Iimagine driving to work after a long day on a crowded subway. Exhausted, you plop down in the last seat, ready to scroll mindlessly on your phone for a bit while other people's stations whizz by. Then you notice a pregnant woman standing next to you. Are you giving up your seat?
Okay, now imagine Batman hiding a few feet away from you, watching the entire scene. Does this change your answer? Perhaps for a surprising reason, according to a new study by psychologists at the Cattolic University of Sacro Cuore in Milan.
Publishing V NPJ Mental Health ResearchScientists at an Italian university described an experiment designed to measure the impact of unexpected events on prosocial behavior, or behavior that helps other people or society. In a control test, a woman wearing a prosthetic belly to appear pregnant entered a crowded Milan metro car with an observer who recorded whether anyone gave the woman a seat. A separate set of trials was identical except for one thing: a second observer, dressed as Batman, entered from a different door in the same subway car.
The researchers found that 38 percent of passengers were altruistic enough to give up their seats without Batman watching, but that number jumped to over 67 percent when the Caped Crusader was present.
Read more: “Crowd physics»
It's tempting to conclude that people were on their best behavior under the Dark Knight's watchful eye. Indeed, the researchers could not completely rule out that Batman's presence could “raise the salience of cultural values, gender roles, and norms of chivalric aid.” But after surveying benefactors who gave up their seats, psychologists discovered an interesting feature: 44 percent of those who gave up their seats didn’t even notice Batman on the train.
The researchers suggested that rather than awakening a sense of justice, the unexpected event involving someone wearing a costume may have made everyone more knowledgeable overall. “Disruption of daily routines may increase awareness of one's environment and sensitivity to the needs of others, which ultimately promotes prosocial actions,” the authors write.
It was this disruption to daily routine that may have influenced the 44 percent of people who gave up their seat without even realizing that Batman was riding next to them. Attention, as researchers note, can be transmitted socially. If you encounter a group of people looking in the same direction, you will turn to see what all the fuss is about. In the experimental scenario, the general heightened consciousness caused by Batman could spread throughout the subway car, affecting even those who could not see him.
In other words, giving up your seat on the subway is a kind gesture for one person, but dressing up as a superhero? This might inspire a train full of people to be more attentive.
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