Becoming a vampire without being bitten
Gabriel and Young propose that reading a narrative can lead people to psychologically join the group it describes. Participants read passages about wizards from the Harry Potter series or about vampires and came to identify with the group in their story; implicit and explicit measures both supported this. The authors link collective assimilation to the need to belong and report that it increased life satisfaction and positive mood. Psychological Science 22(8), 990-994, 2011. No figures used.
Gabriel and Young propose that reading a narrative can lead people to psychologically join the group it describes. Participants read passages about wizards from the Harry Potter series or about vampires and came to identify with the group in their story; implicit and explicit measures both supported this. The authors link collective assimilation to the need to belong and report that it increased life satisfaction and positive mood. Psychological Science 22(8), 990-994, 2011. No figures used.
Written from the abstract from the OpenAlex record, 2026-11-03; read at abstract level only.
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Gabriel, S., & Young, A. F. (2011). Becoming a vampire without being bitten. Psychological Science, 22(8), 990-994. doi:10.1177/0956797611415541 https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797611415541