Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
40th out of 83 books
—
122 voters
The Psychology of Harry Potter: An Unauthorized Examination Of The Boy Who Lived
by
Neil Mulholland ,
Robin S. Rosenberg , Wind Goodfriend , Misty Hook , Richard E. Heyman , Danielle M. Provenzano , Karl S. Rosengren , Emily C. Rosengren
,
more…
** COMPLETELY UNAUTHORIZED ** Leading psychologists delve into the world and characters of Harry Potter in this revealing look at J. K. Rowling's constructed universe, using the characters and their puzzling situations to offer insight into real-world psychology. Designed to appeal to both fans of pop culture and students of psychology, this unique blend of scholarship and...more
Paperback, 326 pages
Published
April 10th 2007
by Smart Pop
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,185)
This book was very interesting, in the way that it relates themes in Harry Potter to various aspects of psychology.
Over the course of the book, I found a handful of negligible errors regarding references to Harry Potter (for example, the fact that this book refers to Seamus Finnigan as a Muggleborn).
I found the following chapters the most intriguing:
-Intergroup Conflict in the World of Harry Potter
-Attachment Styles at Hogwarts
-What Harry and Fawkes Have in Common
-"Dobby Had to Iron His Hands,...more
Over the course of the book, I found a handful of negligible errors regarding references to Harry Potter (for example, the fact that this book refers to Seamus Finnigan as a Muggleborn).
I found the following chapters the most intriguing:
-Intergroup Conflict in the World of Harry Potter
-Attachment Styles at Hogwarts
-What Harry and Fawkes Have in Common
-"Dobby Had to Iron His Hands,...more
A very cute read. If you are addicted to Harry Potter than it is fun to read. However, if you have anything more than a BA in psychology there are no real surprises. My favorite part, however, was at the end of each chapter there is a short bio on the authors of the particular chapter which are a little different than other books. Meaning, the authors do everything from explain when they fell in love with Harry to whom they would be to what they would teach if they were at Hogwarts.
In the interest of fully disclosing what a nerd I am, I should mention that I've already read the Harry Potter and Philosophy book. Since I minored in psych, I thought this one would be more interesting and accessible for me, because while the philosophy one was interesting, I have no background in it at all. As it turned out, I actually liked this one a little less.
In fairness, I didn't actually read the whole book. As is always the case with books like this, some chapters were better than oth...more
In fairness, I didn't actually read the whole book. As is always the case with books like this, some chapters were better than oth...more
Jul 25, 2007
Ted
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Those interested in psychology
Shelves:
school-room-5
More interesting for its psychology than its impact on Harry Potter, but still valuable and a good way to learn about this subject.
simple-minded, uninteresting, authors try to hard to present their own research and make it about harry potter
The Psychology of Harry Potter provides a wide-ranging look at the Harry Potter universe from the perspectives of a number of subfields within psychology. Contributors represent Counseling Psychology, Educational Psychology, Evolutionary Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Experimental Social Psychology, and other specialties. For this reason its focus is not on analyzing the characters (though there is some of that), but on many aspects of the broader field of psychology...more
1 like · like · see review
The essays are hit-or-miss (mostly hit), and do a good job of explaining some psychological theories in terms of Harry Potter. Sometimes the fit between the characters and the theories are a bit of a stretch, and this results in several authors making opposite points (for example, regarding the attachment styles of the three main characters). This book would make a great supplementary reading to an Intro to Psych class. Better yet, this would make a great assignment for an Intro to Psych class.
I...more
I...more
I used this as a source for a paper I wrote for a class on hate groups and hate crimes. (My paper compared the Death Eaters in the wizarding world to the KKK and other hate groups in the U.S. Nerdy? Yes, but my prof loved it.)
I found it very useful for that purpose, and had a lot of really interesting takes on the characters in the Harry Potter books.
I found it very useful for that purpose, and had a lot of really interesting takes on the characters in the Harry Potter books.
This book was one of the weirdest books I have ever read.
It looks so deeply into the story as if the fact that Hogwarts doesn't encourage enough creativity is a REALLY big problem.
This book had me SERIOUSLY concerned about the education, curiosity and safety of the wizarding world.
I couldn't help but laugh at some of the things it proposed though
It looks so deeply into the story as if the fact that Hogwarts doesn't encourage enough creativity is a REALLY big problem.
This book had me SERIOUSLY concerned about the education, curiosity and safety of the wizarding world.
I couldn't help but laugh at some of the things it proposed though
Being i giant Harry Potter nerd with a background in Psychology i knew i had to read this. For the most part i really liked the individual essays. Some critiqued the teaching styles at hogwarts others looked at character flaws. The last part of the book i really did not enjoy; these essays were simply using Harry Potter to illustrate psychological principles and methods; this stuff i already knew so i was kind of bored.
I wished the essays had delved deeper into character psyche. I mean, you coul...more
I wished the essays had delved deeper into character psyche. I mean, you coul...more
A great reference to the instant-classic novel that looked in depth at why Harry is the way he is. I read it for AP Psych but it was much better than just an assignment. Very entertaining and smart.
First of all, Chase Bannister, if you read this blurb on FB- this is a book (yes, an actual book!!) for you. It mixes total psychology nerdship with hardcore Harry Potter geekdom. I assure you- GIVE IT A SHOT.
Secondly, like I just said- Psychology nerd + Harry Potter Geek = This book. :) As I fit the bill on both sides, I liked it. It was a little more serious than I could completely get into (it lacked the whimsy normally found in Smart Pop books), and at times focused more on psychological stu...more
Secondly, like I just said- Psychology nerd + Harry Potter Geek = This book. :) As I fit the bill on both sides, I liked it. It was a little more serious than I could completely get into (it lacked the whimsy normally found in Smart Pop books), and at times focused more on psychological stu...more
We used this as a text book for a basic psych class. Using HP to outline basic theories of adolescent development makes the material easier to learn.
In reading this collection of articles I realized how useless it is to apply psychology to fictional individuals or to art in general. You can pretty much say whatever you want: Hogwarts is a terrible school, Hogwarts is great, Harry is a very resilient stable individual, Harry is incapable of building relationships, etc.
Made me remember those pedantic psychoanalysts I met in my dark and embarrassing past: they thought that analyzing art justifies their baloney theory. How risible...
In any case,...more
Made me remember those pedantic psychoanalysts I met in my dark and embarrassing past: they thought that analyzing art justifies their baloney theory. How risible...
In any case,...more
this was very disapointing. unlike psychology of Dexter which was brilliant, this was very vague. it seemed that every psych theory ever postulated was made to fit harry (or other characters) not the other way around. glad i didnt pay money for this.
I found most of it very interesting to read, probably more for the psychology than its connection to Harry Potter (although the connections were kind of neat and almost like J.K. Rowling planned them). If you don't have a legitimate interest in psychology you probably won't like it.
Compared to the other books about Harry Potter, this writing style is rather simple.
Makes some nice points, especially why we love Harry Potter and his Magic World that much.
Makes some nice points, especially why we love Harry Potter and his Magic World that much.
It wasn't what I expected. I thought they would explain why voldemort was the way he was but they talked about the lack of curiosity among students and kinda bashed hogwarts.
fun to examine
What a great way to put together Harry Potter and Psychology. If you are a psychology major and love Harry Potter this is a must read!
Meh.
Awesome book, examining such weighty issues as the attachment styles of Harry, Ron, and Hermione; Whether or not Lupin is gay; and why Dobby self-injures. A kick for anyone interested in psychology.
Mar 21, 2011
Kimathy
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Harry potter Fans or Psychology lovers!
So good! I learned alot and had fun reading it!
May 22, 2013
Padma Shankar
marked it as to-read
May 21, 2013
Megan
marked it as to-read
May 21, 2013
Sharon
marked it as to-read
May 20, 2013
Sarah Wagelie
marked it as to-read
May 20, 2013
Ashley Williams
marked it as to-read
May 20, 2013
Catherine Allen
marked it as to-read
May 19, 2013
Sara Peach
marked it as to-read
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Apr 20, 2013 07:26pm