Nature just published a paper about a study conducted on the Milan metro. Researchers observed the behavior of passengers when confronted with an everyday social need.
- Baseline Condition: When a woman who appeared to be pregnant entered a train car under normal circumstances, 37.6% of the seated passengers offered her a seat.
- Experimental Condition: When an individual dressed as Batman entered the same train car at the same time, the percentage of passengers who offered their seat to the pregnant woman significantly increased to 67.2%.
Researchers attributed this stark difference to the effect of unexpected stimuli. The sudden appearance of an unusual figure (Batman) served as a strong distraction or alerting event.
When confronted with something highly unexpected, people are forced to break their routine and become more alert to their immediate surroundings. This heightened state of awareness causes them to notice the needs of others, such as the pregnant woman, more readily than they would in their normal, inattentive state. (e.g. staring into mobile phones)
We definitely need more fake Batmans to make the world a kinder place.
(Here the link to the paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s44184-025-00171-5)
Shock is a persuasion tactic.
Trauma, like porn to kids, makes them more susceptible to suggestions. Shock opens the door to the subconscious since it puts us in fear mode.
So, in this instance, when a hero archetype walks in the room, the hero in us gets up.
Perhaps they just thought: maybe I should let the pregnant lady have my seat so she doesn't have to stand near that crazy person
