This interview was a rare and inspirational privilege to speak with world-renowned psychologist and Stanford Emeritus Professor Phil Zimbardo (most recently Founder and President of the Heroic Imagination Project), together with Brooke Deterline, Director of Corporate Consulting for the Heroic Imagination Project. The central theme: How Dr. Zimbardo’s over 40 years of ground-breaking and history-changing research on how good people can become susceptible to engaging in evil conduct applies in contemporary organizations and society – and how individuals can face challenging situations and systems that drive many toward evil but now act with courage or “contemporary heroism.” How can heroes of all ages come out of decades of research on evil? Dr. Philip Zimbardo, World-Renowned Psychologist and Professor Emeritus at Stanford University Dr. Philip Zimbardo is one of the world’s most distinguished living psychologists, having served as President of the American Psychological Association, designed and narrated the award winning 26-part PBS series, Discovering Psychology, and has published more than 50 books and 400 professional and popular articles and chapters, among them, Shyness, The Lucifer Effect, and The Time Paradox. A professor emeritus at Stanford University, Dr. Zimbardo has spent 50 years teaching and studying psychology. He received his Ph.D. in psychology from Yale University, and his areas of focus include time perspective, shyness, terrorism, madness, and evil. He is best-known for his controversial Stanford Prison Experiment that highlighted the ease with which ordinary intelligent college students could cross the line between good and evil when caught up in the matrix of situational and systemic forces. Brooke Deterline, Corporate Director for the Heroic Imagination Project As Corporate Director for the Heroic Imagination Project (HIP), Brooke helps boards, executives, and teams at all levels develop the skills to act with courage and ingenuity in the face of challenging situations. This fosters leadership credibility and candor, builds trust, engagement and reduces risk. Brooke believes strongly (and years of research back it up) that you can do better by doing good. Prior to her work at Heroic Imagination Project, Brooke co-founded StreetSmart IR, a San Francisco-based investor relations firm. She’s worked in corporate social responsibility (CSR), combining her strategic focus with her passion for sustainability, leadership, empowerment, and social and environmental justice. Brooke started as a journalist at SmartMoney magazine and is a trained mediator. The Heroic Imagination Project (HIP) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that teaches people how to overcome the natural human tendency to watch and wait in moments of crisis and to create meaningful and lasting change in their lives. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, The Heroic Imagination Project translates the extensive research findings of Dr. Philip Zimbardo, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Stanford University, into meaningful insights that individuals can use in their everyday lives to transform negative situations and create positive change. Dr. Zimbardo’s groundbreaking work has studied the psychological foundations of negative forms social influence forces (such as conformity, obedience, and the bystander effect) and is now refocused on understanding the nature of everyday heroism and they psychology of personal and social growth. HIP recently won the Ashoka/Townsend Press Prize in the Activating Empathy competition. HIP was highlighted as an innovator bringing the skill of empathy to students in transformative ways. Read more →
