Few people get up at the sight of a pregnant woman or an elderly person. Only 37.66 percent of those present gave up their seats in the Milan subway. Distracted, sleepy and unwilling to do a few standing stops. But if an actor dressed as Batman enters, everything changes. In the presence of a superhero you become more altruistic and 67.21 percent of those present give up their seats. Research conducted by psychologists
of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan campus, calls it the “Batman effect” – Faced with the sudden appearance of a superhero, those present come out of the “autopilot” mode, are more present to themselves and feel more inclined towards altruistic social behaviour.
The work, conducted by Francesco Pagnini, professor of
Clinical psychology at the Faculty of Psychology of the Catholic University
it was published in the journal “npj Mental Health Research”, of the “Nature” circuit. It aims to explore which factors influence “prosocial” behaviors, i.e. those inclined to help others.
«We conducted an experimental field study on the Milan subway», writes Pagnini, «observing the behavior of 138 passengers. In the first part of our test (control condition), an apparently pregnant experimenter boarded the train with an observer. The experts assessed the tendency of passengers to give up their seats.” Significantly, “44 percent of those who offered their place in the experimental condition reported not having seen Batman.”
