Tag: superheroes

Categories : Ethics and Law General InterestTags :

People Always Strive to See the Good in Villainous Characters

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Stormseeker on Unsplash

From Shakespeare’s Macbeth to Star Wars’ Darth Vader, people love fictional villains. No matter how despicable they may be, audiences are still drawn to the dark side. In fact, according to a new behavioural experiment published in the journal Cognition, both adults and children more often reported that villains were inwardly good than that heroes were inwardly bad.

“In other words, people believe there is a mismatch between a villain’s outward behaviours and their inner, true self, and this is a bigger gap for villains than for heroes,” said study lead author Valerie Umscheid, University of Michigan psychology doctoral student.

Inside, villains are a little less evil than they outwardly seem while heroes are fully good guys inside and out.

Umscheid and colleagues conducted three studies with 434 children (ages 4–12) and 277 adults to determine how individuals make sense of antisocial acts committed by evil-doers. They focused on participants’ judgments of both familiar and novel fictional villains and heroes, such as Disney’s Ursula from The Little Mermaid and Pixar’s Woody from Toy Story.

Study 1 established that children viewed villains’ actions and emotions as overwhelmingly negative. This suggests that children’s well-documented tendency to judge people as good does not prevent their appreciation of extreme forms of villainy.

Studies 2 and 3 assessed children’s and adults’ beliefs regarding heroes’ and villains’ moral character and true selves, using an array of converging evidence, including how a character felt inside, whether a character’s actions reflected their true self and whether a character’s true self could change over time.

Across these measures, the research indicated that both children and adults consistently evaluated villains’ true selves to be overwhelmingly evil and much more negative than heroes’. At the same time, researchers also detected an asymmetry in the judgments, wherein villains were more likely than heroes to have a true self that differed from their outward behaviour.

Both children and adults believed characters like Ursula had some inner goodness, despite the bad/immoral actions they regularly engage in, Umscheid said.

Source: University of Michigan

Categories : General Interest Neurodegenerative DiseasesTags :

‘Thor’ Actor Takes a Break from Acting after Alzheimer’s Gene Discovery

On By ModernMedia
Actor Chris Hemsworth. Credit: Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons

Actor Chris Hemsworth has announced that he is stepping back from acting in order to focus on preventative measures for Alzheimer’s disease.

The 39-year-old star of ‘Thor’ told Vanity Fair that genetic testing had confirmed that he had two pairs of a gene, APOE4. which is highly predictive of developing Alzheimer’s. About one in four have a single copy while 2–3% carry two copies of the gene.

The reason APOE4 increases Alzheimer’s risk isn’t not well understood. The APOE protein helps carry cholesterol and other types of fat in the bloodstream. Recent studies suggest that problems with brain cells’ ability to process lipids may play a key role in Alzheimer’s and related diseases.

Lipid imbalances can impair many of a cell’s essential processes. This includes creating cell membranes, moving molecules within the cell, and generating energy.

Hemsworth had made the discovery while making the TV series ‘Limitless‘, in which he engages in a variety of activities to push the limits of his own body and mind and explores ways of extending the lifespan.

“My concern was I just didn’t want to manipulate it and overdramatise it, and make it into some sort of hokey grab at empathy, or whatever, for entertainment,” said Hemsworth. “It’s not like I’ve been handed my resignation.”

He emphasises that he is thankful at having made the discovery, as it has made him more appreciative of his life, and it now means he can now take steps to protect his health.

Fortunately, research suggests that there are lifestyle changes that may offer preventative effects for APOE4 carriers, such as reducing stress and getting regular exercise – though the latter is unlikely to be a problem for the already athletic actor. Dietary measures include various low-carbohydrate diets (including ketogenic diets), regular portions of oily fish, cruciferous vegetables and abstaining from alcohol.

Supplements with potential benefits include DHA, quercetin, resveratrol, vitamin D3, vitamin K2, B-vitamin complex and possibly lithium.

Categories : Mental HealthTags :

The Negative Effect of the ‘Superhero Ideal’

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

University students who put a lot of pressure on themselves to be the best at everything, known as the ‘superhero ideal’, have been hit especially hard by the pandemic. Recent research has shown that by developing authentic and healthy relationships, young people can fight the depressive symptoms associated with this superhero ideal.

The ‘superhero ideal’ was based off the ‘superwoman ideal‘, which is a construct has its origins in the 1960s feminist movement where women could ‘do it all and have it all’. In an article published in Acta Psychologica, Sally A. Theran, associate professor of psychology at Wellesley College and co-author Halina Dour, explain that internalising the superhero ideal is directly related to an increase in depressive symptoms.

“No matter how much we try to deemphasise achievement and success to college-age students and encourage them to work on their own intrinsic motivation and well-being, kids are internalising this message that they feel pressure to achieve,” said A/Prof Theran, who finds in her day-to-day interactions, in addition to her research, that many of her students feel they “have to be superheroes.”

One way for students to combat the effects of the superhero ideal is to cultivate authentic relationships with peers, parents, and educators, according to the study authors They define an authentic relationship as one in which a person feels able to be honest about who they are with someone else. That does not necessarily mean acting the same way around everyone they know – a student will act differently around a teacher than a friend – but rather that in each of those interactions the person feels they are being true to themselves.

To gauge the authenticity of a relationship, A/Prof Theran said, students can ask themselves, “Does this person make me feel good? Do I feel like I can be myself around this person?”

A/Prof Theran and her team found that students who had authentic relationships were able to partially mediate the relationship between the superhero ideal and depressive symptoms. Specifically, the link between superhero ideal and depressive symptoms is in part due to the lack of authenticity in these adolescents’ relationships. The more the superhero ideal was internalised, the less the authenticity there was with parents and peers. Lower levels of authenticity with parents and peers were associated with more depressive symptoms. Thus, authenticity in relationships is part of the mechanism for explaining the significant relation between the superhero ideal and depressive symptoms.

“In college you are more able to have a shift of self,” A/Prof Theran said. “‘Is this who I am? Is this what I want?’ And you may end up having an identity crisis, but that’s really healthy, in order to figure out who you are.”
A/Prof Theran particularly sees this in students who have recently started at university. They are often trying to work out what they want to put effort into and care about, rather than going along with what parents and teachers wanted. The way out of such a crisis, according to A/Prof Theran, is for them to find people, like peers, teachers, parents, around whom they can be their true selves. Being honest about their achievements, failures, and even confusion is one way to go about building such authentic relationships.

A/Prof Theran uses this skill in her own classroom, telling her students when she has a paper rejected, for example, or doesn’t get a grant for which she had applied. “If you are not robotic with your students, then they will genuinely be themselves, too,” she said, “and then hopefully they are less likely to feel such superhero pressure in class and in other areas.”
A/Prof Theran said that awareness of both the external and internal pressures on students to achieve is especially important now as adolescents consume social media even more in the pandemic, often unfavourably comparing their ‘worst’ selves with someone else’s filtered online self. Parents can help, A/Prof Theran said, by pointing out the use of filters and angles, and reminding them that someone is posting one curated minute of their day, not their whole self. “Encourage your teen to consider, how authentic are people being in their online presentation? And when people espouse authenticity online, it does not mean that they are actually being their true self,” she said. “The very nature of social media encourages internalisation of the superhero ideal while discouraging authenticity, but bolstering authenticity and critical thinking skills can help combat the negative repercussions of the superhero ideal.”

A/Prof Theran has studied authenticity in relationships for 20 years. She recently co-authored a paper on the ways authentic and empowered friendships among female university students can act as a buffer between childhood emotional and physical abuse and subsequent traumatic symptoms while in university. Another paper explored the roles of authentic relationships in adolescents’ prosocial experiences, which are positive aspects of being around peers. In adolescents with low levels of secure attachments, prosocial experiences increased as their level of authenticity with peers increased, A/Prof Theran found.

“The pandemic really made clear how much relationships mean to us,” said A/Prof Theran. “We feel empowered by our friendships. Reaching out and connecting with others can improve our well-being so much.”

Source: Wellesley College

Categories : Ageing General InterestTags :

Most Superheroes Will Age Healthily, Researchers Conclude

On By ModernMedia
Spider-Man has a healthy outlook, so long as he doesn’t binge drink or smoke like his mentor, Iron Man. Source: Pixabay

Australian researchers in the Christmas edition of the British Medical Journal took a whimsical look at the ageing trajectories of Marvel superheroes based on their attributes and behaviours as seen in the films, finding them to be largely well-adjusted and likely to age healthily. 

Positive behaviours and health assets
Marvel superheroes are physically active, socially engaged, and optimistic, with high educational attainment and (with one notable exception) healthy weight, all of which have been associated with a positive ageing trajectory.

The review found that superheroes regularly engage in physical activity and exercise, both associated with healthy ageing. They often undertake high intensity interval training (HIIT), associated with improved health status in ageing men.

Even during discussions about how to stop aliens from enslaving humanity, superheroes stand regularly and pace, increasing their step count and further improving their healthy outlook.

In terms of social engagement, superheroes exhibit a high degree of social cohesion and connectedness, both linked to reduced dementia risk. People with strong social ties tend to live longer than isolated people, regardless of other risk factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity.

The superheroes show a positive or optimistic mindset on several occasions, as well as psychological resilience and a sense of purpose, all of which have been associated with healthy ageing.  Some have traumatic backgrounds, including Spider-Man who was orphaned, which increases his risk of substance abuse and mental health problems. However, his supportive social contacts, including positive male role models help mitigate this.

Most of the superheroes did not drink or smoke excessively, save for Iron Man and Thor, which is associated with longevity and healthy ageing. However, Thor is already thousands of years old and the researchers could not assume that modifiable personal traits would affect his life trajectory.

Negative behaviours and risk factors
Superheroes are exposed to loud noises, air pollution, and receive multiple head injuries precipitated by high risk physical activities.

Superheroes are repeatedly exposed to loud noises such as explosions, which is linked to hearing loss, which in turn is associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment and dementia. Some of the superheroes, such as Hulk and Thor, have booming voices, potentially indicative of early sensorineural hearing loss.

During their activities, superheroes sustain multiple major head injuries, increasing their dementia risk. Involvement in high risk activities, which could increase their likelihood for life changing physical injury and disability.

Of the individual cases presented, Black Panther has probably the best health outlook, as he is extremely wealthy and intelligent, health assets that he shares in common with Iron Man. However, unlike Iron Man, he does not drink or smoke excessively, and is a vegetarian, which has well-studied benefits in healthy ageing.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Hulk was noted to have serious health concerns. Bruce Banner transforms to the Hulk when he experiences tachycardia—specifically, a heart rate of 200 beats per minute. The frequency of this occurrence suggests a predisposition to cardiac arrhythmias, possibly indicating underlying cardiac disease.

Hulk’s body mass index (BMI) is about 120 (calculated from height 213cm–243cm and weight 471kg–635kg). Although being in the overweight category might be protective, obesity is associated with a higher death rate as well as dementia, and several chronic health conditions and frailty. Hulk’s BMI also raises pragmatic concerns around future access to appropriate healthcare. Hulk’s almost constant anger (“That’s my secret Captain. I’m always angry”) might lead to increased inflammation and comorbidity in advanced old age.

Source: The British Medical Journal