Label	Element	Value
Risk Return [Abstract]	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
ProspectusDate	rr_ProspectusDate	May 01, 2012
Growth and Income Portfolio (Prospectus Summary) | Growth and Income Portfolio
Risk Return [Abstract]	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return, Heading	rr_RiskReturnHeading	Fund Summary
Investment Objective, Heading	rr_ObjectiveHeading	Investment Objective
investment Objective, Primary	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	The fund seeks long-term capital growth, current income and growth of income consistent with reasonable investment risk.
Expense, Heading	rr_ExpenseHeading	Fees and Expenses
Expense, Narrative	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. These figures do not reflect any fees or charges imposed by participating insurance companies under their Variable Annuity contracts (VA contracts) or Variable Life Insurance policies (VLI policies).
Operating Expenses, Caption	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Portfolio Turnover, Heading	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover	rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock	The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 83.28% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate	rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate	83.28%
Expense Example, Heading	rr_ExpenseExampleHeading	Example
Expense Example, Narrative	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	The Example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund's operating expenses remain the same. The Example does not reflect fees and expenses incurred under VA contracts and VLI policies; if they were reflected, the figures in the Example would be higher. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Investment Strategy, Heading	rr_StrategyHeading	Principal Investment Strategy
Investment Strategy, Narrative	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	To pursue its goal, the fund normally invests primarily in stocks of domestic and foreign issuers. The fund's portfolio managers seek to create a portfolio that includes a blend of growth and dividend paying stocks, as well as other investments that provide income. The portfolio managers choose stocks through a disciplined investment process that combines computer modeling techniques, bottom-up fundamental analysis and risk management. The fund's investment process is designed to provide investors with investment exposure to sector weightings and risk characteristics similar to those of the Standard & Poor's® 500 Composite Stock Price Index (S&P 500 Index). However, the fund may at times significantly overweight or underweight certain sectors in attempting to achieve higher returns. In selecting securities, the portfolio managers seek companies that possess some or all of the following characteristics: growth of earnings potential; operating margin improvement; revenue growth prospects; business improvement; good business fundamentals; dividend yield consistent with the fund's strategy pertaining to income; value, or how a stock is priced relative to its perceived intrinsic worth; and healthy financial profile, which measures the financial wellbeing of the company.   The fund may use listed equity options to seek to enhance returns and/or mitigate risk. The fund will engage in "covered" option transactions only, where the fund has in its possession, for the duration of the strategy, the underlying physical asset or cash to satisfy any obligation the fund may have with respect to the option strategy. The fund will limit investments in options to 20% (based on the notional value of the options) of the fund's net assets and will limit the value of all total premiums paid or received to 5% of the fund's total assets.
Risk, Heading	rr_RiskHeading	Principal Risks
Risk, Narrative	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit. It is not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any other government agency. It is not a complete investment program. The fund's share price fluctuates, sometimes dramatically, which means you could lose money. o Risks of stock investing. Stocks generally fluctuate more in value than bonds and may decline significantly over short time periods. There is the chance that stock prices overall will decline because stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising prices and falling prices. The market value of a stock may decline due to general weakness in the stock market or because of factors that affect the company or its particular industry. o Growth stock risk. Investors often expect growth companies to increase their earnings at a certain rate. If these expectations are not met, investors can punish the stocks inordinately, even if earnings do increase. In addition, growth stocks may lack the dividend yield that may cushion stock prices in market downturns. o Market sector risk. The fund may significantly overweight or underweight certain companies, industries or market sectors, which may cause the fund's performance to be more or less sensitive to developments affecting those companies, industries or sectors. o Foreign investment risk. The fund's performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting investments in foreign issuers. Special risks associated with investments in foreign issuers include exposure to currency fluctuations, less liquidity, less developed or less efficient trading markets, lack of comprehensive company information, political and economic instability and differing auditing and legal standards. o Derivatives risk. A small investment in derivatives could have a potentially large impact on the fund's performance. The use of derivatives involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in the underlying assets. Derivatives can be highly volatile, illiquid and difficult to value. o Non-diversification risk. The fund is non-diversified, which means that the fund may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers. Therefore, the fund's performance may be more vulnerable to changes in the market value of a single issuer or group of issuers and more susceptible to risks associated with a single economic, political or regulatory occurrence than a diversified fund.
Risk, Lose Money	rr_RiskLoseMoney	The fund's share price fluctuates, sometimes dramatically, which means you could lose money.
Risk, Nondiversified Status	rr_RiskNondiversifiedStatus	The fund is non-diversified, which means that the fund may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers. Therefore, the fund's performance may be more vulnerable to changes in the market value of a single issuer or group of issuers and more susceptible to risks associated with a single economic, political or regulatory occurrence than a diversified fund.
Risk, Not Insured Depository Institution	rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution	An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit. It is not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any other government agency.
Bar Chart and Performance Table, Heading	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	Performance
Performance, Narrative	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund. The table compares the average annual total returns of the fund's shares to those of a broad measure of market performance. The fund's past performance is no guarantee of future results. More recent performance information may be available at www.dreyfus.com. Performance information reflects the fund's expenses only and does not reflect the fees and charges imposed by participating insurance companies under their VA contracts or VLI policies. Because these fees and charges will reduce total return, policyowners should consider them when evaluating and comparing the fund's performance. Policyowners should consult the prospectus for  their contract or policy for more information.
Performance, Information Illustrates Variability of Returns	rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns	The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund.
Performance, Availability Website Address	rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress	www.dreyfus.com
Performance, Past Does Not Indicate Future	rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture	The fund's past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Bar Chart, Heading	rr_BarChartHeading	Year-by-Year Total Returns as of 12/31 each year (%) -- Initial Shares
Bar Chart, Narrative	rr_BarChartNarrativeTextBlock	The bar chart shows changes in the performance of the fund's Initial shares from year to year.
Bar Chart, Closing	rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock	Best Quarter               Q2, 2009: 16.23%           Worst Quarter              Q4, 2008: -22.84%
Index No Deduction for Fees, Expenses, Taxes	rr_IndexNoDeductionForFeesExpensesTaxes	reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes
Average Annual Returns, Caption	rr_AverageAnnualReturnCaption	Average Annual Total Returns (as of 12/31/11)
Growth and Income Portfolio (Prospectus Summary) | Growth and Income Portfolio | S&P 500® Index
Risk Return [Abstract]	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Average Annual Returns, Label	rr_AverageAnnualReturnLabel	S&P 500 Index reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	2.09%
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	(0.25%)
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	2.92%
Growth and Income Portfolio (Prospectus Summary) | Growth and Income Portfolio | Initial Shares
Risk Return [Abstract]	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Management fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.75%
Distribution and/or service (Rule 12b-1) fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	none
Other expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.14%
Total annual fund operating expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	0.89%
Expense Example, With Redemption, 1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	91
Expense Example, With Redemption, 3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	284
Expense Example, With Redemption, 5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	493
Expense Example, With Redemption, 10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,096
Annual Return 2002	rr_AnnualReturn2002	(25.33%)
Annual Return 2003	rr_AnnualReturn2003	26.57%
Annual Return 2004	rr_AnnualReturn2004	7.47%
Annual Return 2005	rr_AnnualReturn2005	3.35%
Annual Return 2006	rr_AnnualReturn2006	14.51%
Annual Return 2007	rr_AnnualReturn2007	8.44%
Annual Return 2008	rr_AnnualReturn2008	(40.41%)
Annual Return 2009	rr_AnnualReturn2009	28.79%
Annual Return 2010	rr_AnnualReturn2010	18.61%
Annual Return 2011	rr_AnnualReturn2011	(2.79%)
Highest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel	Best Quarter
Highest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate	Jun. 30, 2009
Highest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn	16.23%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel	Worst Quarter
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate	Dec. 31, 2008
Lowest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn	(22.84%)
Average Annual Returns, Label	rr_AverageAnnualReturnLabel	Initial Shares
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	(2.79%)
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	(0.82%)
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	1.44%
Growth and Income Portfolio (Prospectus Summary) | Growth and Income Portfolio | Service Shares
Risk Return [Abstract]	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Management fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.75%
Distribution and/or service (Rule 12b-1) fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	0.25%
Other expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.14%
Total annual fund operating expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	1.14%
Expense Example, With Redemption, 1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	116
Expense Example, With Redemption, 3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	362
Expense Example, With Redemption, 5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	628
Expense Example, With Redemption, 10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,386
Average Annual Returns, Label	rr_AverageAnnualReturnLabel	Service Shares
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	(2.99%)
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	(1.05%)
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	1.23%