Dr. Zimbardo and his book The Lucifer Effect

Zimbardo is perhaps best known as the creator of the Stanford Prison Experiment. It is a landmark study, in which a group of college-student volunteers was randomly divided into “guards” and “inmates” and then placed in a mock prison environment. Within a week the study was abandoned, as ordinary college students were transformed into either brutal, sadistic guards or emotionally broken prisoners.
Zimbardo knows how easy it is for nice people to turn bad. In this talk, he shares insights and graphic unseen photos from the Abu Ghraib trials. Then he talks about the flip side: how easy it is to be a hero, and how we can rise to the challenge.




In his new book The Lucifer Effect Zimbardo explains how–and the myriad reasons why–we are all susceptible to the lure of “the dark side.” What makes good people do bad things? How can moral people be seduced to act immorally? Where is the line separating good from evil, and who is in danger of crossing it? Drawing on examples from history as well as his own trailblazing research, Zimbardo details how situational forces and group dynamics can work in concert to make monsters out of decent men and women.

 

Sources: www.ted.com, www.bn.com.

Vilayanur Ramachandran - the brain expert

You do not have to be a neurologist to enjoy this fascinating talk.
V.S. Ramachandran is a mesmerizing speaker, able to concretely and simply describe the most complicated inner workings of the brain. His investigations into phantom limb pain, synesthesia and other brain disorders allow him to explore (and begin to answer) the most basic philosophical questions about the nature of self and human consciousness.

Martin Seligman on positive psychology

Martin Seligman talks about psychology - as a field of study and as it works one-on-one with each patient and each practitioner. As it moves beyond a focus on disease, what can modern psychology help us to become?



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