Mar 23, Philip Zimbardo: Today in the History of Psychology (23rd March 1933)

Philip Zimbardo was born. A world-renowned educator, researcher, speaker and author with over 50 books and more than 400 published articles to his name, Philip Zimbardo has been informing our understanding of human behavior for over fifty years. His landmark Stanford Prison Experiment in 1971 showed how situations and systems can make good people do bad things by creating the conditions in which those in positions of power dehumanize those in less powerful positions. These controversial findings continue to resonate today in what they tell us about contemporary events such as the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuses in Iraq; the resulting trial of which saw Dr. Zimbardo serve as an expert witness. A passionate standard bearer for the discipline of psychology, Philip Zimbardo's ground-breaking public television series, Discovering Psychology has been seen by millions of people worldwide and received the Carl Sagan Award for Public Understanding of Science. He continues to pursue many important areas of research, e.g. the psychology of heroism and Social Intensity Syndrome, a new phenomenon related to long-term military socialization. A professor emeritus at Stanford University, Philip Zimbardo served as president of the American Psychological Association (APA) in 2002 and received the APA Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement in the Science of Psychology in 2012.Information via:On This Day in Psychology: A Showcase of Great Pioneers and Defining Moments
Source: Forensic Psychology Blog - Category: Forensic Medicine Source Type: blogs