Villain or Hero: It's Up To You

Philip Zimbardo today (Chron photo)

The study is so old that it was discussed in Psych 101 when I was in college. The study had so great an impact that it is still referenced today in popular, as well as professional, literature.

Philip Zimbardo's 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment assigned students the roles of either prison guard or inmate. The two-week experiment was halted after six days due to the sadistic behavior of the guards and the traumatic effects on the prisoners. In a short period of time Dr. Zimbardo showed that even intelligent, rational students of supposedly good character could be induced to behave very badly.

What made him famous is not how he wishes to be remembered. Philip Zimbardo has spent the past decade studying heroism science. [bold added]

The key to “awakening everyone’s heroic instincts,” Zimbardo said, is twofold: first, redefining who a hero is. “We must debunk the myth of a ‘heroic elect,’ ” he said, and instead “promote the idea that heroes are ordinary people who take extraordinary action.”

Second, it’s about having a “growth mind-set” — a popular psychology buzz phrase coined by Zimbardo’s famous colleague and former student, Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, for one’s belief that our abilities and aptitudes aren’t static but can be developed over time. “Heroism begins in the mind, with thinking of yourself as a hero,” Zimbardo said.

Philip Zimbardo forced us to look at unsavory truths. Now he is showing how to overcome those tendencies and be better people. May we be as driven and productive when we are 85.