Variation in the Frequency of Relationship Characters in the Dream Reports of Singles: A Survey of 15,657 Visitors to an Online Dating Website

Abstract

Abstract Visitors to an online dating website voluntarily recorded their most recently recalled dream as part of a survey which also collected their relationship status and waking activities. The results showed that individuals who dated on the eve of sleeping and dreaming reported significantly higher frequencies of relationship dream characters than those who did not date beforehand. Furthermore, this difference increased as self-reported interest in entering a relationship decreased. Relationship status, sex, age, and whether participants were attracted to someone also affected the frequency and type of relationship characters in dream reports. These findings are discussed in the context of an extension to the continuity hypothesis of dreaming that describes human needs salient during wakefulness as driving dream content.