Philip Zimbardo, professor emeritus of psychology at Stanford University, has died at the age of 91 at his home in San Francisco. He left behind his mourning wife, Christina Maslach, who has Polish roots and was one of the first people to say that his out-of-control prison experiment, which later gave him international fame, had to be stopped.
Philip Zimbardo has died. The famous American psychologist and sociologist of Italian origin, passed away on October 14, 2024 at his home in San Francisco, at the age of 91. “He taught us everyday heroism. He showed that courage, empathy and action are within everyone’s reach,” Zimbardo’s colleagues wrote on Instagram after his death. Zimbardo believed that power resides in every ordinary person. He encouraged and inspired his colleagues to overcome fear, get up in life and change the world around them for the better.
Professor Zimbardo gained worldwide fame for his pioneering and controversial work Stanford Prison Experimentconducted in 1971. Although more than 50 years have passed, the results of the experiment are still cited by psychologists and sociologists in their lectures, and psychological laymen discuss them in private conversations.
Zimbardo’s prison experiment
Prof.’s experiment Zimbardo involved staging prison conditions in the basement of Stanford University. Volunteers, randomly divided into “prisoners” and “guards”, quickly began to take on their assigned roles.
The experiment, which was supposed to last two weeks, had to be stopped after just six days because the brutality of the “guards” and the suffering of the “prisoners” became too intense. This study, although ethically criticized, revealed the powerful influence of social situations on human behavior and gave rise to discussions about dehumanization and abuse of power.
Zimbardo, author of books, creator of the Shyness Clinic
Of course, Zimbardo did not stop at this one study, although the “prison experiment” remained the most famous one with which his name was immediately associated. Further work on the psychology of evil resulted in Zimbardo publishing a book “The Lucifer Effect”. In it, he explored the topic of how and why people, although often good by nature, can turn to the “dark side” under the influence of circumstances.
In his later years, Zimbardo focused on promoting citizenship and heroism. He founded Heroic Imagination Projectwhich aimed to educate young people to counteract evil and promote heroic actions in everyday life. Its aim was to show that each of us has the potential for heroism, which is manifested in the attitude of opposing injustice and supporting the weaker. This is what his colleagues wrote about after Zimbardo’s death.
Zimbardo’s wife has Polish roots
Philip Zimbardo had connections with Poland, including: thanks to his wife with Polish roots, Christina Maslach. They lived together for 52 years. Zimbardo left behind in mourning not only his wife, but three children and four grandchildren. Another Polish accent of Zimbardo is associated with Katowice – in the Nikiszowiec district, he works Center Zimbardowhich supports local youth, promotes building social bonds and education.
Zimbardo left behind a rich scientific legacy, which includes over 500 publications, including books such as “Time Paradox” Whether “Psychology and Life”. One of his last famous books was the one titled “Where are the men”, which he prepared especially for readers in Poland. He asked about the crisis of masculinity and whether women are not the strong sex today, and not the “weaker sex” as they were stereotypically called. In the book, Philip Zimbardo looked for the reasons for the crisis of masculinity. He mentioned, among others: a school that promotes girls more than boys in the education system, as well as the crisis of the modern family and absent fathers, including mentally absent ones, pornography and Internet games. He wondered whether contemporary women would find worthy partners among their peers.
Research by prof. Philip Zimbardo’s work has influenced numerous areas of psychology and sociology. Especially those that concerned, like the famous prison experiment, dehumanization, power and the moral and ethical challenges that people face in extreme situations. Zimbardo’s works and scientific activities, especially the above-mentioned prison experiment, remain the subject of numerous analyses, controversies and scientific debates. And they have undoubtedly left a lasting mark on modern psychology.
Zimbardo’s Shyness Clinic
Research by prof. Philip Zimbardo also concerned issues shyness and resulted in the establishment Shyness Clinics in Palo Alto and the book “Shyness: What It Is, What to Do About It.” Zimbardo emphasized that shyness is a common phenomenon, and his works aimed to provide tools for dealing with it. The above-mentioned clinic was established in response to his research on shyness, which he perceived as a common and often underestimated psychological problem. Zimbardo even developed therapeutic and educational programs to help people struggling with shyness. He also wrote a book “Shyness: What It Is, What to Do About It”which has been translated into many languages, including Polish.
“Uncle Phil” for students and other anecdotes about Zimbardo
Zimbardo was the author of many famous books and those that simply became part of the canon of psychological reading. One of his most famous works is “Psychology and life” – a textbook that has been a basic text for psychology students around the world for decades. This book introduces various psychological issues, combining theory with practical examples.
Philip Zimbardo, apart from his scientific achievements, was known for being an extremely cordial and open lecturer. His warm attitude towards students led many of them to call him “Uncle Phil”. Zimbardo was known for his great passion for teaching and his willingness to share his knowledge. This attracted the attention of both students and the wider public. Zimbardo was also a great art enthusiast and often incorporated references to literature and films into his lectures, which made his presentations even more interesting and accessible to students.
Zimbardo originally studied medicine, but switched to psychology when he realized he was more interested in why people behave the way they do than how their bodies function.
In interviews, he often mentioned that as a child he grew up in the Bronx, New York, so he witnessed brutality and poverty, which influenced his interest in the topic of evil and dehumanization. Not everyone knows that it was his wife Christina Maslach, who visited the “set” of the prison experiment, who told Zimbardo that she believed he had to stop it because she saw how far and how quickly the dehumanization of the participants was progressing.
Sources: American Psychological Association (APA) or Stanford University, Wikipedia, zimbardo.com/publications, interesting facts about Zimbardo – Fakt.pl, photo of prof. Zimbardo: Wikipedia.
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