Why the Sorting Hat is Fiction’s Best Psychological Tester!
Harry Potter is arguably the most influential fictional series to have been written in the last 50 years. A defining pillar of the series is of course the magical sorting hat.
In the novels, the children are sorted into 4 school houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. The sorting process is done by the sorting hat, which I argue is fiction’s most comprehensive psychological tester. But why is this hat so effective?
In my opinion, the sorting hat is the most effective psychological tester in fiction because a) it is not susceptible to human measuring flaws and b) it can look beyond a student’s superficial qualities.
Let’s start by defining the four Hogwarts houses. Gryffindor is the star house — home of the brave, the daring, and the loud. Hufflepuff has been dubbed the “misfit” house (for its willingness to accept any and all students) and is the home of the hard-working, the big-hearted and the good-natured. Ravenclaw is the academic house — home of the studious, the curious and the veracious readers. Slyhterin, in my opinion, is the misunderstood house — home of the ambitious, the resourceful and the high achiever. (A little aside: students in Slytherin are high-achieving and enjoy being in positions of power. For this reason the house has been associated with the largest ratio of dark witches and wizards because, as we know, power is a corrupting force. However it is important to realize that being in Slytherin is not synonymous with being evil.)
The hat’s ultimate purpose — much like a professional psychologist making a diagnosis — is to place the student in the house that will give him/her the best support. Why is it so good at doing this sorting?
1) The sorting hat does not misinterpret data, succumb to confirmation bias, or miscommunicate instructions. It does not make mistakes characteristic of human measurement error and so is always right in its assessments.
2) The hat can look beyond a child’s superficial qualities and can access their personality, motivation, and willingness to belong. Personality describes a child’s typical way of responding; motivation describes how they would use their personality to attain the things they want; and willingness to belong describes how readily a child will accept their new house as home. The first two things are standard sub-scales of measurement and easy to measure, however, willingness to belong is the key to sorting success.
Harry Potter had the personality and motivational profile to be in Slytherin (ambitious and achievement oriented) but he did not have the willingness to belong there. The hat knew this quality was lacking and incorporated Harry’s willingness to belong into its final decision. Harry was placed in Gryffindor where his natural courage and daring were nurtured and he received the best support.
At the end of the day, the hat’s ultimate goal (as I said above) is to place a child in the house with the best-suited support system. Psychological testers have a similar goal and we should all take heed to remember that personality and motivation are not always the most important factors in finding that support system — sometimes a willingness to belong is.
260518715
