Gender Specific Ego Synthesis in the Manifest Dream Content of College Students
Date
1989
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Haverford College. Department of Psychology
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Thesis
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Award
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eng
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Haverford users only
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Abstract
Written manifest dream reports collected from 16 male and 14 female college students ages 18-21 were scored according to 85 variables in search of evidence of gender specific ego function. It was hypothesized that the stylistic ego functioning differs as a result of the nature of pre-oedipal attachment resolution for each gender (Chodorow 1978), as a result of differing daily experience and as a result of differing thematic concerns. It was found that of the 85 variables concerning central figure, Setting, conflict, characters, emotional tone, and Achievement, Affiliation, and Power Motivation, 17 differed as an effect of gender. These include Number of Physical Activities Male>Female p<.17, Intensity of Physical Activity M>F p<.07, Conflict with Sexual Partner F>M p<.11, Nature of Conflict Resolution (pos. or neg.) M>F p<1.55, Appearance of Familiar Characters F>M p<.17, Presence of Authority figure M>F p<.135, Positive Affect Expression M>F p<.01, Negative Affect Expression F>M p<.032, Report Feelings of Success M>F p<.013, Reported Affect (pleasant or unpleasant) M>F p<.056, Degree of Setting Description M>F p<.011, Realistic Nature of Setting F>M p<.13, Achievement Motivation M>F p<.19, Affiliation Motivation F>M p<.08, Color Description F>M p<.002, Reference to Food F>M p<.008, Simultaneous Reference to Food and to Body Conflict F>M p<.OOl. The manifest dream revealed gender specific stylistic Ego Functioning. The analytic approach to female dreams must be reevaluated according to a possible female style and purpose of dreaming that differs from Freud's male model.