This is what it means if you dream that you are cheating with a colleague you don’t find attractive at all
What if you dream and wake up thinking, wow... Was this about that colleague? Ew. That colleague I don't find interesting at all? Why do I dream that I'm kissing that guy? I don't find him... Attractive? Fun? Nothing compared to my current partner?
What a misery. What does it mean? Dreaming about cheating is one thing, but cheating with someone you don't actually find attractive? Why do we do that?
Well, there's a simple reason from psychology. You call it the mere exposure effect. This means that what you see often, you start to like more and more. Doing something the same way very often also becomes more of a habit. This works the same way with people and feelings. If you see a colleague every day, for hours, week after week... Then you start to feel something for them without realizing it. That grows because you keep seeing each other. And no, it has nothing to do with actually cheating. And also not with being in love, because if you don't find someone attractive, that's just not the case. But your mind puts you on the wrong track for a moment because of that effect.
The mere exposure effect describes the phenomenon that people tend to find things more enjoyable, attractive, or positive as they are exposed to them more frequently, even without consciously paying attention to the repetition. It just happens because you have someone a lot in your life, at work. The mere exposure effect occurs because repeated exposure to something creates a sense of familiarity and comfort, which is often translated into a more positive evaluation. This repetition can make something, like a face, a song, a brand, or even an idea, feel familiar and pleasant over time. This is independent of what the repeated person actually entails. So no, you are not in love. Far from it. But you are just susceptible to psychological tricks that your brain plays on you.
The effect works especially because repetition provides a kind of cognitive comfort. Something that feels familiar is unconsciously seen as safe and pleasant, which gives us positive feelings. The mere exposure effect can be a powerful tool in marketing, media, and even in social relationships. Because you can also handle it smartly: if you want to win someone over, you just need to see them very often first. But if you don't want to dream about this anymore? Well, then maybe change jobs every now and then? Then you just have a new group of colleagues that you don't know at all in the beginning. You can't even fantasize about ending up in bed with them.
