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Scientists Discover That People Act Way Better When Batman Is Present (futurism.com)

submitted 2 weeks ago by IcedRaktajino@startrek.website 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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[–] TimeNaan@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

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.

[–] yakko@feddit.uk 4 points 2 weeks ago

I figured it'd be something along those lines, I was just being cute