
Eating delicious food	Being frozen with fright
Being frozen with fright	Going on a journey
Dead people as though alive	Climbing a hill
Flying or soaring through air	Sleep
Wild violent beasts	Trying to move but being fixed
Being unable to move	Physical disabilities

(From Tart, 1973)

(From Lincoln, 1935/1970)

Although these lists were collected from different populations in different cultures, 40 years apart, they contain many of the same themes. Of course, because the lists come from two different studies, the categories are slightly different. For example, in the Solomon Islander list the common theme of being attacked or pursued might be categorized as fighting or being frozen with fright. Nevertheless, you can see that people on opposite ends of the earth have similar dreams about food, falling, sex, dead people coming alive, being unable to move, and animals.

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