The Fate of Career Dreams: A Test of Levinson's Theory

Abstract

The ‘dream’, as defined by Levinson et al. (1979), is an individual's vision about his/her important future accomplishment or special role in life. In this study, several predictions derived from Levinson's theory of dreams are tested. A questionnaire asking respondents to predict the probability that their dream will come true and to rate their disappointment if their dream does not come true was collected from 368 adults (265 women and 103 men). In support of Levinson's theory, women's dreams more often than men's included references to their family. Older adults believed that their original dreams were less likely to come true and the older adults also reported less disappointment than younger adults that their dreams would not be realised. Women were more hopeful than men that their dreams would be realised. Those who were more educated said that they would be less disappointed if their dreams did not come true.