“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.” IfsKnowsWantMightTurnsEnvironmentNew YorkSweetHopelessSweetnessBarrelsVinegarPicklesCucumbers Author:Philip Zimbardo
“Part of what we want to do with the Heroic Imagination Project is to get kids to think about what it means to be a hero. The most basic concept of a hero is socially constructed: It differs from culture to culture and changes over time. Think of Christopher Columbus. Until recently, he was a hero. Now he's a genocidal murderer! If he were alive today, he'd say, "What happened? I used to be a hero, and now people are throwing tomatoes at me!” PeopleIfsThinkingWantMeanKidsTodayUsedCultureImaginationAliveHappenedHeroProjectsConceptsUsed To BeThrowingHeroicMurdererLive For TodayTomatoesColumbusChanges Over Time Author:Philip Zimbardo
“If you want to change a person, you've got to change the situation.” IfsWantPersonsSituation Author:Philip Zimbardo
“Whether we consider Nazi Germany or Abu Ghraib prison, there were many people who observed what was happening and said nothing. At Abu Ghraib, one photo shows two soldiers smiling before a pyramid of naked prisoners while a dozen other soldiers stand around watching passively. If you observe such abuses and don't say, "This is wrong! Stop it!" you give tacit approval to continue. You are part of the silent majority that makes evil deeds more acceptable.” PeopleIfsGivingSaidTwoShowsEvilHappeningsAbuseMajorityPrisonSilentSoldierDeedsNakedGermanyPrisonerDozenAcceptableApprovalNaziPyramidsNazi GermanyTacitAbu GhraibSilent Majority Author:Philip Zimbardo
“Bullies are often people who are shy and can't make friends easily, so, as the theme of the movie 'A Bronx Tale' tells us, it is better to be feared if you can't be loved.” PeopleIfsTalesThemeShyBullyBronx Author:Philip Zimbardo
“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.” PeopleIfsHappensMovingMoralImagineCarCircumstancesMoralitySkillsCreaturesAssumingIntentionDetermineOutcomesDriversImagine ThatIncline Author:Philip Zimbardo
“If you put good apples into a bad situation, you’ll get bad apples.” IfsSituationApplesSocial PsychologyBad SituationsBad Apple Author:Philip Zimbardo
