Scientists have warned of the dangers of childhood love for superheroes. Instead of paying attention to the positive traits of Batman or Spider-Man, preschoolers try on their negative traits, such as aggression and violence.
“Many modern children are fans of superheroes, and their parents see nothing wrong with this, believing that this subculture teaches a child to be brave, kind, protect the weak and generally save the world,” said Professor Sarah Coyne from Brigham Young University (USA). quoted by PsychCentral. “But our research has shown that the result is exactly the opposite. Children perceive superheroes not as protectors of the weak and oppressed, but as cold-blooded, strong, aggressive creatures, and these are the qualities they like about them."
Coyne and her colleagues, whose article was published in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, tried to understand how the superhero theme, which is so popular now in popular culture, affects preschoolers. Scientists recruited 240 American boys and girls and their parents to participate in the study. Dads and mothers told how much their children are involved in the cult of superheroes: how often they watch cartoons or films with these characters, play in them and identify with them. The children were asked to name 10 popular superheroes, choose their favorite, and explain why. In addition, young participants in the study underwent psychological testing, which allowed scientists to assess the levels of various types of aggression in their behavior.
The researchers drew attention to the fact that only 10% of children, describing their favorite superhero, indicated that he protects and rescues people, while 20% of young participants in the study reported that they love this or that superhero for its qualities associated with aggression and violence. For example, "because he is big and can hit", or "he is angry and can destroy and destroy everything, and he doesn't give a damn about it, because he is huge." One boy said that Captain America is his favorite because he "can kill." The remaining 70% of children were more moderate in their statements, but also did not highlight in their favorite superheroes those positive qualities that parents think they should follow. "I like him,because he is big and strong”or“Because he is cool and can fly”- this is how the guys most often told about their favorites.
When the researchers analyzed the same children again a year after the first test, they found that the fascination with superheroes does not go unnoticed. Children who were the most devoted fans of Batman, Spider-Man, Captain America, or other superheroes showed much more aggression in their daily behavior than others. They themselves more often physically and verbally hurt other children, less often stood up for the weak or for victims of bullying, in a word, they did not behave like superheroes at all.
Despite the findings, Coyne believes that parents do not need to artificially protect children from the cult of superheroes. “It's just that superheroes shouldn't be the only theme in a child’s life. Children should have many, many different activities and areas of interest to balance all the pros and cons,”said Coyne. In addition, parents should more often discuss with their children the information that they get from the mass media, paying attention to all its positive and negative aspects.
Author: Tatiana Shcheglova
Promotional video:
