{"id":3970,"date":"2026-01-09T18:46:59","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T18:46:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/?p=3970"},"modified":"2026-01-09T18:49:45","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T18:49:45","slug":"brain-lessons-this-is-your-brain-on-the-bat-signal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/2026\/01\/09\/brain-lessons-this-is-your-brain-on-the-bat-signal\/","title":{"rendered":"THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON THE BAT SIGNAL"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are exiting a season strong with signals.\u00a0 Christmas lights on snow covered houses.\u00a0 Lit trees sparkling behind windows that are shuttered or draped for the other 11 months of the year.\u00a0 The luminous march of Menorah lights on an 8-day trek.\u00a0 The tinkling drone of Salvation Army bells coming and going on winter winds.\u00a0 Do we notice these things?\u00a0 And even if we don\u2019t think we see all the signals, do they impact us anyway?<\/p>\n

As soon as I saw the title of this fun little study, I knew I had to share it.\u00a0 It reinforces, perhaps, a lesson we need repeated to us as advocates and advocacy teachers: Very little escapes the open eyes of the courtroom. \u00a0The study involves the question of prosocial behaviors.[1]<\/a>\u00a0 Loosely, those are behaviors that have some sort of benefit to small or large segments of society.\u00a0 Prosocial behaviors can include something as positive as acts of altruism and things as neutral as simple adherence to social customs.[2]<\/a>\u00a0 This study in particular tests whether Batman\u2019s presence\u2014or, really, just a man in a cheap Batman costume\u2014would trigger a prosocial behavior. \u00a0Which behavior?\u00a0 Giving up a seat on a subway for a pregnant woman.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the set up: A researcher sporting a prosthetic pregnant belly would enter a full subway car.\u00a0 The tests were only performed where the subway car seats were full and no more than 5 additional passengers were standing. The latter requirement for the test was there to ensure that passengers would be able to see the pregnant woman as well as the caped crusader, who would enter the same full car shortly after the pregnant woman.\u00a0 The male researcher wore a Batman costume and cape but would not wear a mask to avoid scaring any passengers.\u00a0 When Batman entered the subway cars as the test was repeated, he would always stand approximately 3 meters away from the pregnant woman. There were 70 control observations conducted and 68 experimental observations with Batman present. Other plain-clothes researchers were positioned near the pregnant woman to record whether a subway-stranger would offer up a seat.\u00a0 Those same researchers would follow up with the kind souls who offered up their seats to ask them two key questions: Why did you give up your seat, and did you happen to notice that Batman was in the in the subway car with you.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

And now, the results.\u00a0 \u201cIn the control condition, the chances that a passenger would leave their spot were 37.66%, while when Batman was there, the chances increased to 67.21%.\u201d[4]<\/a>\u00a0 Women were more likely than men to give up their seat under both conditions, but their sympathetic benevolence increased only slightly when Batman was present.[5]<\/a>\u00a0 Thus, Batman\u2019s presence seemed to have the biggest impact on whether men would let the pregnant woman take a load off her feet.\u00a0 But here\u2019s the really fascinating part of this experiment: though clearly moved to give up their seat while Batman was present, none of those offering their seat attributed their act of kindness to Batman.\u00a0 In fact, 43.75% of those who gave up their seat reported not even noticing<\/em> Batman was in the subway car with them![6]<\/a><\/p>\n

Jules and I will sometimes finish these blog pieces by bringing them back around to some practical application for trial practice or for advocacy generally.\u00a0 I need not belabor the point I made above: Assume everything you do in a courtroom will be noticed by someone.\u00a0 There is one more lesson, however.\u00a0 The only other logical conclusion we can reach from this study is that we all need to purchase a Batman costume before our next courtroom or classroom appearance.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

————————-<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Francesco Pagnini et al., Unexpected events and prosocial behavior: the Batman effect,<\/em> Nature (2025), https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s44184-025-00171-5 (last visited Jan 2, 2026).<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Id. <\/em>at 1.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> See id. <\/em><\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Id. <\/em>at 2.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Id<\/em>.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Id. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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