Philip Zimbardo was the leader of the notorious 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment — and an expert witness at Abu Ghraib. His groundbreaking work in the field of psychology explored the nature of evil, heroism and more.

Why you should listen

Stanford professor emeritus Philip Zimbardo revolutionized our understanding of human behavior through his famous Stanford Prison Experiment and groundbreaking research on shyness, time perspective and the psychology of evil. Beyond his prolific academic career — which included more than 500 publications and numerous distinguished teaching awards — Zimbardo devoted his later years to promoting "everyday heroism" through his nonprofit Heroic Imagination Project, teaching people worldwide how to resist negative social pressures and take positive action.

Philip Zimbardo’s TED talks

More news and ideas from Philip Zimbardo

Live from TED

Nuclear fission reactors, Africa’s Einsteins and the healing power of nature: A recap of “Beauty and the Brain,” All-Stars Session 2 at TED2014

March 18, 2014

By Liz Jacobs and Thu-Huong Ha   Our brains work in mysterious ways. They make us laugh, they make us cry, and sometimes, they make us 19-year old geniuses. The 11 speakers in this All-Stars session specialize in areas of the brain as diverse as personality, trauma and gender, but they all agree: Our minds […]

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Culture

TED Weekends: Understanding evil

March 9, 2013

Philip Zimbardo knows evil inside and out. He led the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment of 1971 and was an expert witness at Abu Ghraib, privy to graphic unseen images. At TED2008, Zimbardo explains how easy it is for the good to turn evil, and on the flip side, for inspiration to lead people to heroism. […]

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Phillip Zimbardo on the powers of time: The animation

June 12, 2010

RSA Animate shares this neat whiteboard video illustrating an idea from TEDTalks star Philip Zimbardo: How our individual concepts of time influence us. Watch more from Philip Zimbardo on time, on TED.com >> Watch more video from RSA Animate >> (Thanks for the tip, Thaniya!)

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