That human behavior is more influenced by things outside of us than inside. The situation is the external environment. The inner environment is genes, moral history, religious training. Philip Zimbardo More Quotes by Philip Zimbardo More Quotes From Philip Zimbardo In one sense, the Stanford prison study is more like a Greek drama than a traditional experiment, in that we have humanity, represented by a bunch of good people, pitted against an evil-producing situation. The question is, does the goodness of the people overwhelm the bad situation, or does the bad situation overwhelm the good people? Philip Zimbardo evil drama people Where can you find purpose? Like success and happiness, our purpose exists in the present, and we constantly strive toward the future to maintain it. What it is for which we strive is up to each of us. The important thing is that we strive toward something. Philip Zimbardo strive important purpose Ideas for my first experiments in human aggression came from discussions we had in a research seminar about William Golding's 'Lord of the Flies.' Philip Zimbardo research ideas firsts Boys' brains are being digitally rewired for change, novelty, excitement and constant arousal. That means they're totally out of sync in traditional classes, which are analog, static, interactively passive. Philip Zimbardo motivation inspiration mean I was discriminated against because I was Jewish, Italian, black and Puerto Rican. But maybe the worst prejudice I experienced was against the poor. I grew up on welfare and often had to move in the middle of the night because we couldn't pay the rent. Philip Zimbardo italian night moving The level of shyness has gone up dramatically in the last decade. I think shyness is an index of social pathology rather than a pathology of the individual. Philip Zimbardo shy gone thinking One can't live mindfully without being enmeshed in psychological processes that are around us. Philip Zimbardo heroic psychological hero There was zero time for reflection. We had to feed the prisoners three meals a day, deal with the prisoner breakdowns, deal with their parents, run a parole board. By the third day I was sleeping in my office. I had become the superintendent of the Stanford county jail. That was who I was: I'm not the researcher at all. Even my posture changes--when I walk through the prison yard, I'm walking with my hands behind my back, which I never in my life do, the way generals walk when they're inspecting troops. Philip Zimbardo zero sleep running The Stanford prison experiment came out of class exercises in which I encouraged students to understand the dynamics of prison life. Philip Zimbardo exercise class life Companies that model best practices, that model the most upstanding principles, end up as the most profitable. It's not a trade of profits versus principles. Philip Zimbardo best-practices principles ends I started studying shyness in adults in 1972. Shyness operates at so many different levels. Out of that research came the Stanford shyness clinic in 1977. Philip Zimbardo adults shy different At North Hollywood High School, I was shunned by everyone. I would sit down in the cafeteria, and students would get up from the table and walk away. They thought I was from the Mafia... Philip Zimbardo mafia hollywood school 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 use challenges teacher 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 scientist looks thinking Mama, humanity is my business. Philip Zimbardo mama humanity Boys are 30 percent more likely than girls to drop out of school. In Canada, five boys drop out for every three girls. Girls outperform boys now at every level, from elementary school to graduate school. Philip Zimbardo motivation girl inspiration Part of what we want to do with the Heroic Imagination Project is to get kids to think about what it means to be a hero. The most basic concept of a hero is socially constructed: It differs from culture to culture and changes over time. Think of Christopher Columbus. Until recently, he was a hero. Now he's a genocidal murderer! If he were alive today, he'd say, "What happened? I used to be a hero, and now people are throwing tomatoes at me! Philip Zimbardo hero mean kids Time is the backdrop of our lives and the very fabric of the cosmos. Philip Zimbardo backdrop fabric cosmos Careers in virtually all academic disciplines are fostered by being a superstar who knows more about one subject than anyone else in the world. Philip Zimbardo discipline careers world What happens when good people are put into an evil place? Do they triumph or does the situation dominate their past history and morality? Philip Zimbardo evil people past
