Publications

Authors:

Vezzali, Loris; Stathi, Sofia; Giovannini, Dino; Capozza, Dora; Trifiletti, Elena

Title:

The greatest magic of Harry Potter: Reducing prejudice

Year:

2015

Type of item:

Articolo in Rivista

Tipologia ANVUR:

Articolo su rivista

Language:

Inglese

Format:

A Stampa

Referee:

Sì

Name of journal:

JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

ISSN of journal:

0021-9029

N° Volume:

45

Number or Folder:

2

Page numbers:

105-121

Keyword:

extended contact, indirect contact, prejudice reduction, intergroup relations, Harry Potter, perspective-taking

Short description of contents:

Recent research shows that extended contact via story reading is a powerful strategy to improve intergroup attitudes (e.g., Cameron & Rutland, 2006). We conducted three studies to test whether extended contact through reading the novels of Harry Potter reduced prejudice toward stigmatized groups (immigrants, homosexuals, refugees). Results from an experimental intervention conducted among Italian elementary school children and from two cross-sectional studies with high-school and university students in Italy and UK support our main hypothesis. Identification with the main character (i.e., Harry Potter), disidentification from the negative character (i.e., Voldemort) and recency of reading moderated the effect, perspective-taking emerged as the key mediator. Theoretical and practical implications of findings are discussed, together with the importance of identifying effective prejudice-reduction strategies that can be easily applied in real settings.

Product ID:

90072

Handle IRIS:

11562/933479

Last Modified:

November 28, 2022

Bibliographic citation:

Vezzali, Loris; Stathi, Sofia; Giovannini, Dino; Capozza, Dora; Trifiletti, Elena, The greatest magic of Harry Potter: Reducing prejudice «JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY» , vol. 45 , n. 2 , 2015 , pp. 105-121

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