A study in two nations of students of various ages demonstrates that reading or listening to the ‘Harry Potter’ novels and identifying with the main character increase tolerance of stigmatised groups, says a team led by Loris Vezzali of the University of Modena in Italy. For example, Italian elementary school children who listened to passages from the books over six weeks showed improved attitudes toward immigrants. In the books, which have sold more than 450m copies worldwide, the hero is angered by discrimination, such as when Hermione Granger, who isn’t a pure-blood witch, is insulted as a ‘filthy little Mudblood.’

(Source: Journal of Applied Social Psychology)

Published in Dawn, Economic & Business, March 30th , 2015

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