Bad news for “muggle” parents! A new study has claimed that children more or less “become” vampires or wizards just by reading books about them.
Psychologists at the University of Buffalo have found that this is because one not only feels like the characters one reads about but, becomes part of their world and derives emotional benefits. The study also found that the sense of belonging that results from assimilating narratives provokes the same feelings of satisfaction and happiness one would have if one was part of such a world.
“Social connection is a strong, human need and anytime we feel connected to others, we feel good in general, and feel good about our lives. Our study results demonstrate that the assimilation of a narrative allows us to feel close to others in the comfort of our own space and at our own convenience.”
“In our subjects, this led to a reported increase in life satisfaction and positive mood, which are two primary outcomes of belonging,” lead author Shira Gabriel said. To test their hypothesis, the researchers asked 140 undergraduate students to read for 30 minutes from one of two popular books, Twilight and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Participants then completed questionnaires that tested their conscious and unconscious responses to the narratives.
As predicted, on both conscious and unconscious measures, participants who read Harry Potter identified with the wizards and those who read Twilight identified with the vampires and the realm they inhabited.