The Psychology of our Relationship with Fictional Villains

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Professor Zoe Walkington gave a talk for the Open Psychology Research Centre in which she explored the psychology of the relationships we form with fictional villains. In the talk she considered the ways in which we relate to the villains we read about in books, and also considered the implications of hanging out with these fictional villains, when readers are back in the real world. She also introduced the audience to the free Open Learn resource on the same topic which was authored by herself, Professor Graham Pike, and also Siobhan Campbell, a colleague from Creative Writing.