Babies drawn to superheroes, can recognise heroism: Study

The findings showed that infants, as young as six-month-old, who can barely talk, are capable of recognising the heroic acts of justice and thus find themselves drawn to figures who protect the weak. This also explains why kids and adults alike have a never-ending love affair with superhero stories in popular culture, the researchers said. 

“Six-month-old infants are still in an early developmental stage and most will not yet be able to talk. Nevertheless they can already understand the power dynamics between different characters, suggesting that recognising heroism is perhaps an innate ability,” said David Butler from Kyoto University in Japan. 

For the study, published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, the team conducted a series of experiments where infants were shown animations of one geometric character chasing and bumping into another, as a third character watches from a distance. In one version, this third party character intervenes, and in another, it escapes in another direction.