Philip Zimbardo

And as a sidebar, little Stanley Milgram and I were high school classmates at James Monroe High School in the Bronx... in senior year, 1948, 49. So essentially there was something in that water, but it was really, you know, he was a little Jewish kid who worried about, you know, could the Holocaust happen in America? If Hitler said, electrocute somebody, would you do it? Or Hitler's henchmen?

And everybody said, no, Stanley, we're not that kind of person. And what he said as a high school kid, how do you know unless you're in that situation?

And everybody said, no, Stanley, we're not that kind of person. And what he said as a high school kid, how do you know unless you're in that situation?

And everybody said, no, Stanley, we're not that kind of person. And what he said as a high school kid, how do you know unless you're in that situation?

And that was the central commonality in the Milgram-Bedian studies and my Stanford prison study, is we put people in a totally new situation where in both studies we gave people total power over someone else.

And that was the central commonality in the Milgram-Bedian studies and my Stanford prison study, is we put people in a totally new situation where in both studies we gave people total power over someone else.

And that was the central commonality in the Milgram-Bedian studies and my Stanford prison study, is we put people in a totally new situation where in both studies we gave people total power over someone else.

And the guards not only were in uniforms, but they had to wear silver-reflecting sunglasses, an idea I got from the movie Cool Hand Luke. It didn't take long for the situation to curdle.

And the guards not only were in uniforms, but they had to wear silver-reflecting sunglasses, an idea I got from the movie Cool Hand Luke. It didn't take long for the situation to curdle.

And the guards not only were in uniforms, but they had to wear silver-reflecting sunglasses, an idea I got from the movie Cool Hand Luke. It didn't take long for the situation to curdle.

I began to be the prison superintendent. I see videotapes of my, I'm walking down the yard with my hands behind my back and my chest out. I never do that. I was surprised to see that. But that is how, you know, the military officers, when they're reviewing the troops, that's the many politicians, it's a position of authority and power, which I abhor.

I began to be the prison superintendent. I see videotapes of my, I'm walking down the yard with my hands behind my back and my chest out. I never do that. I was surprised to see that. But that is how, you know, the military officers, when they're reviewing the troops, that's the many politicians, it's a position of authority and power, which I abhor.

I began to be the prison superintendent. I see videotapes of my, I'm walking down the yard with my hands behind my back and my chest out. I never do that. I was surprised to see that. But that is how, you know, the military officers, when they're reviewing the troops, that's the many politicians, it's a position of authority and power, which I abhor.

I mean, I always work hard to minimize the power I have as a teacher. And here I was unconsciously assuming it. Now, Zimbardo is a situationist. I'm a situationist, dyed in the wool. Individual variations in, quote, personality predict almost nothing about people in these situations.

I mean, I always work hard to minimize the power I have as a teacher. And here I was unconsciously assuming it. Now, Zimbardo is a situationist. I'm a situationist, dyed in the wool. Individual variations in, quote, personality predict almost nothing about people in these situations.

I mean, I always work hard to minimize the power I have as a teacher. And here I was unconsciously assuming it. Now, Zimbardo is a situationist. I'm a situationist, dyed in the wool. Individual variations in, quote, personality predict almost nothing about people in these situations.

The way the study ended was I had invited young faculty members and graduate students who knew nothing about this study to come down and interview all the prisoners, guards, and staff. And Christina Maslach, who had been my graduate student, who we had just started dating, comes down the night before and sees the guards abusing the prisoners.

The way the study ended was I had invited young faculty members and graduate students who knew nothing about this study to come down and interview all the prisoners, guards, and staff. And Christina Maslach, who had been my graduate student, who we had just started dating, comes down the night before and sees the guards abusing the prisoners.

The way the study ended was I had invited young faculty members and graduate students who knew nothing about this study to come down and interview all the prisoners, guards, and staff. And Christina Maslach, who had been my graduate student, who we had just started dating, comes down the night before and sees the guards abusing the prisoners.

And I look up, it's a 10 o'clock toilet run, 10 o'clock at night, last time prisoners go to the toilet. And prisoners have bags over their head, legs chained together, yelling, screaming, cursing. And I say, hey, Christina, look at that. Isn't that interesting? And she starts crying and runs out. And we have this big argument. And I'm saying, what kind of psychologist are you?