Scientists Discover People Act More Altruistic When Batman Is Present (futurism.com)
- Reference: 0180239881
- News link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/11/29/2233245/scientists-discover-people-act-more-altruistic-when-batman-is-present
- Source link: https://futurism.com/health-medicine/study-batman-effect
> In a study conducted in Milan, Italy, and [2]published in November 2025 , the sight of a person dressed as Batman led to a nearly doubled rate of people giving up their seat to a pregnant woman. Over the course of 138 subway rides, researchers found that people who saw "Batman" standing near the pregnant woman were far more altruistic than those who did not.
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> Researchers are calling this the "Batman effect," suggesting a form of "involuntary" mindfulness may be at play. Noticing these subtle social cues appears to shift people's typical, automatic reactions. Most interestingly, 44 percent of the people questioned reported they did not even consciously register Batman's presence... The superhero costume serves as a visual nudge, pulling us out of our default, self-focused mode and into a more generous, attentive state.
[3]More from Futurism :
> Batman showing up is just one — albeit striking — way of promoting what's called "prosocial behavior," or the act of helping others around you, via introducing an unexpected event, the researchers write. "Our findings are similar to those of previous research linking present-moment awareness (mindfulness) to greater prosociality," said study lead author Francesco Pagnini, a professor of clinical psychology at the Università Cattolica in Milan, in a [4]statement about the work . "This may create a context in which individuals become more attuned to social cues."
Thanks to [5]Black Parrot (Slashdot reader #19,622) for sharing the article.
[1] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-art-of-talking-with-children/202511/the-batman-effect-youre-more-changeable-than-you-think
[2] https://www.nature.com/articles/s44184-025-00171-5
[3] https://futurism.com/health-medicine/study-batman-effect
[4] https://phys.org/news/2025-11-batman-effect-mere-sight-superhero.html
[5] https://www.slashdot.org/~Black+Parrot
Has anyone noticed youtube altruism? (Score:1)
Can altruism be monetized with youtube advertising revenue? Do Matt's OffRoad Reco ery (doing free off-road recoveries that normally cost thousands) and Matthew Parker (who does mobile repairs for free) point the way to altruistic real economy acts financed by virtual profits?
p-value hacking (Score:2)
Sometimes, social scientists who are under pressure to publish, anything, no matter what, to increase their publication count, will propose stupid experiments, that don't cost much to do, do not measure any intrinsic behaviour of humanity, and can be modified trivially to generate alternative papers. The trick is to brainstorm and try out a lot of these, until the p-value finally fits.
Re: (Score:2)
Lots of pee value on the subway.
Sometimes, Slashdot posters who are under pressure (Score:2)
Sometimes, Slashdot posters who are under pressure to publish, anything, no matter what, to increase their publication count, will make stupid comments, mentioning terms they have vaguely heard about, without any real thought as to whether they apply.
P-hacking involves researcher degrees of freedom and the ability to find some signal for "something" in a bunch of data by varying how the the analysis is performed after the events themselves.
That does not seem a relevant at all in the context of this part
Next test should be (Score:4, Funny)
To see if people will be more devious and evil if the joker is present
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
I've noticed the racists came out from hiding when Trump was in. Some are even more depraved now. It doesn't have to be a fictional character to work; as cartoonist as he is, this shit is as real as his diapers.
Re: (Score:2)
The study also doesn't indicate whether it was the Adam West Batman or the movie one. I think that would confound the experimental controls.
Wasn't that basically the plot (Score:3)
Of the third movie in the dark knight trilogy?
Not altruism at all (Score:2)
The Dark Knight spawns not altruism but fear and terror in evil-doers.
Even stranger (Score:2)
They act even stranger when Wonder Woman is around.
Re: (Score:2)
And also whether she's the pregnant woman in the experiment.
They probably gave up their seat, because (Score:2)
the Bat-mobile was in the shop and he has to commute in order to beat up the mentally ill.
What about Tattoo from Fantasy Island? (Score:2)
[1]https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihTvvCWbD3Y
Further Research Needed (Score:2)
> Scientists Discover People Act More Altruistic When Batman Is Present
Ooooh...now try Jesus.
Re: (Score:2)
Ask a Catholic priest.
Re: (Score:2)
And here's a [1]confounding variable [youdamnkid.com] you can throw into the mix.
[1] https://www.youdamnkid.com/latest_strip.html
Batman ethos (Score:1)
Threat is just one letter off from treat, after all.
Should do a control with Hello Kitty (Score:1)
They say that surprising people may make them more aware of their surroundings so politeness kicks in. Or that we need more billionaire vigilantes to ride the subway. "...this study highlights how situational disruptions alone may be sufficient to produce similar effects. This suggests a potential mechanism by which novelty and unpredictability foster prosocial behavior, reinforcing theories that link attentional shifts to increased social responsiveness. At the same time, alternative explanations should b
Altruistic [sic] (Score:2)
Altruistically*. People aren't being taught proper English anymore like usage of adverbs and capitalization of proper pronouns.
They're really aiming for that Ig-Nobel Prize (Score:4, Funny)
[Filler to allow the message to be posted].
Re: (Score:2)
That research sounds improbable.