Yep, get ready to have your mind Confringo-ed – new research has found that Harry Potter lovers have more mature, positive beliefs about romantic relationships.
The study – published in the journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts – showed that readers who prefer science fiction and fantasy genres were less likely to endorse unrealistic beliefs about coupling up.
Researchers tested 404 adults on their exposure to different classic, romance, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, and horror writers, before they responded to a series of unrealistic, unhelpful beliefs about relationships. These included: "Disagreement is destructive; mind reading is expected; romantic partners cannot change; the sexes are different; and the expectation of sexual perfection."
They also marked on a six-point scale the degree to which they agreed with statements like: "People who have a close relationship can sense each other's needs as if they could read each other's minds," and "When couples disagree, it seems like the relationship is falling apart."
The findings demonstrated that fans of science fiction were less likely to support the unhealthy myths about relationships.
"At least two of the specific beliefs (eschewed by sci-fi fans) — the belief that disagreement is destructive, and the belief that partners cannot change — are associated with maladaptive relationship attitudes, behaviours, and/or outcomes in the real world," the researchers note.
So before you let him Slytherin to your Chamber of Secrets you better suss out his reading habits.
This article originally appeared on Women's Health.
