Philip Zimbardo, a Heroic Life Dedicated to Psychology

Abstract

Philip Zimbardo (New York, 1933), Emeritus Professor at Stanford University, one of the best-known psychologists in the world. There is no Psychology University where his valuable contributions on subjects such as social influence, roles, leadership, antisocial behavior, time perception, and heroism, are not mentioned. 

He completed his M.S. and Ph.D. from Yale University. In 1971, he conducted the Stanford Prison Experiment. In 1990 he presented the PBS Discovering Psychology series. In 2002 he became the American Psychological Association (APA) President. He is currently Founder and President of the Heroic Imagination Project. 

Among his most important books, there are: The Lucifer Effect, The Time Paradox, and Living and Loving Better. He has received numerous awards and recognitions for his work as a researcher, educator, writer, and popularizer of psychology, among them, Carl Sagan Award for Public Understanding of Science.

On the occasion of his 90th birthday, as well as the publication of his book Zimbardo: My Life Revealed (Giunti, 2021), Professor Zimbardo kindly accepted this interview from his home in San Francisco, California, which was conducted via Zoom on December 2nd, 2022.