People behave better in public when Batman is around, new study finds

A new study has found that human behaviour in public improves when there's someone around dressed up as the superhero Batman - yes, really.

The study led by Francesco Pagnini, a clinical psychology professor at Università Cattolica in Milan and a team of researchers came to this conclusion after conducting an experiment where they got a man dressed as Batman to stand around in a subway car to see whether this impacted everyday interactions between passengers.

Turns out it certainly did... the 'Batman effect' is real as passengers were more helpful towards each other in the presence of the superhero.

More specifically, the unexpected act of someone dressed as a superhero in public encourages "prosocial behaviour", which researchers say is the act of helping other people around you, as it disrupts passengers' everyday routine.

How was the experiment conducted?

As part of the experiments, the researchers got a woman who appeared pregnant to hop on board a busy train on the Milan metro, and they watched how often fellow passengers would offer to give up their seats to her.

They would then repeat this situation - except this time, when the pregnant woman boarded the train, a man dressed as Batman also entered from another door.

What were the results?

All in all, they observed 138 passengers and had some interesting results.

Turns out Batman plays a big factor, as over 67 per cent of passengers offered their seats when the superhero was on board, and this percentage drops to 37 per cent sans Batman.

Most of those who offered their seat in both conditions - 68 per cent with Batman and 65 per cent without.

However, the most interesting part of the experiment is that 44 per cent of the people who offered their seats later reported that they didn’t even notice Batman was even there, and so researchers noted how they may not have been aware of Batman, but that still a " pattern of awareness triggered by a disruption in routine may be socially transmitted."

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What did the lead researcher say?

“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 statement about the work. “This may create a context in which individuals become more attuned to social cues.”

“Unlike traditional mindfulness interventions that require active engagement, this study highlights how situational interruptions alone may be sufficient to produce similar effects,” he added.

Pagnini concluded, "By exploring this intersection of mindfulness, novelty, and prosocial behavior, our findings could inform strategies to promote altruistic behaviors in daily life, from public art installations to innovative social campaigns."

This study was published in npj Mental Health Research.

Elsewhere from Indy100, Scrolling social media can actually cause 'brain rot' according to surprising new study, and Neuroscientist shares tips to beat 'indecision overwhelm'.

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