Why are we so attached to heroes in series ?

©HBO

By scanning the brains of Game of Thrones fans, psychology researchers from Ohio State and Ohio State University Columbia University made a strange discovery. It turns out that lonely people tend to confuse the main characters of their series with their friends.

“Your favorite characters are more real to you”

In a press release released for the occasion, Dylan Wagner , co-author of this study, explains:

There were clear boundaries between the representation of real and fictional characters in the brain of the least lonely participant in our study. But the boundaries between real characters and certain fictional characters were practically non-existent for the loneliest participant.

In detail, we learn that this study was carried out in 2017 with 19 fans of the series. They were asked to think about their friends and nine characters from the series: Bronn, Catelyn Stark, Cersei Lannister, Davos Seaworth, Jaime Lannister, Jon Snow, Petyr Baelish, Sandor Clegane and Ygritte.

As for knowing what precisely happened in their brains, the scientist specifies: “When we analyzed brain patterns in the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), real people were represented very distinctly from fictional people in non-lonely participants. But among the loneliest people, the boundaries begin to blur. We no longer see clear lines between the two groups.”

If it seems very difficult to draw definitive conclusions on this subject. In any case, we can see the importance and impact of these pop culture fictions on our brains. By spending many hours alongside them and seeing them evolve, we can end up holding these heroes in very high esteem.

In fact, the researcher even concludes very sharp: “Your favorite characters are more real to you, regardless of loneliness“. What do you think of the results of this study ? And more broadly, do you also feel an attachment to the characters of your favorite series ? Tell us in the comments.

What to remember:

• People suffering from loneliness are extremely attached to the characters in the series
• Researchers were able to observe this within the framework of a study devoted to Game of Thrones
• This trend affects all spectators who identify with the great figures of their favorite sagas

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