We already know that reading is awesome (and that Harry Potter is even more awesome, if that’s possible), but thanks to the Journal of Applied Psychology, we have one more reason to put down our laptops and pick up our library cards. A recent study published in the journal exposed fifth-grade students to select Harry Potter passages and sorted them (pun intended) into discussion groups; some groups talked about themes of tolerance in the story, while others did not.
In the end, researchers found that “extended contact via story reading is a powerful strategy to improve out-group attitudes.” In other words, reading the Harry Potter stories made Italian and U.K. kids more tolerant to immigrants, LGBTQ+ individuals and refugees. Think about Harry’s accepting attitude toward Mudbloods and Dobby the house elf–could there have been more to these stories than meets the eye? Maybe the magic lies in the hidden messages after all!
According to Arts.Mic, “In all three studies, the researchers credited the books with improving the readers’ ability to assume the perspective of marginalized groups. They also claimed that young children, with the help of a teacher, were able to understand that Harry’s frequent support of ‘[M]udbloods’ was an allegory towards bigotry in real-life society.” Clearly, it’s possible that the discussion of tolerance itself could have played a role in the outcome of the study; still, the fact that the students filled out questionnaires about immigrant out-groups before the reading took place allowed researchers to monitor these changes in opinion and understanding, which in turn made it much more likely that the passages themselves were the true cause of the upswing of tolerant, empathetic opinions.
Arts.Mic also reports that J.K. Rowling has stated, “‘The Potter books in general are a prolonged argument for tolerance, a prolonged plea for an end to bigotry.'” Now there’s real evidence to back up the author’s claim, and the we HP fans could not be more thrilled! So, if you needed an excuse to pick up your old and battered copy of Goblet of Fire once again this summer, you’re good to go! Get reading, collegiettes!
What did the Harry Potter books teach you, collegiettes? Share your experience in the comments!