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Spider-man, Superman or even Captain Marvel… Superheroes adored by young and old alike whose values can have a real impact. Superhero films can promote caring behaviors despite on-screen violence, according to a new Brazilian study.
Who has never dreamed of wearing a cape and saving the world? If kids love dressing up as superheroes after seeing the latest Spider-Man or Batman movie, they can also adopt the same kind of heroic behavior.
The study, titled “Superhero Films’ Impacts on Prosocial Behavior: The Mediating Role of State-Empathy and Violence Justification“, published in The Journal of Psychologywas carried out among 200 Brazilians, who were divided into two groups: one experimental, the other control.
The experimental group watched a 3 minute and 47 second scene from the film “Batman v Superman” (2016), in which Batman fights several villains to save a captured character. The scene illustrates both the violence typical of this type of film and the heroic and protective aspect. In contrast, the control group watched a neutral video without violent or prosocial content.
Increased empathy
At the end of the viewing, the participants had to carry out a prosocial task, that is to say an action aimed at helping others. The goal? Evaluate their altruistic behavior after distributing chocolate to other participants.
If the participants who distributed chocolate were not necessarily more generous than the others, they showed more empathy, says the study: “This suggests that feeling connected to the hero and understanding his motivations might encourage viewers to be more generous and helpful in their real-world actions.“, we can read
The researchers also assessed participants’ empathy levels. They used a scale measuring three types of empathy: affective empathy (sharing another person’s emotions), cognitive empathy (understanding another person’s point of view), and associative empathy (s identify with the character in the video). Results ? Bystanders who watched the scene reported higher levels of empathy compared to participants in the control group. The most empathetic also identified more with the character of Batman and his mission.
Good in his body, good in his head!
Become everyday heroes!
They also had to rule on the moral side of Batman’s actions. The participants took a position on whether these violent actions were justified. Again, viewers who considered the Gotham City hero’s actions to be morally right were more likely to adopt altruistic, and even helpful, behaviors: “The researchers hypothesized that the portrayal of superheroes as protectors and defenders likely led viewers to accept their violent actions as necessary for the greater good, which then translated into a willingness to help the others“, explain PsyPost.
Although the researchers mainly surveyed young Brazilian adults, which may limit the results, the study still demonstrates the concrete positive impact of superhero films, despite the violence present. By identifying with heroes and justifying their actions, viewers can be inspired to act more heroically in their daily lives. So, even if not all heroes wear capes, these kinds of films can inspire us to become everyday heroes.