American psychologist (1933- )
We want to believe in the essential, unchanging goodness of people, in their power to resist external pressures, in their rational appraisal and then rejection of situational temptations. We invest human nature with God-like qualities, with moral and rational faculties that make us both just and wise. We simplify the complexity of human experience by erecting a seemingly impermeable boundary between Good and Evil.
PHILIP ZIMBARDO
The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil
This is the woman who stopped the Stanford Prison Study. When I said it got out of control, I was the prison superintendent. I didn't know it was out of control. I was totally indifferent. She came down, saw that madhouse and said, "You know what, it's terrible what you're doing to those boys. They're not prisoners, they're not guards, they're boys, and you are responsible." And I ended the study the next day. The good news is I married her the next year.
PHILIP ZIMBARDO
TED talk, Sep. 2008
When I look back on it, I think, "Why didn't you stop the cruelty earlier?" To stand back was contrary to my upbringing and nature. When I stood back as a noninterfering experimental scientist, I was, in a sense, as drawn into the power of the situation as any prisoners and guards.
PHILIP ZIMBARDO
"A Conversation with Philip G. Zimbardo: Finding Hope in Knowing the Universal Capacity for Evil", The New York Times, Apr. 3, 2007
As a result of the prison study, I really became more aware of the central role of power in our lives. I became more aware of the power I have as a teacher. I started consciously doing things to minimize the negative use of power in the classroom. I encouraged students to challenge me.
PHILIP ZIMBARDO
"The Menace Within", Stanford Magazine, July/August 2011
Nothing happened on day one--in fact, I was going to end the study because it was boring. On the morning of the second day, the prisoners revolted against being hassled, having their freedom limited. It's 1971--the big thing was freedom, "down with authority," "don't trust anybody over 30," "don't trust the military-industrial complex." But once the prisoners rebelled, then the guards changed their perception. They said, "These are dangerous prisoners, not college students." And every single day it got worse and worse. The guards escalated their aggression against the prisoners, stripping them naked, putting bags over their heads, and then finally had them engage in increasingly humiliating sexual activities. After six days I had to end it because it was out of control--I couldn't really go to sleep at night without worrying what the guards could do to the prisoners.
PHILIP ZIMBARDO
interview, American Scientist, Apr. 2007
Depending on whom you ask, time is money, time is love, time is work, time is play, time is enjoying friends, time is raising children, and time is much more. Time is what you make of it.
PHILIP ZIMBARDO
The Time Paradox: The New Psychology of Time That Will Change Your Life
Fear is the State's psychological weapon of choice to frighten citizens into sacrificing their basic freedoms and rule-of-law protections in exchange for the security promised by their all-powerful government.
PHILIP ZIMBARDO
The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil