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Scientists Discover That People Act Way Better When Batman Is Present (futurism.com)
submitted 11 months ago by to c/offbeat@lemmy.ca
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Folks, we have some revolutionary sociological research to share with you today.

After making a guy dressed as Batman stand around in a subway car, a team of researchers found that the behavior of people around him suddenly improved the moment he showed up. No longer was everyone completely self-involved; with the presence of a superhero, commuters started helping each other more than they would’ve without him around.

Behold: the “Batman effect.”

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[–] 21 points 11 months ago (5 children)

Would need to see tests done. Try other threat stimuli, other Batman colour palettes. A pink one, for example.

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  • [–] 10 points 11 months ago (1 child)

    I can’t find it now, but there was an experiment where people were given a skill game to try and let alone in a (recorded) room, then self reported their score.

    When the experimenter casually mentioned that this rocking chair over here was his late grandmother’s, he was just keeping it there until he could move it to his home, because he felt her presence in it, nobody lied about their score.

    So, Batman and granny ghosts.

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  • [–] 4 points 11 months ago

    According to the article it's not really about the character itself but rather introducing an unusual, offbeat element seems to make groups of people more empathetic.

    44% of people who ceded their place to the pregnant woman in the study reported not even noticing the Batman. So this is some kind of subconscious effect on the crowd I guess.

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