Dream surveys consistently show that people dream about the colors white, black, and red more than other colors. This holds up across gender, age, and cultural differences. Also consistent is the emotional description of dreams. Sadness and joy are felt the least, while anger, fear, wonder and confusion are felt the most.
In my estimation, we feel these emotions more because they are the ones that must be rationalized and regulated more. The dreams help us practice them, so we can be better at handling them in waking life. Sadness and joy have no evolutionary benefit. They are felt less by "lower" members of the animal kingdom because they are not advantageous to survival. If that sounds joyless, I didn't write the rules!
In my estimation, we feel these emotions more because they are the ones that must be rationalized and regulated more. The dreams help us practice them, so we can be better at handling them in waking life. Sadness and joy have no evolutionary benefit. They are felt less by "lower" members of the animal kingdom because they are not advantageous to survival. If that sounds joyless, I didn't write the rules!
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