Harry Potter fanatics, we give you permission to gloat. Count the hours you spent nose-deep in J.K. Rowling’s finest storylines as time devoted to self-improvement and social awareness.
A recent study by the Journal of Applied Social Psychology shows that reading the Harry Potter series can change young individuals’ attitudes towards stigmatized groups by opening students’ eyes to diverse populations.
Not only have these best-selling pages helped to grow your imagination, but also your acceptance of marginalized populations and intolerance of prejudice behavior. But how do the studies stack up?
Researchers conducted studies on three different populations; two in Italy and one in the United Kingdom. Each group underwent an intense six-week course on dream education by way of the Harry Potter series, as stated on Mic.com. Students were separated into two groups; one which read specific passages of prejudice, including Draco Malfoy’s denunciation of Hermione as a “filthy little Mudblood” in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and another that read excerpts unrelated to bias and bigotry, such as Harry’s purchase of his first magic wand.
Italian primary school students in the first group exhibited improved attitudes towards immigrants and refugees and discussed prejudice and bigotry as the novel’s themes, while the second group did not. It’s no shock that Harry’s acceptance of minority groups including “mudbloods,” wizards born of the common Muggle family, improved students’ perceptions of outsider groups and recognition of “prejudice” behavior.
The same trial conducted on Italian high school students showed that a reader’s emotional identification with Harry’s story correlated with his or her positive perception of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender populations in general, as stated on Pacific Standard.
Even if the parallels may be obvious to adults, we have Harry’s interaction with elves, goblins and sub-human species to thank for our acceptance, understanding and appreciation of every race, gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation. Goon, goblin or wizard, Rowling’s cast of characters helps us apply our learned acceptance of diversity from the fantasized paperback pages to the real world.