SUPERMAN is a terrible role model. Fans of the man from Krypton unwittingly compare themselves to the superhero, and realise they don’t measure up. And as a result, they are less likely to help other people.
Researchers made the discovery while examining how people’s decision making can be influenced by surreptitiously placed ideas. For example, one study has shown that people primed with helpful words were more likely to help a friend pick up spilt pens. Leif Nelson at New York University and Michael Norton at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology asked students to list the characteristics of Superman, or alternatively superheroes in general, as part…
