Can Batman's Brawls Make You Kinder? New Study Suggests Superhero Movies Might Boost Prosocial Behavior

Tuesday, October 22, 2024.

Ever wondered if watching Batman pummel villains could actually inspire you to be a kinder, more generous human?

Well, buckle up, because a new study in The Journal of Psychology has thrown the Bat-signal over the whole debate.

Despite all those explosions and high-flying kicks, superhero movies might have a softer, fluffier side, encouraging prosocial behavior—actions like sharing, helping, and, you guessed it, giving away chocolates.

Yep, turns out that time spent watching caped crusaders on screen might just be the secret to becoming a real-life good Samaritan.

Batman vs. The Shapes: An Experiment in Prosocial Behavior

The researchers behind this study were curious: What happens when you take a bunch of people, show them Batman doing his vigilante thing, and then see how willing they are to do something nice for a stranger?

To find out, they recruited 400 participants from Brazil—because, clearly, Brazil knows how to assemble a crowd of superhero fans. The participants were split into two groups.

One group watched a 3-minute and 47-second clip from Batman v Superman, where Batman uses his unique negotiation style (read: fists) to save a captured character named Martha. The other group got the short end of the Bat-stick, watching a video of colorful shapes moving around like a screen saver from 1998.

Superhero Empathy: How Punches Translate to Chocolate

After the screen time, participants were asked to participate in a little experiment of their own: a prosocial behavior task.

The setup was simple yet sweet—literally. They were told they could distribute pieces of chocolate to future participants who might appreciate a little sugary treat. The more chocolate they gave, the more "prosocial" they were deemed.

Now, Batman didn’t suddenly turn viewers into chocolate-dispensing machines, but here’s where it gets interesting.

Those who watched Batman's high-octane rescue mission and felt a connection to his actions—yes, even the bone-crunching ones—showed a little boost in empathy. More specifically, they developed what psychologists call "associative empathy." It’s the type of empathy where you see Batman swooping in to save the day, and think, “Hey, I’d like to do that too—minus the capes and combat skills.”

Empathy, Morality, and Batman’s Signature Punches

But the study didn’t stop at measuring empathy. In a second round, the researchers threw in a twist: moral justification. They asked participants to rate statements like, “Was Batman’s beatdown necessary?” or “Couldn’t he have just given them a stern talking-to?” The answers revealed that participants who felt Batman’s actions were morally justified—who saw him as a necessary force for good—were more inclined to share their chocolate stash.

This suggests that when viewers identify with a superhero’s mission, even one wrapped up in some good ol’ fashioned fisticuffs, they become more likely to embrace prosocial behaviors themselves.

It's not that Batman magically made people nicer; rather, it’s about feeling a connection to his drive to save others, even if he leaves a few broken bones in his wake.

Superhero Flicks: Violent Thrills with a Side of Warm Fuzzies

Let’s dive into the heart of this discovery.

The study bridges two well-trodden paths of psychology: the influence of prosocial media (you know, those feel-good stories that make you want to call your grandma) and the impact of violent media, which usually gets blamed for bringing out the worst in people.

Superhero movies, with their mix of heart-pounding action and heartwarming heroics, sit right in the middle.

While it’s easy to dismiss superhero films as mindless entertainment, this study hints at their potential to shape moral reasoning and empathy.

Imagine your brain going through a little workout—one minute, it’s watching Batman take down the bad guys, and the next, it’s weighing whether his actions are justifiable. This mental gymnastic routine might just prime you to be a little more thoughtful, a little more giving, even in the mundane task of deciding how many chocolates to hand out.

From Brazil with (Super) Love: The Fine Print and Limitations

Before you go replacing every leadership seminar with a movie night featuring Avengers reruns, it’s worth noting that this study isn’t without its kryptonite.

First off, the whole thing was done online, which means participants might have been interrupted by their cat or a well-timed snack break during Batman's showdown.

Plus, the study only focused on young adults in Brazil, so we don’t know if the findings hold up in other cultures or among different age groups. Maybe older adults watching Batman v Superman would be more inclined to just yell at the screen, “Why doesn’t he just talk it out?”

Moreover, the prosocial behavior task was limited to doling out chocolate, which, while delicious, doesn’t capture the full complexity of real-world acts of kindness.

Sure, it’s a sweet gesture, but does giving away a candy bar truly equate to the kind of helping behavior superheroes embody?

The researchers suggest that future studies could explore other types of prosocial acts—like offering a helping hand or sacrificing your parking spot to a stranger—to see if the Batman effect holds true.

Can Superhero Movies Save the Day... or at Least Improve Your Behavior?

The study, titled “Superhero Films’ Impacts on Prosocial Behavior: The Mediating Role of State-Empathy and Violence Justification,” authored by Isabella Leandra Silva Santos and Carlos Eduardo Pimentel, gives us a fresh look at how our favorite caped crusaders might be influencing us.

It turns out that watching Batman punch out the bad guys could make us feel a bit more heroic ourselves. And if that feeling nudges us to be more generous—even if it’s just with chocolate—it seems like a win for the world. Or at least, for anyone with a sweet tooth.

Final Takeaway: Superheroes, Empathy, and Sharing the Love

So next time someone scoffs at your weekend superhero binge, you can tell them you’re doing some psychological research of your own.

Sure, Batman might be a little rough around the edges, but when it comes to encouraging empathy and prosocial behavior, he might just be onto something.

Maybe superheroes really can inspire us to do better—one dramatic rescue at a time. And if that inspiration comes with a side of chocolate, we’re not complaining.

In the end, it seems that superhero movies are more than just a collection of epic battles and witty one-liners.

They might also be offering viewers a model of how to fight for what's right (even if that fight involves some theatrically over-the-top action scenes). And who knows? If a little vigilante justice on screen leads to more generosity in real life, we just might be onto a new kind of heroic revolution—one chocolate bar at a time.

Be Well, Stay Kind, and Godspeed.

REFERENCES:

Silva Santos, I. L., & Pimentel, C. E. (2024). Superhero films’ impacts on prosocial behavior: The mediating role of state-empathy and violence justification. The Journal of Psychology.