The Batman Effect
In my daily internet scour, I stumbled across this article:
It discusses a simple behavioral experiment. Somebody dressed up as Batman and entered a crowded train. The researcher found that when this quasi-authority figure was present, people were more likely to give up their seats in an act of courtesy, which means that Batman inspired people to act better.
Wow, we have bonkers minds. They are full of crazy patterns, prejudices, preconceived ideas, chaotic decisions, random kindness, and silly tendencies. Who would have thought that seeing somebody dressed as Batman would bring out any behavior? Yet it did.
I find it fascinating to learn about myself and others, but if you have read my prior articles, you know I like to have a writing tie-in. So, how does the Batman effect pop up in writing?
The problem is that this study is a grain of sand in a desert of information. Even though I am writing about this, it is likely that in a week, I will not remember a thing about the Batman effect. And, it is not exactly established science. Take, for example, our cognitive biases:
Wow, we have bonkers minds. They are full of crazy patterns, prejudices, preconceived ideas, chaotic decisions, random kindness, and silly tendencies. Who would have thought that seeing somebody dressed as Batman would bring out any behavior? Yet it did.
I find it fascinating to learn about myself and others, but if you have read my prior articles, you know I like to have a writing tie-in. So, how does the Batman effect pop up in writing?
The problem is that this study is a grain of sand in a desert of information. Even though I am writing about this, it is likely that in a week, I will not remember a thing about the Batman effect. And, it is not exactly established science. Take, for example, our cognitive biases:
My favorite is confirmation bias, and I have read several articles on this topic. It was great to discover this trait, and the knowledge gained has improved a small part of my life. Yet, if we read the Wikipedia list, we will see that the clustering illusion is just as necessary. I know that, like the Batman effect, clustering illusion knowledge will slip into the nothingness of my mind because I have not studied it.
The writing tie-in is that an author must be careful with terms like the Batman effect, as the public is likely not to be aware of this definition. What if the author explained the effect? “Bob was on a train, and a person dressed up as Batman entered. He noticed people straightened up, and one person gave up their seat. This seemed out of place, so Bob did some research. He learned about the Batman effect and vowed to tell others about it.”
That is a big stretch for readers because they would have to believe the Batman effect is real. Plus, today’s readers are exposed to so much. Why this very article is likely not to be read by more than 500 people, and even that is a gigantic leap. So, writing something and expecting readers to spend time doing their own research is not a good plan.
I accounted for this in this article by summarizing the Batman effect and linking to the article so readers do not have to do a Google search. So, we’re good, right? I would argue no. There is a very fine line between pushing readers to new material and getting smacked with bad reviews. And the Batman effect is a perfect example of such a taboo topic. The problem is that this obscure human behavior is too silly to be believable, so only a few readers would accept it.
Why? For every Batman effect, there are 500 fake news articles (lies), errors, AI-generated nonsense, and fictional stories. Thus, humans have developed a shield to protect themselves, and it is getting stronger every day as the number 500 increases exponentially. The Batman effect? It simply cannot be true because we know better.
What this means is that I can only use the Batman effect as an example of an obscure topic (in an article, not a book) rather than an essential human trait, which is popular in mainstream media. That is a little disappointing, but that is what the modern age demands.
You’re the best -Bill
December 10, 2025
The writing tie-in is that an author must be careful with terms like the Batman effect, as the public is likely not to be aware of this definition. What if the author explained the effect? “Bob was on a train, and a person dressed up as Batman entered. He noticed people straightened up, and one person gave up their seat. This seemed out of place, so Bob did some research. He learned about the Batman effect and vowed to tell others about it.”
That is a big stretch for readers because they would have to believe the Batman effect is real. Plus, today’s readers are exposed to so much. Why this very article is likely not to be read by more than 500 people, and even that is a gigantic leap. So, writing something and expecting readers to spend time doing their own research is not a good plan.
I accounted for this in this article by summarizing the Batman effect and linking to the article so readers do not have to do a Google search. So, we’re good, right? I would argue no. There is a very fine line between pushing readers to new material and getting smacked with bad reviews. And the Batman effect is a perfect example of such a taboo topic. The problem is that this obscure human behavior is too silly to be believable, so only a few readers would accept it.
Why? For every Batman effect, there are 500 fake news articles (lies), errors, AI-generated nonsense, and fictional stories. Thus, humans have developed a shield to protect themselves, and it is getting stronger every day as the number 500 increases exponentially. The Batman effect? It simply cannot be true because we know better.
What this means is that I can only use the Batman effect as an example of an obscure topic (in an article, not a book) rather than an essential human trait, which is popular in mainstream media. That is a little disappointing, but that is what the modern age demands.
You’re the best -Bill
December 10, 2025
