Science confirms Harry Potter readers make better partners

Well, duh.

Science has once again delivered confirmation that the Harry Potter fans among us are in fact the better members of society.

A study published in the journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts has found that readers who prefer fantasy and science fiction are less likely to endorse unrealistic beliefs about relationships.

Adults were tested on their exposure to various classic, romance, fantasy, science fiction, suspense and horror writers, before being asked to respond to a series of unrealistic beliefs about relationships.

These statements included: “Disagreement is destructive; mind reading is expected; romantic partners cannot change; the sexes are different; and the expectation of sexual perfection.”

Participants then marked on a six-point scale the degree in 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.”

According to the findings, the fantasy and sci-fi readers were less likely to support unhealthy beliefs 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,” researchers concluded. Not surprising, considering Dumbledore taught us everything there is to know about the importance of love.