People who play superheroes become more helpful in real life

[Felderburg]

So that was a long title, but it basically says what a study found: people who do super things in a virtual setting are more likely to be helpful in the real world after they play. The study is here: http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0055003 If you don't follow the link, in the study "participants were either given the power of flight (their arm movements were tracked to control their flight akin to Superman's flying ability) or rode as a passenger in a helicopter." The Superman participants were way more likely to help the scientist pick up spilled pens afterwards than the helicopter riders.

I found it via an article about avatars and self-perception: http://www.psychologyofgames.com/2013/10/saucy-necromancers-and-the-psychology-of-self-perception/