As they write: His work, especially the famous Stanford prison experiment, and his research results on the bystander effect are decisive in the history of psychology, social psychology, and society worldwide.
After the Stanford prison experiment, Professor Zimbardo’s main research area remained human aggression. He examined the power of the situation, that is, how and to what extent people’s behavior is influenced by the presence of many people in a given situation.
In 2003, in connection with the Iraq war, a series of photos taken in the Abu Ghraib prison, which documented how the soldiers were cruel to the prisoners, made the rounds of the world press. The situation was very similar to the Stanford prison experiment. For this reason and at that time, Professor Zimbardo began investigating how to bring out the best in ordinary, indifferent people, to become ordinary heroes, and how everyday heroism can be learned and practiced. This thought and the results of social psychological research of the last several decades led him to found the Heroic Imagination Project, whose goal is to encourage and train people to dare and be able to think critically, to stand up for others, to act as heroes in everyday life and not to remain bystanders in difficult situations. situations.
Hungary played a particularly important role in the life and work of Professor Zimbardo. in 2014 George of Russiawith and Péter Halácsyrel founded the Hősök Tere Initiative (today Hősök Tere Foundation), whose goal is to act against social indifference, to encourage, to give awareness and knowledge so that people dare to stand up and do for others in everyday life. Zimbardo believed that there is a hero in everyone and that empathy, responsibility and conscious action can bring about positive changes in the world. Along these lines, he inspired Hungarian youth, teachers and communities to become ordinary heroes.
Between October 2013 and 2020, in connection with the Hősök Tere Foundation, Professor Zimbardo visited Hungary several times a year and regularly held lectures, workshops, discussions, and was a guest at various gatherings. At these events, he inspired domestic professionals and the general public alike, and reinforced the message that individual actions have great power and that with some awareness, everyone is capable of achieving positive change in their environment. This is both the opportunity and the responsibility of every person.
The professor wrote several important books. The Lucifer Effect: How and Why Good People Become Evil? offers a deep insight into the darker side of human behavior. THE Psychology for everyone Its 4 volumes make the complex functioning of the psyche understandable even for ordinary people, and it is also considered a basic work in psychological education in several countries. The time paradox: Recycle yesterday, enjoy today and master tomorrow! examines the effect of different time perspectives on the experience of happiness and success.
With his work, he contributed to a better understanding of human behavior and to the identification of the factors that can bring out both the good and the bad in people.
In memory of Philip Zimbardo, his family created the following memorial page, through which those who knew him can share their memories of him:
