Hello Everyone!

This week, for my final post of this semester, I will be discussing the psychology behind the Hogwarts House sorting. I am going to assume that everyone who I reading this blog knows about the Hogwarts houses so I will only be doing a brief explanation of them at the beginning of their sections. Some background information is necessary though. The Big Five are personality traits believed to be at the core of the human personality. The five are openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. There is a scale of extremes for all of the traits. For example, extraversion is a scale from extreme extraversion to extreme introversion. They have been found to be universally reliable.

                                             The Big Five 

Here is a brief explanation of each trait…

• Openness 
  •  Imagination and Insight
    • High in the trait
      • Many interests, curious about the world, want to learn and experience new things, adventurous, and creative
    • Low in the trait 
      • Dislike change, more traditional, not imaginative, resist new ideas, dislikes abstract ideas

• Conscientiousness
  • Thoughtfulness and impulse control
    • High in the trait
      • Organized, mindful of details, plans ahead, likes schedules,  and finishes important tasks quickly
    • Low in the trait 
      • Dislikes structure and schedules, makes messes, fails to return things or put them back where they belong, procrastinates important tasks, fails to complete necessary or assigned tasks

• Extraversion
  • Excitability and sociability
    • High in the trait
      • Enjoys being the center of attention, likes to start conversations, enjoys meeting new people, has a wide social circle of friends and acquaintances, finds it easy to make new friends, feels energized when around other people, say things before thinking about them
    • Low in the trait 
      • Prefers solitude, feels exhausted when having to socialize a lot, finds it difficult to start conversations, dislikes making small talk, carefully thinks things through before speaking, dislikes being the center of attention, needs to “recharge” after being in social situations
• Agreeableness
  • Trust and kindness
    • High in the trait
      • Has a great deal of interest in other people, cares about others, feels empathy and concern for other people, enjoys helping and contributing to the happiness of other people, assists others who need help, cooperative
    • Low in the trait 
      • Takes little interest in others, doesn’t care about how other people feel, has little interest in other people’s problems, insults and belittles others, manipulates others to get what they want, competitive

• Neuroticism
  • Sadness and emotional stability
    • High in the trait
      • Experiences a lot of stress, worries about many different things, gets upset easily, experiences dramatic shifts in mood, feels anxious, struggles to bounce back after stressful events, sadness
    • Low in the trait 
      • Emotionally stable, deals well with stress, rarely feels sad or depressed, doesn’t worry much, is very relaxed, emotionally resilient

I will be talking about the dark triad as well. Three negative personality traits. “People with these traits tend to be callous and manipulative, willing to do or say practically anything to get their way” according to Psychology Today. They also “are likely to be impulsive and may engage in dangerous behavior—in some cases, even committing crimes—without any regard for how their actions affect others”. The three traits are Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and Psychopathy.

                            The Dark Triad

• Narcissism
  • The pursuit of ego gratification, vanity, a sense of superiority, grandiosity, dominance, and entitlement
• Machiavellianism
  • Manipulation – a calculating, duplicitous, and amoral personality, focused on self-interest and personal gain
• Psychopathy
  • Callousness, impulsivity, and enduring antisocial and bold behavior.

I’ll also be talking about the Need for Cognition. It basically just means the extent to which people are inclined to participate in “effortful cognitive activities”. Someone with high NFC would have an “increased appreciation of debate, idea evaluation, and problem solving” (Wikipedia). Those with a low NFC could display opposite tendencies. They may be more heuristic in the way they process information, often through “low elaboration” (Wikipedia).

Now that you are all caught up, let’s jump in!

How about we start with Gryffindor?

“You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart” – The Sorting Hat

        People who are sorted into Gryffindor usually score high in extraversion and openness. This means that they seek out social stimulation and opportunities to engage with others. They are positive, full of life, and energy. They also seek new experiences, creativity, and change.

Moving on to Hufflepuffs,

“You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

And unafraid of toil” – The Sorting Hat

        Throughout the book, Hufflepuffs are described as nice, hardworking, loyal, and just. There are several personality traits that align with these attributes. Agreeableness describes people who are warm and friendly and is closely connected to justness and niceness. Conscientiousness is seen in Hufflepuffs through their hard-working and dependable nature.

Now to Ravenclaws,

“Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

if you’ve a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind” – The Sorting Hat

        Those in the Ravenclaw house put a high value on wisdom and willingness to learn new things. They would score high on the NFC scale. They would also be conscientious with a mind for details.

Last but not least, the house of Slytherin,

“Or perhaps in Slytherin

You’ll make your real friends,

Those cunning folks use any means

To achieve their ends” – The Sorting Hat

        Slytherin are often “sly, cunning and would do anything to achieve their own goals” (expecto psychologum). Those traits could lead to the assumption that Slytherins would score high on the Dark Triad traits. The Machiavellianism trait makes sense for their slyness and practicality, as well as their need for achievement.  Narcissism makes sense for the pride they feel. The psychopathy applies to their ability to look anything over as long as it benefits them. Of course, it needs to be said that not all Slytherins are bad.

None of the houses have a high level of neuroticism, which is good considering a house with primarily neurotic individuals in it would not go over well.

Here is the link to a personality test in case you would like to see your own levels of the Big Five. Here is a link to a sorting house quiz. If you don’t want to make an account, here is one link.

Thank you so much for reading my blog post for the last time this semeseter! I hope that was entertaining, insightful, and you weren’t bored!

Sources – 

“The Big Five Personality Test.” Truity, 20 Oct. 2020, www.truity.com/test/big-five-personality-test.

“Big Five Personality Traits.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 2 Dec. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits.

Cherry, Kendra. “What Are the Big 5 Personality Traits?” Verywell Mind, 13 July 2020, www.verywellmind.com/the-big-five-personality-dimensions-2795422.

“Dark Triad.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/dark-triad.

Dixon, Dr. Darcie. “On the Psychology of Your Harry Potter House – Dr Darcie Dixon: Behavioural Sassonomics.” Dr Darcie Dixon | Behavioural Sassonomics, Dr Darcie Dixon | Behavioural Sassonomics, 12 Jan. 2020, www.drdarciedixon.com/blog/on-the-psychology-of-your-harry-potter-house.

“Hogwarts Houses Correspond To Real Psychological Personality Traits, New Study Finds.” The, 23 June 2015, www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2015/06/23/hogwarts-houses-correspond-to-real-psychological-personality-traits-new-study-finds/.

Jakob, Lea, et al. “The Science Behind the Magic? The Relation of the Harry Potter ‘Sorting Hat Quiz’ to Personality and Human Values.” University of California Press, University of California Press, 8 July 2019, online.ucpress.edu/collabra/article/5/1/31/113037/The-Science-Behind-the-Magic-The-Relation-of-the.

Maggie O’Neill April 27, and Maggie O’Neill. “You Should Never Mix These Cleaning Products, According to a Poison Control Expert.” Health.com, 27 Apr. 2020, www.health.com/news/cleaning-products-never-mix.

“Need for Cognition.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Oct. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need_for_cognition.

“Oh Dear. Are You Lost?” Back to Wizarding World, www.wizardingworld.com/outcome/gryffindor.

“Oh Dear. Are You Lost?” Back to Wizarding World, www.wizardingworld.com/outcome/hufflepuff.

“Oh Dear. Are You Lost?” Back to Wizarding World, www.wizardingworld.com/outcome/ravenclaw.

“Oh Dear. Are You Lost?” Back to Wizarding World, www.wizardingworld.com/outcome/slytherin.

Parker, Mitchell Shaun. “Why Your Hogwarts House Matters.” Medium, Medium, 7 Jan. 2017, medium.com/@mitchellshaunparker/why-your-hogwarts-house-matters-92f0d164a39f.

R., A. “The Dark Triad in Movie Characters.” Medium, Medium, 28 Mar. 2020, anjalireddy-40541.medium.com/the-dark-triad-in-movie-characters-9cc36cb83cc6.

“Sorting Hat and Personality – What Does Your Hogwarts House Say about You?” Expecto Psychologum, 23 Apr. 2019, expectopsychologum.com/sorting-hat-personality-hogwarts/.

[{“@type”:”Person”, “name”:”Ellie Bate”. “What Is Your Hogwarts House Percentage?” BuzzFeed, BuzzFeed, 3 Dec. 2020, www.buzzfeed.com/eleanorbate/accurate-af-sorting-quiz.

Hello Everyone!

I will be talking about the Enneagram personality test again this week. “The Enneagram is a system of personality typing that describes patterns in how people interpret the world and manage their emotions” (Truity).  There are disputes about the origins of the theories with various people being cited as the originator. The Enneagram is widely used in “business management and spiritual contexts through seminars, conferences, books, magazines, and DVDs” (Enneagram_of_Personality).  The Enneagram defines “nine personality types (sometimes called ‘enneatypes’), which are represented by the points of a geometric figure called an enneagram, which indicates connections between the types. There are some different schools of thought among Enneagram teachers and their understandings are not always in agreement” (Enneagram_of_Personality).

Source  

      This week I’ll be discussing the Enneagram of Harry Potter characters. I will start off with Harry, Ron, Hermione,    . For those of you who read my MBTI blogs, Enneagram is a little different than MBTI. Enneagram is more focused on the nurture aspect of your personality while Myers-Briggs is more focused on nature. Enneagrams are also viewed as more holistic while MBTI is more analytical.

So let’s jump right in!

Harry Potter is a 9wing8. Type 9s are called the “peacemakers” or “diplomats”. Humility is a large part of the personality and Harry routinely puts down all the fanfare about him and his accomplishments by saying that he just got lucky. Type 9 also “dislike conflict and interpersonal tension” and Harry would always be the mediator whenever Ron and Hermione bickered (Innercle). Harry would also sometimes run out of patience and have an emotional outburst, which is something that is typical of type 9s. Nines are stubborn, a trait that is routinely associated with Harry. He doesn’t ask for help and rushes off into dangerous situations without telling anyone or any authority figures. One of the base fears for type 9s is one of loss and separation. Harry lost both of his parents when he was a baby, lost his godfather, lost his mentor, etcetera. Long story short, he’s lost a lot of people in his life, so it would make sense for him to be afraid of losing more of the people that he loves. The wing 8 makes him more adventurous and assertive than base type nines.

Hermione Granger is a 3w4, often called the “achiever” or the “medalist”. Type 3s are “success-oriented individuals, driven by goals and desires to reach the very top by any means necessary” (Terzigni). All of these traits are incredibly pertinent to Hermione. In her third year of school, she took 12 classes. I know that might not seem like that many but a normal schedule was 10 and the only way she was able to do it was by having a magical artifact that she was technically not supposed to have and literally traveling through time (wiki). The basic fear for 3w4 is the fear of failure. Hermione’s boggart (a creature that shapeshifts into your greatest fear) is literally of Professor McGonagall giving her a failing grade. 3w4s tend to be more introverted, creative, and free-spirited than other 3s. Type 3s are image-conscious and this shows in Hermione when she tricked the school nurse into giving her smaller teeth (she was known for having buck teeth). I feel like Hermione is a great representation of a type 3 personality.

Ron Weasley is a 6w7. This type is often called the “loyalist” or the “buddy”. Sixes are really big on support and being loyal. They also “honor their commitments and are very loyal to their friends” (crystal). Ron has shown his loyalty many times. In his first year of school, when he barely knew Harry and Hermione for four months, he sacrificed himself for them. He was around 12 when he did this, purposefully letting himself get injured so his friends could continue on. He continues this trend every, if not almost every, year. In the second year he followed a trail of spiders into the forbidden forest to help Harry and Hagrid, his greatest fear is spiders. He has said,”‘If you want to kill Harry, you’ll have to kill us, too!'” (MuggleNet).  Type 7 adds humor and the ability to be laid-back into his personality. Sixes are very thoughtful and logical, Ron is not. He is very “heart over head” in his thought process, this is one of the only reasons I would hesitate to make him a 6w7, but it is not pertinent enough for it to change his base personality typing.

If any of you want to take the test for yourselves to see what personality you are, here is the link to one of the most popular Enneagram tests that I can find, and here is a link to the Enneagram Institute so you can read a little more about your type!

Thank you so much for reading my blog post for this week! I hope that was entertaining, insightful, and you weren’t bored!

Here is a picture for those of you who may want to see where your Enneagram puts you in the Hogwarts houses!

Sources – 

13, Imogen April, et al. “Harry Potter Characters & Their Enneagram Type.” Innercle.com, 24 Aug. 2019, innercle.com/enneagram/harry-potter-characters-and-their-enneagram-type/.

Barclay, Author: Tom. “The Nine Archetypes: Exploring the Enneagram Personality Test.” Wbir.com, 16 July 2018, www.wbir.com/article/news/local/watercooler/the-nine-archetypes-exploring-the-enneagram-personality-test/51-574457436.

Bird, Jackson. “The 12 Most Powerful Witches in Harry Potter, Ranked.” Vulture, Vulture, 1 Nov. 2017, www.vulture.com/2017/11/harry-potter-witches-ranked.html.

Cherry, Kendra. “What Can the Enneagram Tell You About Your Personality?” Verywell Mind, 23 June 2020, www.verywellmind.com/the-enneagram-of-personality-4691757.

“Enneagram of Personality.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Oct. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enneagram_of_Personality.

“The Enneagram Personality Test.” Truity, 13 Nov. 2020, www.truity.com/test/enneagram-personality-test.

Enneagram Type 6w7 – The Confidant, www.crystalknows.com/enneagram/type-6-wing-7.

“Enneagram Types Hogwarts Houses in 2020: Enneagram, Type 5 Enneagram, Enneagram 9.” Pinterest, www.pinterest.com/pin/735423814144985019/.

Lee, Daniel N. Harry Potter and the Ancient Enneagram, Blogger, 10 May 2019, www.danielnlee.com/2019/05/harry-potter-and-ancient-enneagram.html.

Libbey, Dirk. “Harry Potter Fans Can Watch Daniel Radcliffe Return To The Wizarding World By Reading Its Very First Chapter.” CINEMABLEND, CINEMABLEND, 6 May 2020, www.cinemablend.com/news/2495647/harry-potter-fans-can-watch-daniel-radcliffe-return-to-the-wizarding-world-by-reading-its-very-first-chapter.

Lockyer, Margaret, and Margaret Lockyer (130 Articles Published) Margaret Lockyer has a degree in English and History with honours in Apocalyptic literature from the UPEI where she played varsi. “J.K. Rowling Should Have Let Ron Weasley Become a Stay-at-Home Dad.” CBR, 5 Apr. 2020, www.cbr.com/ron-weasley-should-have-been-a-stay-at-home-dad/.

MuggleNet, and Amy Hogan. “‘Harry Potter’ and the Nine Personality Types.” MuggleNet, 30 May 2014, www.mugglenet.com/2014/05/harry-potter-and-the-9-personality-types/.

Terzigni, Carly. “These Are the Enneagram Types for Our Favorite Harry Potter Characters!” AllEars.Net, 8 Sept. 2020, allears.net/2020/09/17/these-are-the-enneagram-types-for-our-favorite-harry-potter-characters/.

“Third Year.” Harry Potter Wiki, harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Third_year.

“What Is the Enneagram?” Truity, 24 June 2020, www.truity.com/enneagram/what-is-enneagram.

Warning – I will be speaking about avoidant, dependent, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders. 

Hello Everyone!

This is the last installment of the personality disorders in the Harry Potter Universe. If you are uncomfortable with the topics for this post, please don’t worry about leaving!

Personality disorders are divided into three clusters called A, B, and C (originality was not an important factor when naming these I guess). According to the Mayo Clinic “A personality disorder is a type of mental disorder in which you have a rigid and unhealthy pattern of thinking, functioning and behaving. A person with a personality disorder has trouble perceiving and relating to situations and people. This causes significant problems and limitations in relationships, social activities, work and school”. For my last post on the subject, I’ll be speaking about Cluster C. “Cluster C personality disorders are characterized by anxious, fearful thinking or behavior. They include avoidant personality disorder, dependent personality disorder and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder”, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Let’s get started!

Avoidant Personality Disorder

People with Antisocial Personality Disorder generally “experience shyness and unjustified fears of rejection. They often feel lonely but avoid forming relationships outside of their immediate family” (healthline). The symptoms according to the Mayo Clinic are…

“Antisocial Personality Disorder

• Too sensitive to criticism or rejection
• Feeling inadequate, inferior or unattractive
• Avoidance of work activities that require interpersonal contact
• Socially inhibited, timid and isolated, avoiding new activities or meeting strangers
• Extreme shyness in social situations and personal relationships
• Fear of disapproval, embarrassment or ridicule”

The connection here is a little weak, I’m not gonna lie. He lives his life in slight seclusion as keeper of the keys at Hogwarts. He does make many friends while working at Hogwarts (Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Dumbledore to name a few), but he is still shy around other people. His history of getting kicked out of Hogwarts is a sensitive topic for him, that mixed with his half-giant background makes him very sensitive to other people’s opinions. I don’t think that this one holds much water but there is enough there for it to be plausible.

Dependent Personality Disorder

The next personality disorder in cluster C is Dependent Personality Disorder. According to healthline, “dependent personality disorder causes people to rely too much on others to meet their physical and emotional needs. This often stems from not trusting themselves to make the right decision”. The symptoms and signs according to the Mayo Clinic are…

“Dependent personality disorder

• Excessive dependence on others and feeling the need to be taken care of
• Submissive or clingy behavior toward others
• Fear of having to provide self-care or fend for yourself if left alone
• Lack of self-confidence, requiring excessive advice and reassurance from others to make even small decisions
• Difficulty starting or doing projects on your own due to lack of self-confidence
• Difficulty disagreeing with others, fearing disapproval
• Tolerance of poor or abusive treatment, even when other options are available
• Urgent need to start a new relationship when a close one has ended”

Peter Pettigrew needs to have someone in his life that he can follow. When he was in school, it was his fellow Marauders (James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin). He was coerced to join Voldemort after they graduated and became a spy on the inside of Voldemort’s opposition. After he betrayed his friends by giving them up to Voldemort, causing him to go into hiding, he spent the next 12 years as a rat. After his identity was exposed, he sought protection from Voldemort once again. “Pettigrew was an opportunist, who allied with the side that seemed strongest and appeared to be winning” (Wiki). He was always the follower and never the leader. He let Voldemort berate him and belittle him even though he theoretically could have run away and been alone. He always needed the protection of someone, never wanting to be alone.

Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder

Obsessive-Compulsive personality disorder is the last of the C clusters. People with Obsessive-Compulsive personality disorder “are overly focused on maintaining order and control. They display some of the same behaviors as people with obsessive-compulsive disorder, however, they don’t experience unwanted or obtrusive thoughts, which are common symptoms of OCD.” (healthline). The symptoms of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder are… (Mayo Clinic)

“Obsessive-Compulsive personality disorder

• Preoccupation with details, orderliness and rules
• Extreme perfectionism, resulting in dysfunction and distress when perfection is not achieved, such as feeling unable to finish a project because you don’t meet your own strict standards
• Desire to be in control of people, tasks and situations, and inability to delegate tasks
• Neglect of friends and enjoyable activities because of excessive commitment to work or a project
• Inability to discard broken or worthless objects
• Rigid and stubborn
• Inflexible about morality, ethics or values
• Tight, miserly control over budgeting and spending money”

One of Dolores Umbridge’s iconic quotes is “I WILL have order”! During her short stint as headmaster at Hogwarts, she passed at least 136 educational decrees, basically laws set by the ministry to adjust the standards at Hogwarts. Though, in the book, it was only 28(wiki).  The decrees included how close boys and girls could be (no closer than 6-8 inches), Umbridge had to review all of the extra-curricular activities, banned all items that were not of educational value, boys had to keep their hands out of their cloaks, as well as many more invasive and unreasonable rules that the students had to follow (wiki).  Everything had to be neat, orderly, and her way or else there would be hell to pay. She is one of the characters from this personality disorder series that I feel is more likely to have this than to not have it. All of the symptoms match up (besides the money one but it was never said that she wasn’t frugal) other than that, she fits the description to a T.

Once again, all of this is for fun and not intended to make light of any of these illnesses. I really enjoy doing these blog posts and I think it is so interesting how perfect some of these symptoms match up with the behavior of the characters.  Thank you for reading! With any luck, you learned something new today or looked at something through a new lens. I hope that was entertaining, insightful, and you weren’t bored!

Sources – 

Action Potential, et al. “The Harry Potter DSM: Cluster C Personality Disorders.” Action Potential, 2 July 2011, apotential.wordpress.com/2011/07/02/the-harry-potter-dsm-cluster-c-personality-disorders/.

“Dolores Umbridge.” Movie Villains Wiki, movie-villains.fandom.com/wiki/Dolores_Umbridge.

“Educational Decree.” Harry Potter Wiki, harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Educational_Decree.

“Happy Birthday, Robbie Coltrane! Thank You for Making Hagrid Bigger than Life on the Big Scre…: Harry Potter Witch, Harry Potter Characters, Harry Potter Universal.” Pinterest, 22 Feb. 2020, fi.pinterest.com/pin/337277459566210359/.

“Harry Potter Personality Disorders.” Prezi.com, prezi.com/med4xbhkwke8/harry-potter-personality-disorders/.

Levin, Michael, et al. “Personality Disorders: DSM of Harry Potter.” East Bay Psychopharmacology Group, 19 Apr. 2015, eastbaypharm.com/personality-disorders-dsm-of-harry-potter-by-ariff-moolla/.

“Personality Disorders.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 23 Sept. 2016, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/personality-disorders/symptoms-causes/syc-20354463.

“Peter Pettigrew/Wormtail a Evil, Betraying Subject to Lord Voldemort, Betraying Because h…: Harry Potter Characters, Harry Potter, Wizarding World of Harry Potter.” Pinterest, www.pinterest.com/pin/54254370486919013/.

“Peter Pettigrew.” Harry Potter Wiki, harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Peter_Pettigrew.

“What Are Cluster C Personality Disorders?” Healthline, www.healthline.com/health/cluster-c-personality-disorders#traits.

Warning – I will be speaking about antisocial, borderline, histrionic, and narcissistic personality disorders. 

Hello Everyone!

In this post, I will be talking a little bit more about personality disorders in the Harry Potter Universe. Again, if you are uncomfortable with the topics for this post, please don’t worry about leaving!

Personality disorders are divided into three clusters called A, B, and C (originality was not an important factor when naming these I guess). According to the Mayo Clinic “A personality disorder is a type of mental disorder in which you have a rigid and unhealthy pattern of thinking, functioning and behaving. A person with a personality disorder has trouble perceiving and relating to situations and people. This causes significant problems and limitations in relationships, social activities, work and school”. For my second post on the subject, I’ll be speaking about Cluster B. “Cluster B personality disorders are characterized by dramatic, overly emotional or unpredictable thinking or behavior. They include antisocial personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, histrionic personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder”, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Without further adieu, let’s get started!

Antisocial Personality Disorder

        People with Antisocial Personality Disorder generally “demonstrate a pattern of disregard for and the violation of rights of others. Deceitfulness and manipulation are used for personal gain. They may treat other people harshly, or lie or cheat to reap these personal benefits. They may also be more likely to engage in theft. However, they generally have no remorse for what they have done” (healthline). The Mayo Clinic lists the symptoms as…

“Antisocial Personality Disorder

• Disregard for others’ needs or feelings
• Persistent lying, stealing, using aliases, conning others
• Recurring problems with the law
• Repeated violation of the rights of others
• Aggressive, often violent behavior
• Disregard for the safety of self or others
• Impulsive behavior
• Consistently irresponsible
• Lack of remorse for behavior”

If there were any main character in the Harry Potter series that I would think of having Antisocial Personality Disorder, it would be Voldemort. He has been manipulating people since he was a child in an orphanage. He was able to convince people that Hagrid was the one who released the Basilisk, he was known as a charmer when he was in school and had all the teachers wrapped around his finger (except for Dumbledore that is), and was able to manipulate his professor Slughorn into telling him about forbidden magic. He obviously has aggressive and violent tendencies considering he has a kill count of at least 18 and quite possibly upward of a hundred more. With all of that violence, he of course has problems with the law and often violates the rights of others by taking away their right to live. Voldemort also “was unable and unwilling to express remorse or empathy for the countless crimes he had committed” (wiki). It is astonishingly evident that Voldemort has an antisocial personality disorder.

Borderline Personality Disorder

        The next personality disorder in cluster B is Borderline Personality Disorder. According to healthline, “people with borderline personality disorder often have unstable personal relationships. It can also affect the way you view yourself”. The symptoms and signs according to the Mayo Clinic are…

“Borderline personality disorder

• Impulsive and risky behavior, such as having unsafe sex, gambling or binge eating
• Unstable or fragile self-image
• Unstable and intense relationships
• Up and down moods, often as a reaction to interpersonal stress
• Suicidal behavior or threats of self-injury
• Intense fear of being alone or abandoned
• Ongoing feelings of emptiness
• Frequent, intense displays of anger
• Stress-related paranoia that comes and goes”

Myrtle “hardly ever smiled and took great offence at the smallest slight, crying rivers of tears and wailing, hence her nickname Moaning Myrtle” (wiki). She had frequent mood swings and would lash out if she felt someone was saying something bad about her. Her insecurity also led to bouts of intense anger. Myrtle was “often upset so badly that she tried to kill herself until she realised that she was already dead” (wiki). With all of those symptoms being met, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to consider her as having a borderline personality disorder.

Histrionic Personality Disorder

        Histrionic personality disorder is the third of the B clusters. People with Histrionic personality disorder “often strive to be the center of attention. They may use various attention-seeking behaviors, often in socially inappropriate situations.” (healthline). The symptoms of Histrionic personality disorder are… (Mayo Clinic)

“Histrionic personality disorder

• Constantly seeking attention
• Excessively emotional, dramatic or sexually provocative to gain attention
• Speaks dramatically with strong opinions, but few facts or details to back them up
• Easily influenced by others
• Shallow, rapidly changing emotions
• Excessive concern with physical appearance
• Thinks relationships with others are closer than they really are”

Bellatrix Lestrange “was obsessively in love with Lord Voldemort, which extended to her being…attracted to him” (wiki). She has claimed that she was his most trusted and loyal servant and when she got arrested “she seemed to view Azkaban prison as a mere place to wait for his return” (wiki). Bellatrix has been described as “slavishly devoted to her master” and “speaking to him in a romantic way” (wiki). When she thought she was being praised by him, “her cheeks flushed and her eyes welled up with tears” “satisfying him was of the utmost importance to her” (wiki). Voldemort’s attraction to her, however, was nowhere near as deep as hers was for him. When she died he was indeed angry but, “It is unlikely, though, that he truly cared about her as a person, rather than being angry about losing someone who was very useful to him” (wiki). She constantly seeks attention from Voldemort, is excessively emotional when she thinks she is being praised by him, speaks dramatically about blood purity, and thinks her relationship with Voldemort is closer than it actually is. As far as examples of characters with Histrionic personality disorder go, I think she’s a pretty good one.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

        Narcissistic personality disorder is the last one in the B cluster. People with Narcissistic personality disorder “believe they are superior to others” (healthline). The symptoms of Narcissistic personality disorder are… (Mayo Clinic)

“Narcissistic personality disorder

• Belief that you’re special and more important than others
• Fantasies about power, success and attractiveness
• Failure to recognize others’ needs and feelings
• Exaggeration of achievements or talents
• Expectation of constant praise and admiration
• Arrogance
• Unreasonable expectations of favors and advantages, often taking advantage of others
• Envy of others or belief that others envy you”

Gilderoy Lockhart is an author known for his fantastical run-ins with dangerous creatures, run-ins that did indeed happen, just without him being involved. He would go around the world and “[trick] accomplished witches and wizards into revealing their greatest deeds and then erasing their memories”, then he would write a book involving those amazing true stories with him as the man in charge (wiki). According to wiki, his defining characteristics were “his extreme arrogance and exceeding vanity, conceit, egomania, narcissism and self-obsession”. He would also make “outrageous claims and suggestions, whether about other people’s professions or in times of danger, in order to make himself look more important and powerful than he truly was” (wiki). All of those examples are just the tip of the iceberg with him. If there has ever been a true literary character with a narcissistic personality disorder, it’s him.

I think that this batch of characters is more likely to have one of these disorders than those in cluster A, but of course, all of this is just for fun and not intending to make light of any of these illnesses. I just find it fascinating to analyze characters and to find things about them that make so much psychological sense that the author had to have put them into the story intentionally! Thank you for reading! With any luck, you learned something new today or looked at something through a new lens. I hope that was entertaining, insightful, and you weren’t bored!

Sources – 

“Bellatrix Lestrange.” ChristopherInnit Wiki, christopherinnit.fandom.com/wiki/Bellatrix_Lestrange.

“Bellatrix Lestrange.” Harry Potter Wiki, harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Bellatrix_Lestrange.

“Gilderoy Lockhart.” Harry Potter Wiki, harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Gilderoy_Lockhart.

“Harry Potter Personality Disorders.” Prezi.com, prezi.com/med4xbhkwke8/harry-potter-personality-disorders/.

Levin, Michael, et al. “Personality Disorders: DSM of Harry Potter.” East Bay Psychopharmacology Group, 19 Apr. 2015, eastbaypharm.com/personality-disorders-dsm-of-harry-potter-by-ariff-moolla/.

“Lord Voldemort.” Warner Bros. Entertainment Wiki, warnerbros.fandom.com/wiki/Lord_Voldemort.

“Myrtle Warren.” Harry Potter Wiki, harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Myrtle_Warren.

“Personality Disorders.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 23 Sept. 2016, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/personality-disorders/symptoms-causes/syc-20354463.

SUNY, Wikispaces; “Abnormal Psychology.” Lumen, courses.lumenlearning.com/abnormalpsychology/chapter/histrionic-personality-disorder-2/.

“Tom Riddle.” Harry Potter Wiki, harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Tom_Riddle.

“What Are Cluster B Personality Disorders?” Healthline, www.healthline.com/health/cluster-b-personality-disorders#traits.

Warning – I will be speaking about paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal personality disorders. 

Hello Everyone!

In this post, I will be talking about personality disorders in the Harry Potter Universe. As usual, if you are uncomfortable with the topic for this post, please don’t worry about leaving.

Personality disorders are divided into three clusters called A, B, and C (not very original I know). According to the Mayo Clinic “A personality disorder is a type of mental disorder in which you have a rigid and unhealthy pattern of thinking, functioning and behaving. A person with a personality disorder has trouble perceiving and relating to situations and people. This causes significant problems and limitations in relationships, social activities, work and school”. For this first post on the subject, I’ll be speaking about Cluster A. “Cluster A personality disorders are characterized by odd, eccentric thinking or behavior. They include paranoid personality disorder, schizoid personality disorder and schizotypal personality disorder”, the Mayo Clinic states.

Paranoid Personality Disorder

        People with Paranoid Personality Disorder are generally “suspicious about the motives of others or fear that others intend to harm them” (healthline). The Mayo Clinic lists the symptoms as…

“Paranoid Personality Disorder

• Pervasive distrust and suspicion of others and their motives
• Unjustified belief that others are trying to harm or deceive you
• Unjustified suspicion of the loyalty or trustworthiness of others
• Hesitancy to confide in others due to unreasonable fear that others will use the information against you
• Perception of innocent remarks or nonthreatening situations as personal insults or attacks
• Angry or hostile reaction to perceived slights or insults
• Tendency to hold grudges
• Unjustified, recurrent suspicion that spouse or sexual partner is unfaithful”

Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody

One character that comes to my mind when I hear paranoid is Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody and his catchphrase “Constant Vigilance”. Moody was an Auror, basically a magic police officer that goes after dark-wizards/witches, so he had plenty of dangerous experiences and reasons to be afraid; it did eventually did get to a point where he was hyperparanoid, constantly jumping and shooting defensive spells at anything that scared him. He would only eat the food that he prepared and would only drink from his own personal flask for fear of someone trying to poison him. In my opinion, Alastor Moody is a great example of Paranoid Personality Disorder in Harry Potter. Almost, if not all, of the symptoms listed above apply perfectly to him.

Schizoid Personality Disorder

        The next personality disorder in cluster A is Schizoid Personality Disorder. According to healthline, Schizoid personality disorder “is an uncommon condition that causes people to avoid social activities and have trouble displaying emotion. To others, people with a schizoid personality disorder may seem humorless or cold”. The symptoms and signs according to the Mayo Clinic are…

“Schizoid personality disorder

• Lack of interest in social or personal relationships, preferring to be alone
• Limited range of emotional expression
• Inability to take pleasure in most activities
• Inability to pick up normal social cues
• Appearance of being cold or indifferent to others
• Little or no interest in having sex with another person”

Severus Snape

Some people type Severus Snape as someone with Schizoid personality disorder. People with Schizoid personality disorder don’t enjoy or want social relationships and don’t really have close friends. They also appear to be aloof and without warm emotional feelings for others (Ariff Mohamed Moolla). Snape sure does fit the description. According to the Mayo Clinic, “what causes the development of schizoid personality disorder is unknown, although a combination of genetic and environmental factors, particularly in early childhood, may play a role in developing the disorder”. Severus Snape did have a rough life. He had a very unstable home life, was teased in school while he was growing up, not to mention the rejection and death of the one person he loved; so the environmental factors that could have contributed were evidently present. I don’t know how much I agree with the analysis though. The facts do seem to line up but I think that he may have just been a bitter man who hated children and should have chosen a different career path.

Schizotypal Personality Disorder

        Schizotypal personality disorder is the last one in the A cluster. People with schizotypal personality disorder “often described as having unusual personalities. They tend to have few intimate relationships, distrust others, and experience a great deal of social anxiety” (healthline). The symptoms of Schizotypal personality disorder are… (Mayo Clinic)

“Schizotypal personality disorder

• Peculiar dress, thinking, beliefs, speech or behavior
• Odd perceptual experiences, such as hearing a voice whisper your name
• Flat emotions or inappropriate emotional responses
• Social anxiety and a lack of or discomfort with close relationships
• Indifferent, inappropriate or suspicious response to others
• “Magical thinking” — believing you can influence people and events with your thoughts
• Belief that certain casual incidents or events have hidden messages meant only for you”

Luna Lovegood Outfit

Luna Lovegood

Luna Lovegood is known for being a little out there. As you can see from the top picture of her, she has a very unorthodox way of dressing. It is a magical world of magic, but even in the books and in the universe itself she was “weird”. Other students would call her “Loony Lovegood” because of how out of place she usually was. Her emotions are generally subdued and she can tend to have an indifferent response to people. Luna and her father were both absolutely positive that creatures unknown to others were in existence (such as “invisible Wrackspurts floating through your eyes and making your brain go fuzzy”) so that means the odd perceptual experiences and peculiar beliefs applies to both of them. According to Mayo Clinic, “it’s likely that changes in the way the brain functions, genetics, environmental influences and learned behaviors may play a role”. Her mother died in front of her when she was younger and from what the reader is shown about how her father acts, it can be assumed that he is very similar in mind to her.

Of course, all of these analyses are just for fun. I don’t particularly think that any of the characters have any of these disorders. It is just fascinating to see how all or a lot of the signs and symptoms come together and all click into place when examining the character’s personality.  Thank you so much for reading! With any luck, you learned something new today or looked at something through a new lens. I hope that was entertaining, insightful, and you weren’t bored!

Sources – 

Action Potential, et al. “The Harry Potter DSM: Cluster A Personality Disorders.” Action Potential, 31 May 2011, apotential.wordpress.com/2011/05/30/the-harry-potter-dsm-cluster-a-personality-disorders/.

“Alastor Moody.” Harry Potter Wiki, harrypotter.fandom.com/cs/wiki/Alastor_Moody.

Busch, Jenna. “The Resiliency of Luna Lovegood.” SYFY WIRE, SYFY WIRE, 20 Apr. 2019, www.syfy.com/syfywire/the-resiliency-of-luna-lovegood.

“Cluster A Personality Disorders and Traits.” Healthline, www.healthline.com/health/cluster-a-personality-disorders.

“Images of Luna Lovegood: Harry Potter Costume, Harry Potter Luna Lovegood, Luna Lovegood Costume.” Pinterest, www.pinterest.com/pin/201747258279611875/.

Moolla, Ariff Mohamed. “Personality Disorders: DSM of Harry Potter.” East Bay Psychopharmacology Group, 19 Apr. 2015, eastbaypharm.com/personality-disorders-dsm-of-harry-potter-by-ariff-moolla/.

        Hello Everyone!

        I will be talking about the Myers-Briggs personality test again this week. In case you forgot or didn’t read my blog from last week, “The Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator is a self-report inventory designed to identify a person’s personality type, strengths, and preferences” (verywellmind).  Isabel Myers and her mother Katherine Briggs developed the questionnaire based on their work with Carl Jung’s theory of personality types. MBTI is one of the most widely used instruments in psychology in the world today. There are 16 possible personality types you could get from the test. 

        This week I’ll be discussing the MBTI of four Death Eaters in the Harry Potter universe. “A Death Eater is the name Voldemort’s supporters gave themselves during the First Wizarding War” (Pottermore Wiki).  

        We’ll start this one off with the big bad man himself, Voldemort (a.k.a. Tom Riddle). Voldemort is an INTJ, also called the architect. INTJs are introverted, intuitive, thinking, and judging. “People with INTJ personalities are highly analytical…and logical”, Voldemort is evidently very analytical and logical in his actions (verywellmind). INTJs “place greater emphasis on logic and objective information rather than subjective emotions” (verywellmind). Voldemort has been shown to not care or take emotions into account, he didn’t care about Snape’s love, Lily, and killed her for his own personal gain. “When INTJs develop an interest in something, they strive to become as knowledgeable and skilled as they can in that area” (verywellmind). 

        Voldemort, when he was still Tom Riddle and in school, was the top of his class. He was the head boy in his seventh year of school, head boys and girls are the students that are specially picked by the headmaster of the school to lead the rest of the student body. INTJs weaknesses include being “overly analytical and judgmental, very perfectionistic, dislikes talking about emotions, sometimes seems callous or insensitive”, all of these apply to Voldemort (verywellmind). I believe that Voldemort is a great example of an INTJ based on all of the information on the type that I can find. Not all INTJs are evil, though. I felt like that needed to be said. Temperance Brennan from the tv show Bones is an INTJ, as well as Bruce Wayne (Batman).

Source

        Voldemort’s most faithful follower, Bellatrix Lestrange, is an ESFP (also called the entertainer). They are extroverted, sensing, feeling,  and perceiving. Some of the weaknesses of ESFPs are that they “dislike abstract theories, become bored easily, do not plan ahead, impulsive” (verywellmind). Also “ESFPs prefer to focus on the here-and-now rather than thinking about the distant future” (verywellmind). Some examples of these weaknesses and impulsivity in her personality are that “Bellatrix is opportunistic in battle, and often reckless in chasing after those she intends to target—in the Battle of Hogwarts, her attention shifts rapidly and she takes after anyone within reaching distance” (WordPress). 

Source

        Bellatrix would “rather use direct violence, and enjoys torturing people” (WordPress);  “ESFPs place a greater emphasis [on] personal feelings rather than logic and facts when making decisions” this shows that Bellatrix fits this aspect as well (verywellmind). “This function is focused on enforcing order on the outside world” (verywellmind). “Bellatrix, out of her deep-seated resentment for Pureblood families associating with [Muggles] and even marrying them, targets them first in any encounter”, this is her way of enforcing the order of the wizarding world the way she wants it to be (WordPress). 

        Another one of Voldemort’s somewhat loyal followers, Lucius Malfoy, is an ESFJ (a.k.a. The consul). ESFJs are “extraverted, sensing, feeling, and judging” (verywellmind). “ESFJs also have a strong desire to exert control over their environment” and Lucius is a “skilled emotional manipulator, whose every word seems targeted to elicit an emotional response out of someone” (verywellmind)(WordPress). The manipulation is Lucius’ way of controlling the people and the environment around him. Many ESJFs “derive their value system from external sources including the community at large rather than from intrinsic, ethical, and moral guidelines” and their weaknesses include sensitivity to criticism and approval-seeking behaviors (verywellmind). Examples of these behaviors within Lucius Malfoy are when he is “willing to take the side of whomever seems to be in charge” and the fact that he is “not a leader so much as he is an opportunistic follower, able to charm his way into higher positions” (WordPress). He looks more to the environment and who he can gain the most from instead of basing his behavior on ethical guidelines. 

Source

        Lucius Malfoy grew up in a family that believed in “blood purity” and a hierarchy of families based on the purity of that blood. So, ESFJs that are “raised in a less enriched environment may have skewed ethics as adults and are more likely to be manipulative and self-centered” (verywellmind). Lucius “gives no sense of being able to analyze his own actions or realize that they are wrong” and he is “incredibly proud of and arrogant about his Pureblood family” (WordPress). 

         Also, I do want to reiterate that none of these types is inherently bad. In another situation or environment, the characteristics that made them so terrible probably would have made them very positive influences in society. So here is the link to the test that I find is most commonly used by members of the public to see their types in case you wanted to take it to see your type too!

        Thank you so much for reading my fifth blog post! I hope that was entertaining, insightful, and you weren’t bored!

Source

Here is a chart for those of you who may want to see where your MBTI puts you in the Hogwarts houses! I don’t know how accurate it is because it wasn’t accurate for me.

Sources

“Bellatrix Lestrange.” Harry Potter Wiki, harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Bellatrix_Lestrange.

Charity. “Harry Potter: Bellatrix Lestrange [ESFP].” Funky MBTI, 8 Aug. 2020, funkymbti.wordpress.com/2020/08/10/harry-potter-bellatrix-lestrange-esfp/. 

Charity. “Harry Potter: Lucius Malfoy [ESFJ].” Funky MBTI, 8 Aug. 2020, funkymbti.wordpress.com/2020/08/09/harry-potter-lucius-malfoy-esfj/. 

Charity. “Harry Potter: Tom Riddle / Lord Voldemort [INTJ].” Funky MBTI, 15 Aug. 2020, funkymbti.wordpress.com/2020/08/15/harry-potter-tom-riddle-lord-voldemort-intj/. 

Cherry, Kendra. “Are You Social and Spontaneous? You Might Be an ESFP.” Verywell Mind, 23 June 2020, www.verywellmind.com/esfp-extraverted-sensing-feeling-perceiving-2795984. 

Cherry, Kendra. “ESFJ (Extraverted, Sensing, Feeling, Judging) Personality Trait Type.” Verywell Mind, 28 June 2020, www.verywellmind.com/esfj-extraverted-sensing-feeling-judging-2795983. 

Cherry, Kendra. “Know the Characteristics of the INTJ Personality Type.” Verywell Mind, www.verywellmind.com/intj-introverted-intuitive-thinking-judging-2795988. 

Cherry, Kendra. “Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: The 16 Personality Types.” Verywell Mind, 17 Sept. 2020, www.verywellmind.com/the-myers-briggs-type-indicator-2795583. 

“Death Eaters.” Pottermore Wiki, pottermore.fandom.com/wiki/Death_Eaters. 

Donn, Emily. “Harry Potter: Jason Isaacs Didn’t Want to Play Lucius Malfoy.” ScreenRant, 28 Jan. 2017, screenrant.com/harry-potter-jason-isaacs-lucius-malfoy-audition/.

“I Made This Chart (Based on This One) for a Harry Potter-Themed Activity We Did…: Harry Potter Personality, Personality Chart, Mbti Personality.” Pinterest, www.pinterest.com/pin/194921490101938938/.

“Learn about the 16 Personality Types from under the Hood.” Excellence Assured, 5 May 2020, excellenceassured.com/16-personality-types. 

Pottermore. “The Different Meanings behind Lord Voldemort’s Many Names.” Wizarding World, Wizarding World Digital, 2 Oct. 2019, www.wizardingworld.com/features/the-different-meanings-behind-lord-voldemorts-many-names.

Hello Everyone!

        This week I will be talking about the Myers-Briggs personality test, also called MBTI! “The Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator is a self-report inventory designed to identify a person’s personality type, strengths, and preferences” (verywellmind).  Isabel Myers and her mother Katherine Briggs developed the questionnaire based on their work with Carl Jung’s theory of personality types. MBTI is one of the most widely used instruments in psychology in the world today. There are 16 possible personality types you could get from the test. 

        Since I am kind of a Harry Potter blog. I’ll tell you the main character’s MBTI types and the description of those types. I hope you enjoy it!

        Okay, so we are going to start with the golden trio. Harry Potter, the boy who lived himself, is an ISFP (often called the adventurers). ISFPs are introverted, sensing, feeling, and perceiving. One of the traits of ISFPs is that they prefer to do than to dream. “They dislike abstract theories unless they can see some type of practical application for them and prefer learning situations that involve gaining hands-on experience” (verywellmind). Harry exhibits this behavior when Professor Umbridge becomes the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and does not allow the students to do any practical spell casting of any kind. Harry responds to this by heading an underground coalition of students who actually wanted to learn something that year. “ISFPs prefer to focus on the present [so] they often do well in careers that are concerned with practical, real-world problems”, Harry went on to become an Auror, basically a magic police officer (verywellmind). Harry also is a very reserved person emotionally and ISFPs “are very private and keep their true feelings to themselves”, he (Harry) didn’t tell anyone when he was having nightmares in his fifth year of Hogwarts (verywellmind). He preferred to keep it all to himself until his roommates started getting concerned. There are many other reasons Harry is an ISFP but I don’t want to spend too long on one character. 

        Moving on to Hermione, the queen. She is an ESTJ, also known as the executive or the director. ESTJ stands for extraverted, sensing, thinking, and judging. “ESTJs are often described as logical, take-charge kind of people. They are assertive and are very concerned with making sure that things run smoothly and according to the rules. They are committed to tradition, standards, and laws” (verywellmind). No matter if you read the books, watched the movies, or even heard tidbits about the story, I would bet that you know that Hermione is considered a know-it-all control freak. ESTJs “can sometimes be seen as rigid, stubborn, and unyielding”, which adds to the control freak opinion (verywellmind). Hermione goes on to become the Minister of Magic, a role that deals with rules and laws out the wazoo, and because ESTJs “appreciate order and organization, they frequently do well in supervisory roles” (verywellmind). I would consider the Minister of Magic as the uppermost supervisory position in the English wizarding world. Hermione is very representative of ESTJs and the personality traits behind them. 

        Ron Weasley, a character who often gets a lot of unwarranted grief. He is an ESFP, also called the performer or the entertainer. ESFPs are Extraverted, Sensing, Feeling, Perceiving. “People with ESFP personality types are often described as spontaneous, resourceful, and outgoing. They love being the center of attention and are often described as entertainers or ‘class clowns’” (verywellmind).  ESFPs “careers that involve a great deal of structure and solitary work can be difficult for ESFPs, and they often become bored in such situations”, Ron was an Auror after graduation from Hogwarts which has a lot of structure (verywellmind). It turned out to not be the best fit for him so he transitioned to helping his brother, George with Weasley Wizard Wheezes, a joke shop that his twin brothers Fred and George started. ESFPs “do best in careers that involve a lot of variety. Jobs that involve a great deal of socialization are also a great fit”, co-owning a joke shop allows Ron to have fun with his job without the stuffiness of working at a desk (verywellmind). He also loves attention, but ESFPs “are attention-seekers” by nature (verywellmind). He also grew up with six siblings so he was always overshadowed. ESFP traits apply very well to Ron’s personality in the books in other aspects as well besides the ones I’ve mentioned above. 

        I find MBTI types extremely fascinating but I don’t put much stock into them. I tend to think of them as more scientific zodiacs. I am an INTP, also known as a logician. Here is the link to the test that I find is most commonly used by members of the public to see their types in case you wanted to take it to see your type too!

        Thank you so much for reading my fourth blog post! I know that it wasn’t quite the same as my other posts but I wanted to branch out a little bit and explore other aspects of psychology. I hope that was entertaining, insightful, and you weren’t bored!

Here is a chart for those of you who may want to see where your MBTI puts you in the Hogwarts houses. I don’t know how accurate it will be for you but it isn’t accurate for me.

Sources – 

Cherry, Kendra. “Are You an ISFP? Find out More About Your Personality Type.” Verywell Mind, 23 June 2020, www.verywellmind.com/isfp-introverted-sensing-feeling-perceiving-2795991. 

Cherry, Kendra. “Are You Social and Spontaneous? You Might Be an ESFP.” Verywell Mind, 23 June 2020, www.verywellmind.com/esfp-extraverted-sensing-feeling-perceiving-2795984. 

Cherry, Kendra. “Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: The 16 Personality Types.” Verywell Mind, 17 Sept. 2020, www.verywellmind.com/the-myers-briggs-type-indicator-2795583. 

Cherry, Kendra. “What an ESTJ Myers-Briggs Type Means for Your Career.” Verywell Mind, 21 June 2020, www.verywellmind.com/estj-extraverted-sensing-thinking-judging-2795985. 

“I Made This Chart (Based on This One) for a Harry Potter-Themed Activity We Did…: Harry Potter Personality, Personality Chart, Mbti Personality.” Pinterest, www.pinterest.com/pin/194921490101938938/.

“Learn about the 16 Personality Types from under the Hood.” Excellence Assured, 5 May 2020, excellenceassured.com/16-personality-types.

Scott, Kate. “Which HARRY POTTER Character Shares Your Myers-Briggs Type?” BOOK RIOT, 21 June 2019, bookriot.com/?p=170206.

Warning – I will be speaking about anxiety and fear for this specific post. 

Hello Everyone! 

          For this blog post, I will be talking about Boggarts and their connection to mental illness in our world. Here is a brief warning about the subject matter; I will be talking about anxiety and panic disorders in this blog post. If you aren’t comfortable reading about these subjects, please don’t worry about leaving. I hope you enjoy it!

          So, what is a Boggart? A Boggart is “a shape-shifting creature that will assume the form of whatever most frightens the person who encounters it” (J.K. Rowling).  According to Verywellmind, the symptoms of a panic or phobia-induced episode include dizziness, trembling, increased heart rate, breathlessness, and extreme fear. In the video below, we can see that the students show many of these symptoms, as well as being “frozen in fear”. This shows that the symptoms of being confronted with your greatest fear incarnate have the same effects in the wizarding world as they would in our world.

 Professor Lupin teaching the students the Ridikkulus spell.

          When you have a Panic attack or an Anxiety attack, you often feel like you can’t breathe, your heart is racing, and you’re shaking so much it feels like even your organs are shivering. This can make you feel like you’re dying, making you more anxious, causing your symptoms to be even worse and the cycle to continue on. Boggarts “seems to be generated and sustained by human emotions” (Rowling). By creating the fear that they feed on and generate from, they are only creating more of them.

          There are people who are more susceptible to Boggarts, “the more generally fearful a person is, the more susceptible they [are]” (Rowling).” Even non-magical people can “feel their presence and may even glimpse them”, Muggles (non-magical people) are capable of seeing them too, though they are usually convinced it was a trick of the light or a figment of their imagination (Rowling). This is partly true in our world as well, according to Ted Satterthwaite, a neuropsychiatrist at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, “If you have one disorder, you’re much more likely to have another” (Michael Marshall). 

          Nobody knows what a Boggart looks like in its true form. All they know is, “if nobody is there to see it, although it continues to exist, usually giving evidence of its presence by rattling, shaking or scratching the object in which it is hiding” (Rowling). These sounds are similar to what we all imagine we are hearing when we’re home alone and scared of intruders, we hear bumps in the night. Boggarts are those bumps in the night, scaring you even when you can’t see them. 

          One way to overcome them is to “have company when facing a Boggart, as it will become confused deciding what shape to be” (Pottermore Wiki). A lesson that is applicable to true life. It is almost always easier to get through any anxiety you may have when you have friends to help you calm down and fight off the bad thoughts.

          There is another way to repel the Boggarts though. The spell is Ridikkulus (like ridiculous but fancy), “it involves making the creature into a figure of fun, so that fear can be dispelled in amusement” (Rowling). When the students are learning about it in their class their professor tells them that “The charm that repels a boggart is simple, yet it requires force of mind.  You see, the thing that really finishes a boggart is laughter.  What you need to do is force it to assume a shape that you find amusing” (Rowling). I think that this is something incredibly important to remember. “Laughter is the best medicine” isn’t just an old adage. Laugher actually has numerous health, mental, and social benefits (helpguide). 

Laughter…

• Relaxes the whole body – It relieves physical tension and stress.
• Boosts the immune system – It decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and antibodies. 
• Triggers the release of endorphins – The body’s natural happy chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can temporarily relieve pain. 
• Protects the heart – Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, protecting you from cardiovascular problems. 
• Burns calories – One study found that laughing for 10 to 15 minutes a day can burn about 40 calories. That is enough to lose 3-4 pounds a year from just laughing. 
• Can help you live longer – A Norwegian study found that people with a strong sense of humor outlived those who don’t laugh as much. It was particularly noticeable in people battling cancer. 

The mental health and social benefits include adding joy and zest to life, easing anxiety and tension, relieving stress, improving mood, strengthening resilience, strengthens relationships, attracts others to us, enhances teamwork, helps to defuse conflict, and promotes group conflict. This goes to show that laughter really can help to drive away the darkness in our lives.

          Thank you so much for reading my third blog post! With any luck, you learned something new today or looked at something through a new lens. I hope that was entertaining, insightful, and you weren’t bored!

Sources – 

“Boggart.” Pottermore Wiki, pottermore.fandom.com/wiki/Boggart.

Katharina Star, PhD. “The Differences Between Phobia and Panic Disorder.” Verywell Mind, 16 Aug. 2019, www.verywellmind.com/panic-disorder-versus-a-phobia-2584215. 

Marshall, Michael. “The Hidden Links between Mental Disorders.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 5 May 2020, www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00922-8. 

Robinson, Lawrence. “Laughter Is the Best Medicine.” HelpGuide.org, www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/laughter-is-the-best-medicine.htm. 

Rowling, J.K. “Boggart.” Wizarding World, Wizarding World Digital, 2 Oct. 2019, www.wizardingworld.com/writing-by-jk-rowling/boggart. 

Rowling, J.K., and DutchHPfan1992. “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – Remus Lupin’s ‘Boggart’ Class (HD).” Youtube, 14 May 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=doxxfXqpKYA. 

Warning – I will be speaking about depression for this specific post. 

          Hello everyone!

          Welcome to my first blog post! Throughout my time as a blogger, I’ll be switching between movie theories and psychological analyses of things and/or characters within movies. In this post, I’ll be doing a psychological analysis of a creature in the Harry Potter Universe called a dementor. It is a more well-known analysis considering the author herself revealed that it was true, but I wanted to start with something more people would have a chance to know the background information about. I do want to put a warning here in the beginning, I will be talking about depression in this post so if you aren’t comfortable reading about that subject, I won’t be upset if you leave. I hope you find it as interesting to read as I did to research (granted I am a Psychology major, so I probably found it a little more interesting than the average person). 

          Here is a little introduction to dementors for those who aren’t very familiar with the books and movies. Dementors are “among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope and happiness out of the air around them” (J.K. Rowling). During the war towards the end of the series, they allied with Voldemort because he spreads despair, which is what they feed off of (Wizarding World). 

       Image Link

          Dementors in the Wizarding World come from a very real and personal place for J.K. Rowling. She wrote them to embody and put a creature to the emotions we feel when depressed. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, depression symptoms include “feelings of hopelessness or pessimism” and a “persistent sad, anxious, or ‘empty’ mood”. When we compare these symptoms to the effects of a dementor, we find some shocking similitudes. Dementors “leech happiness and joy from everyone they encounter” (Wizarding World). When given the chance, dementors will completely suck out the soul of a person, leaving them to live the rest of their life as “‘an empty shell’” (Wizarding World). Scary similar, huh? Even the appearance of a dementor is one that invokes fear and dread, with their skeletal bodies “Cloaked in dark hoods, with slimy-looking, decayed hands and…no eyes” (Wizarding World). We always say that the eyes are the windows to the soul, so for a soul-sucking creature to have no eyes, for their victim to be looking into a pit of nothingness while they relive the worst experience of their life, is unimaginable.  

The students learning the Patronus charm     

          There is a way to deter these horrible creatures, however. The Patronus charm, officially Expecto Patronum, or “I await a guardian” in Latin, is only able to be cast when thinking of your most powerful happy memory. The Patronus takes the form of an animal that is there to protect you from the dementors (Wizarding World). They are able to drive away a negative force by thinking positively. The spell is also “one of the most powerful defensive charms known to wizardkind” (Wizarding World), their most powerful spell, is based on happiness and joy, showing that the light will always beat away the dark. 

          I hope that was entertaining, insightful, and you weren’t bored! Thank you so much for reading my first post, with luck they’ll only get better from here!

          Sources-

Ahlgrim, Callie. “All the Known Patronuses of the ‘Harry Potter’ Characters – from Dumbledore to the Weasley Twins.” Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo!, 19 Nov. 2018, au.finance.yahoo.com/news/known-patronuses-apos-harry-potter-115549964.html. 

“Dementor.” Harry Potter Wiki, harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Dementor. 

Pottermore. “Everything You Need to Know about the Dementors’ Kiss.” Wizarding World, Wizarding World Digital, 2 Oct. 2019, www.wizardingworld.com/features/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-dementors-kiss.  

Pottermore. “Why Dementors Are the Scariest Magical Creatures.” Wizarding World, Wizarding World Digital, 2 Oct. 2019, www.wizardingworld.com/features/why-dementors-are-the-scariest-magical-creatures.  

Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Edited by GrandPré Mary, Large Print Press, 2003. 

Rowling, J.K. “Patronus Charm.” Wizarding World, Wizarding World Digital, 2 Oct. 2019, www.wizardingworld.com/writing-by-jk-rowling/patronus-charm. 

White, Hilary. “Rowling Created Dementors as a Metaphor for Depression.” POPSUGAR Tech, 31 July 2016, www.popsugar.com/tech/photo-gallery/41180052/image/41180427/Rowling-created-Dementors-metaphor-depression.