Philip Zimbardo Quotes - Page 2

Quotes about:

Evil Giving Heroism Human Behavior Human Nature Humanity Morality

As we have come to understand the psychology of evil, we have realized that such transformations of human character are not as rare as we would like to believe. Historical inquiry and behavioral science have demonstrated the "banality of evil" -- that is, under certain conditions and social pressures, ordinary people can commit acts that would otherwise be unthinkable.

Philip Zimbardo

Believe, Character, Evil

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Situational variables can exert powerful influences over human behavior, more so that we recognize or acknowledge.

Philip Zimbardo

Powerful, Hero, Variables

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Most of us hide behind egocentric biases that generate the illusion that we are special. These self-serving protective shields allow us to believe that each of us is above average on any test of self-integrity. Too often we look to the stars through the thick lens of personal invulnerability when we should also look down to the slippery slope beneath our feet.

Philip Zimbardo

Stars, Integrity, Believe

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The line between good and evil is movable and it's permeable.

Philip Zimbardo

Evil, Lines, Good And Evil

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We like to think there is this core of human nature – that good people can't do bad things, and that good people will dominate over bad situations. Infact, when we look at the Stanford prison studies, that we put good people in an evil place, and we saw who won. Well, the sad message in this, is in this case is the evil place won over the good people.

Philip Zimbardo

Thinking, People, Evil

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Bullying is an evil because it not only destroys the life of the kid who's bullied, but also makes everyone in the class who knows this is going on feel guilty for not doing anything.

Philip Zimbardo

Bullying, Kids, Class

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... In contrast to the "banality of evil," which posits that ordinary people can be responsible for the most despicable acts of cruelty and degradation of their fellows, I posit the "banality of heroism," which unfurls the banner of the heroic Everyman and Everywoman who heed the call to service to humanity when their time comes to act. When that bell rings, they will know that it rings for them. It sounds a call to uphold what is best in human nature that rises above the powerful pressures of Situation and System as the profound assertion of human dignity opposing evil.

Philip Zimbardo

Powerful, Hero, People

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The most dramatic instances of directed behavior change and "mind control" are not the consequence of exotic forms of influence, such as hypnosis, psychotropic drugs, or "brainwashing," but rather the systematic manipulation of the most mundane aspects of human nature over time in confining settings.

Philip Zimbardo

Hypnosis, Behavior Change, Drug

Philip Zimbardo (2011). “The Lucifer Effect: How Good People Turn Evil”, p.258, Random House

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Most of us fail to appreciate the extent to which our behavior is under situational control, because we prefer to believe that is all is internally generated. We wander around cloaked in an illusion of vulnerability, mis-armed with an arrogance of free will and rationality.

Philip Zimbardo

Believe, Appreciate, Arrogance

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Ideas for my first experiments in human aggression came from discussions we had in a research seminar about William Golding's 'Lord of the Flies.'

Philip Zimbardo

Ideas, Research, Firsts

"Biography/ Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

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We can assume that most people, most of the time, are moral creatures. But imagine that this morality is like a gearshift that at times gets pushed into neutral. When that happens, morality is disengaged. If the car happens to be on an incline, car and driver move precipitously downhill. It is then the nature of the circumstances that determines outcomes, not the driver's skills or intentions.

Philip Zimbardo

Moving, Skills, People

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It was God who created hell as a place to store evil. He didn't do a good job of keeping it there though.

Philip Zimbardo

Jobs, Evil, Hell

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Our sense of identity is in large measure conferred on us by others in the ways they treat or mistreat us, recognize or ignore us, praise us or punish us. Some people make us timid and shy; others elicit our sex appeal and dominance. In some groups we are made leaders, while in others we are reduced to being followers. We come to live up to or down to the expectations others have of us.

Philip Zimbardo

Sex, People, Expectations

Philip Zimbardo (2011). “The Lucifer Effect: How Good People Turn Evil”, p.321, Random House

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What happens when good people are put into an evil place? Do they triumph or does the situation dominate their past history and morality?

Philip Zimbardo

Past, People, Evil

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Time perspective is one of the most powerful influences on all of human behavior. We're trying to show how people become biased to being exclusively past-, present- or future-oriented.

Philip Zimbardo

Time, Powerful, Past

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I have been primarily interested in how and why ordinary people do unusual things, things that seem alien to their natures. Why do good people sometimes act evil? Why do smart people sometimes do dumb or irrational things?

Philip Zimbardo

Smart, Hero, Unusual Things

"Emperor of the Edge". Interview with Christina Maslach, www.psychologytoday.com. September 1, 2000.

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You are not the same person working alone as you are in a group; in a romantic setting versus an educational one; when you are with close friends or in an anonymous crowd; or when you are traveling abroad as when at home base.

Philip Zimbardo

Educational, Home, Working Alone

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Time matters because we are finite, because time is the medium in which we live our lives.

Philip Zimbardo

Matter, Mediums, Finite

Philip Zimbardo, John Boyd (2008). “The Time Paradox: The New Psychology of Time That Will Change Your Life”, p.12, Simon and Schuster

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What troubles me is the Internet and the electronic technology revolution. Shyness is fueled in part by so many people spending huge amounts of time alone, isolated on e-mail, in chat rooms, which reduces their face-to-face contact with other people.

Philip Zimbardo

Technology, People, Faces

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Coming from New York, I know that if you go by a delicatessen, and you put a sweet cucumber in the vinegar barrel, the cucumber might say, "No, I want to retain my sweetness." But it's hopeless. The barrel will turn the sweet cucumber into a pickle. You can't be a sweet cucumber in a vinegar barrel.

Philip Zimbardo

Sweet, New York, Want

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Boys' brains are being digitally rewired for change, novelty, excitement and constant arousal. That means they're totally out of sync in traditional classes, which are analog, static, interactively passive.

Philip Zimbardo

Motivation, Inspiration, Mean

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I've always been curious about the psychology of the person behind the mask.

Philip Zimbardo

Psychology, Mask, Curious

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That human behavior is more influenced by things outside of us than inside. The situation is the external environment. The inner environment is genes, moral history, religious training.

Philip Zimbardo

Religious, Training, Moral

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Fear is the State's psychological weapon of choice to frighten citizens into sacrificing their basic freedoms and rule-of-law protections in exchange for the security promised by their all-powerful government.

Philip Zimbardo

Fear, Powerful, Sacrifice

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While no one can change events that occurred in the past, everyone can change attitudes and beliefs about them.

Philip Zimbardo

Attitude, Past, Events

Philip Zimbardo, John Boyd (2008). “The Time Paradox: The New Psychology of Time That Will Change Your Life”, p.62, Simon and Schuster

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Born: March 23, 1933
Occupation: Psychologist
Cite this Page: Citation

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