3.4 The Twilight/Harry Potter narrative collective-assimilation scale
As well as the IAT, Gabriel and Young (2011) also made use of a more explicit measure, which they referred to as the ‘Twilight/Harry Potter Narrative Collective-Assimilation Scale’. This consisted of three questions, embedded among a number of other questions, to measure collective assimilation of Twilight vampires, which were:
- Compared to the average person, how high do you think you could jump?
- How long could you go without sleep?
- How sharp are your teeth?
And three questions to measure collective assimilation of Harry Potter wizards, which were:
- How British do you feel? [Remember that the participants were from the University of Buffalo]
- Do you think, if you tried really hard, you might be able to make an object move just using the power of your mind?
- Do you think you might ever be able to make yourself disappear and reappear somewhere else?
Again, before you go any further, what do you think the results of this more explicit test will reveal? Can reading Twilight really make someone think their teeth are sharper, and can reading Harry Potter really make you think you could move objects using your mind?
Analysis of the data collected in response to the six explicit questions did indeed reveal that the participants who read the Twilight chapter tended to self-identify more with the traits associated with vampires (e.g. being able to jump higher than average) and those that read the Harry Potter chapters tended to identify more with the traits associated with wizards (e.g. being able to disappear). This means that the Harry Potter readers were more likely to believe they could make objects move with their mind and the Twilight readers thought their teeth were sharper! In other words, there was clear support for the Twilight/Harry Potter Narrative Collective-Assimilation Scale.
This study clearly shows the power of narratives and of the para-social relationships that we form with fictional characters. These relationships provide a way for us to connect socially and to be part of social collectives to the extent that we assimilate the characteristics of that collective … and that can mean believing ourselves capable of telekinesis when the collective we are reading about are wizards.
In conclusion, Gabriel and Young state that:
The pleasure of immersing oneself in narratives is not surprising or novel to anyone who has ever been lucky enough to get lost in a good book. However, the current research suggests that books give readers more than an opportunity to tune out and submerge themselves in fantasy worlds. Books provide the opportunity for social connection and the blissful calm that comes from becoming a part of something larger than oneself for a precious, fleeting moment.
Next week, you will explore more impacts that forming relationships with fictional characters can have on a reader, by looking further at how such relationships can change our own self-concept and how they can also change our attitudes towards other people.