Other Titles in the Psychology of Popular Culture Series The Psychology of The Simpsons THE PSYCHOLOGY OF HARRY POTTER An Unauthorized Examination of the Boy Who Lied E D I T E D B Y NEIL MULHOLLAND, PH.D. BE N B E L L A B O O K S , I N C . Dallas, Texas THIS PUBLICATION HAS NOT BEEN PREPARED, APPROVED, OR LICENSED BY ANY ENTITY THAT CREATED OR PRODUCED THE WELL-KNOWN HARRY POTTER SERIES OR THE POPULAR HARRY POTTER FILMS. “What Do Students Learn from Hogwarts Classes?” © 2006 by Robin S. Rosenberg, Ph.D. “Harry’s Curiosity” © 2006 by Susan Engel, Ph.D., and Sam Levin “Intergroup Confict in the World of Harry Potter” © 2006 by Melissa J. Beers, Ph.D., and Kevin J. Apple, Ph.D. “‘Have You Got What It Takes to Train Security Trolls?’: Career Counseling for Wizards” © 2006 by Shoshana D. Kerewsky, Psy.D., and Lissa Joy Geiken, M.Ed. “Hogwarts Academy: Common Sense and School Magic” © 2006 by Charles W. Kalish and Emma C. Kalish “Attachment Styles at Hogwarts: From Infancy to Adulthood” © 2006 by Wind Goodfriend, Ph.D. “What Harry and Fawkes Have in Common: The Transformative Power of Grief” © 2006 by Misty Hook, Ph.D. “Harry Potter and the Resilience to Adversity” © 2006 by Danielle M. Provenzano and Richard E. Heyman “Discovering Magic” © 2006 by Karl S. Rosengren, Ph.D., and Emily C. Rosengren “The Magical World of Muggles” © 2006 by Carol Nemeroff, Ph.D. “Time and Time Again: Muggle’s Watch, the Wizard’s Clock” © 2006 by Peter A. Hancock and Michelle K. Gardner “The Social Dynamics of Power and Cooperation in the Wizarding World” © 2006 by Nancy Franklin, Ph.D. “Mental Illness in the World of Wizardry” © 2006 by Jessica Leigh Murakami “‘Dobby Had to Iron His Hands, Sir!’: Self-Inficted Cuts, Burns, and Bruises in Harry Potter” © 2006 by E. David Klonsky, Ph.D., and Rebecca Laptook, M.A. “The Werewolf in the Wardrobe” © 2006 by Siamak Tundra Nafcy “Exploring the Dark Side: Harry Potter and the Psychology of Evil” © 2006 by Christopher J. Patrick, Ph.D., and Sarah K. Patrick “Harry Potter and the Word That Shall Not Be Named” © 2006 by Mikhail Lyubansky, Ph.D. “Evolution, Development, and the Magic of Harry Potter” © 2006 by David H. Rakison and Caroline Simard, BSc., DMV “Using Psychological Treatment with Harry” © 2006 by Neil Mulholland, Ph.D. “Defense Against the Real Dark Arts” © 2006 by Patricia A. Rippetoe, Ph.D. “Resisting Social Infuence: Lessons from Harry Potter” © 2006 by Melanie C. Green, Ph.D. “Harry Potter and the Magic of Transformation” © 2006 by Laurie J. Pahel Additional Materials © 2006 by Neil Mulholland, Ph.D. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. BenBella Books, Inc. 6440 N. Central Expressway, Suite 617 Dallas, TX 75206 www.benbellabooks.com Send feedback to Contents Introduction 1 Neil Mulholland, Ph.D. What Kind of School Is Hogwarts? What Do Students Learn from Hogwarts Classes? 5 Robin S. Rosenberg, Ph.D. Harry’s Curiosity 19 Susan Engel, Ph.D., and Sam Levin Intergroup Confict in the World of Harry Potter 33 Melissa J. Beers, Ph.D., and Kevin J. Apple “Have You Got What It Takes to Train Security Trolls?” 45 Shoshana D. Kerewsky, Psy.D., and Lissa Joy Geiken, M.Ed. Hogwarts Academy 59 Charles W. Kalish and Emma C. Kalish Will Harry Be Okay? Attachment Styles at Hogwarts 75 Wind Goodfriend, Ph.D. What Harry and Fawkes Have in Common 91 Misty Hook, Ph.D. Harry Potter and the Resilience to Adversity 105 Danielle M. Provenzano and Richard E. Heyman Is Magic Real? Discovering Magic 123 Karl S. Rosengren, Ph.D., and Emily C. Rosengren The Magical World of Muggles 135 Carol Nemeroff, Ph.D. i C O N T E N T S Time and Time Again 153 Peter A. Hancock and Michelle K. Gardner The Weird World of Wizards The Social Dynamics of Power and Cooperation in the Wizarding World 169 Nancy Franklin, Ph.D. Mental Illness in the World of Wizardry 175 Jessica Leigh Murakami “Dobby Had to Iron His Hands, Sir!”: Self-Inf icted Cuts, Burns, and Bruises in Harry Potter 189 E. David Klonsky, Ph.D., and Rebecca Laptook, M.A. The Weird World of Muggles The Werewolf in the Wardrobe 207 Siamak Tundra Nafi cy Exploring the Dark Side 221 Christopher J. Patrick, Ph.D., and Sarah K. Patrick Harry Potter and the Word That Shall Not Be Named 233 Mikhail Lyubansky, Ph.D. Evolution, Development, and the Magic of Harry Potter 249 David H. Rakison and Caroline Simard, BSc., DMV Learning from Harry Using Psychological Treatment with Harry 265 Neil Mulholland, Ph.D. Defense Against the Real Dark Arts 283 Patricia A. Rippetoe, Ph.D. Resisting Social Inf uence 299 Melanie C. Green, Ph.D. Harry Potter and the Magic of Transformation 311 Laurie J. Pahel Introduction SO, YOU MIGHT ASK, what are my qualifcations to investigate the psychology of the world-renowned Harry Potter series? Well, to start, I did grow up some forty miles from where J. K. Rowling wrote her frst Harry Potter books. Much like Harry, I once slept in a closet, where just my single bed ft (but not under the stairs). I also used to travel on a train, just like Harry’s, to English boarding school, where I wore a uniform like his and was “sorted” into a group or House in a country mansion. Unfortunately, it was not nearly as magical and interesting as Hogwarts, but I seemed to have as much diffculty as Harry in following the rules. So, after “six of the best” (six whacks on the rear with my choice of the thin cane that stung or the thick cane that hurt), I was soon shipped off home and ended up at St. Mungo’s. Fortunately, it was not the infrmary, but St. Mungo’s Academy to fnish my schooling. Yes, there was a real St. Mungo who was the bishop of Glasgow around the sixth century. My other connection to Harry these days, aside from my fascina- tion with the books, is that I developed something called Harry Potter Therapy. If you’ve looked at any of the Harry Potter blogs about a year or so ago, I seemed to have stirred a bit of controversy as I’ve used and encouraged others to use Harry Potter images when helping young people overcome moderate levels of worry, anxiety, or depres- sive feelings. If you are interested in how this works, please read my chapter in this book. My work as a psychologist is in applying sound psychological the- ories and practices to the treatment of helping those having mental- emotional diffculties. Harry Potter Therapy often fts the bill. It is my great pleasure to introduce you to a wide variety of psychol- ogy professors and their fne contributions connecting various theo- ries and research in psychology to aspects of the people and events 2 T H E P S Y C H O L O G Y O F H A R RY P O T T E R that have and could take place in Harry’s on-going story. If you are a Potter fan I hope you f nd these chapters an interesting study, com- pared to some of the dry stuff that I had to read in my beginning years of study in psychology. Long may the “magic” live. Neil Mulholland, Ph.D. what kind of school is hogwarts?