“Hogwarts is My Home.” The Influence of Transportation, Identification, and Emotion-Specific Personality Traits on the Perceived Sense of Heimat in Fictional Media Worlds

In the course of globalization, people are often uprooted from their geographical homes and satisfy their need for a sense of home (sense of Heimat) through alternative sources. Until now, fictional media worlds have hardly been studied in this context, even though fiction has been shown to satisfy social needs. The results of a stimulus-based online survey, in which participants watched an excerpt from the film “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” show that transportation into the fictional world and identification with Harry Potter can promote a sense of Heimat and, as a result, positive affect.