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Harris suggested that 'people who have falling dreams predominantly are able to express relatively more aggression toward the father than toward the mother in waking life because they are afraid of antagonizing the nurturant mother, whereas
people who dream of being attacked are able to express relatively more aggression toward the mother than toward the father in waking life because they are afraid of antagonizing the castrating father'. Hall tested this proposition by means of a questionnaire answered by five hundred seventeen college students. The proposition was verified for males but not for females. Part II of this study examined one hundred six dreams of being attacked. The author finds the following content characteristic of these dreams: the dreamer's principal fear is that of physical assault; the attacker is usually another person, usually a male; the dreamer usually tries to run away, escape or wake up; the attack is usually without provocation; the attack dreams of males and females are more alike than different. 'It was concluded that the dream of being attacked represents an expression of the feminine attitudes of weakness, passivity, inferiority, and masochism as formulated by Freud. The dreamer does not fear castration, as suggested by Harris, since he already feels castrated. Instead his fears are those of an impotent person who is unable to cope with internal and external threats of danger.'