Exploring Psychology: Zimbardo Conference

On Wednesday 12th October, Sixth Form Psychology students (and a few more interested Sixth Formers) joined with thousands of students across the globe for an online conference with the legendary Philip Zimbardo, Professor Emeritus at Stanford University.

Students heard directly from him about his ground-breaking and controversial Stanford Prison experiment and gained insights and details beyond anything a textbook or film would could reveal. There was an extended period of Q&A that helped to refine students understanding of the decision making at the time. They also learned about the work that followed the experiment including The Heroic Imagination Project that was forefront of the research into what makes a person a hero and how can these factors be developed to encourage everyday heroism and reduce the bystander effect. Students also heard from Ari Kohen (Professor of Political Science, Schlesinger Professor of Social Justice, and Director of the Norman and Bernice Harris Centre for Judaic Studies) about the work he carries out in many countries delivering workshops with students and in businesses.

“I found the conference really useful for my Psychology study.” reflected Giselle (Lower Sixth), “Zimbardo kindly explained to us about the Standard Prison Experiment, and I have learnt so much from it. Not only did he briefly explain the progress and details of the study, but also explaining how the Lucifer Effect changes people. The Q&A session also answered most of our questions, which helped us to understand more about the background of the studies. It was a fun and meaningful event, and I enjoyed every single bit if it.”

Alex  (Lower Sixth) commented, “It was interesting to hear about Zimbardo’s own views on the ethics of his study and what it was like to be part of it. I was also interested in his views on what it means to be a hero, and about the existence of true altruism.”

“I really enjoyed it; it was cool meeting Zimbardo and I felt like I was right there with him because it was a Zoom and not a video. He is a funny and interesting guy.” said IB student, Lotte (Upper Sixth).

“As I am not a Psychology student, I learnt a lot from the talk. I was shocked by how questionably ethical Zimbardo’s experiment was, but I found his reasoning really fascinating.” noted Harriet (Lower Sixth)

“The conference was really inviting and the content was often led by student questioning which resulted in some very interesting viewpoints on the discussion.” echoed Millie (Lower Sixth).

“I felt it was really interesting to listen to the researcher’s opinion on the experiment himself as well as hearing Zimbardo’s answers to a variety of questions I could never have come up with. I think it was good that he spoke about heroism as people forget that you don’t need to be a hero everyday, but small acts of kindness can lead you a long way. It was quite long and I thought there would be more about the Prison experiment but overall I’m pleased I attended the evening.” commented Erin (Lower Sixth).