Monday, December 15, 2008

Philip Zimbardo


As momentous as the Stanford Prison Experiment was, Philip Zimbardo has had a much greater impact on my life.

Philip Zimbardo was the man who got me started in psychology. He was the author of the very first Psychology text book I picked up in PSY101, Psychology and Life, and hooked my interest enough to keep me studying and studying and studying.....

So, it was interesting to see him here recently and in interview on a local chat show, Enough Rope, with Andrew Denton. I've been waiting for the transcript and video to come online and now it's available here for those interested.

Slight disclaimer: it's quite short and nowhere near as in-depth as I'd hoped but I guess it's made for a more general audience.
Also check out Zimbardo.com

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think Phillip Zimbardo rocks! I applied for my undergrad to Stanford just because of the quality of their professors, especially him.

Donna

PG said...

I always found Zimbardo to be creepy. Watching the prison experiment, I have a hard time believing that he innocently lost track of his own behaviour and that of his participants. Seems like far too intelligent a man to not realize what was going on at the time.

HP said...

Me too, Donna, although I hear what Psychgrad is saying too.

I do think it kind of ironic that his book is called the Lucifer Effect, when, if you draw appropropriately positioned horns on his head, he would kind of look like Lucifer. :)

Dr. Deb said...

I also found (and find) his work very provocative.

shrink on the couch said...

I'd like to read a book or two of his on shyness.