It may be a fantasy, but "Harry Potter" is having an impact on the real world.
Children that read the books in the "Harry Potter" series developed better attitudes to groups of people that are stigmatized, such as immigrants, refugees and homosexuals.
According to the abstract to the paper about the study: "We conducted three studies to test whether extended contact through reading the popular best-selling books of 'Harry Potter' improves attitudes toward stigmatized groups (immigrants, homosexuals, refugees). Results from one experimental intervention with elementary school children and from two cross-sectional studies with high school and university students supported our main hypothesis."
The paper titled "The greatest magic of Harry Potter: Reducing prejudice" appeared in "Journal of Applied Social Psychology." It was authored by Loris Vezzali, Sofia Stathi, Dino Giovannini, Dora Capozza and Elena Trifiletti.
The abstract for the paper notes that it is the reader's identification with the protagonist Harry Potter and his/her disassociation with the villain Voldemort that lent to the empathy effect that readers demonstrated.
According to the "Pacific Standard," for one of the studies, fifth graders filled out surveys on their attitudes toward immigration, but then were split into two groups. One group of students discussed sections from the "Harry Potter" books that involved prejudice with researchers, while the second group talked about other sections. The researchers saw that the students who read the prejudice-related material, and wanted to emulate the hero, showed "improved attitudes towards immigrants."
Another study had a similar methodology, except researchers talked to high school students and asked them about homosexuals. Once again, those that identified with the protagonist Harry Potter had a more positive attitude toward homosexual. The third study, with college kids, asked about refugees and found that those that connected with Harry were not less prejudiced, but on the other hand, those who failed to identify with Voldemort showed more empathy toward refugees.
Fans of the "Harry Potter" books and films could tell you that there is a theme of prejudice and tolerance running through the story. The wizarding community of the setting is divided into those who are prejudiced against "mudbloods," a derogatory name for wizards born to non-wizarding parents, and those who hold no such prejudice. This is part of the divide between Voldemort's evil followers and the "good" wizards opposing him.
The "Harry Potter" series began in June 1997 with the first book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." It ran for seven books, concluding with 2007's "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."
Photo: Peter Dedina