In Memoriam

Philip Zimbardo, beloved educator who became a ‘public face’ of psychology

Zimbardo ’59 Ph.D., an internationally recognized psychology educator, researcher, and author who received Yale’s Wilbur Cross Medal, died on Oct. 14.

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Philip Zimbardo

Philip Zimbardo

Philip G. Zimbardo ’59 Ph.D., an internationally recognized psychology educator, researcher, and author who received Yale’s Wilbur Cross Medal for Alumni Achievement in 2004, died on Oct. 14. He was 91.

Zimbardo, who was a professor emeritus at Stanford University, was also a cherished teacher of Peter Salovey, former Yale University president and the Chris Argyris Professor of Psychology at Yale.

Born in 1933 and raised in the Bronx, Zimbardo became the first member of his Sicilian American family to pursue a college degree. He attended Brooklyn College where he earned a B.A. in 1954, triple majoring in psychology, sociology and anthropology, and then went on to Yale, where he earned his M.A. in 1955 and his Ph.D., both in psychology, in 1959.

In the mid-1960s, he held teaching positions at Yale, Columbia University, and New York University. Notably shifting his research from running the rat lab to examining human behavior, his early training spanned hypnosis at the Morton Prince Clinic in New York, co-directing the Children’s Test Anxiety Research Project at Yale University, and creating “A Head Start-Black Pride” summer program in Harlem. He became involved with anti-war demonstrations and co-authored a publication “Canvassing for Peace.”

In the late-1960s, Zimbardo relocated to the Department of Psychology at Stanford University. Over the next four decades he inspired thousands of students and educators to become interested in the field of psychology, many of whom went on to careers in academia and clinical practice. He embraced teaching the large introductory course in psychology. A charismatic speaker, dedicated to making class memorable, the popularity of his course became legendary. For decades he authored numerous editions of classic introductory textbooks “Psychology and Life” and “Psychology: Core Concepts,” along with affiliated teaching resources.

He conducted studies that now appear in every psychology textbook. Perhaps most famous is the Prison Experiment, in which he demonstrated the power of social roles and institutional forces in shaping behavior.

He also introduced academic and non-academic audiences alike to the field and its real-world applications, becoming a public face of psychology as a co-creator and host of the original “Discovering Psychology” television series and its later updated telecourse version. The PBS / Annenberg Foundation 26-program series has been translated and distributed throughout the world. He also teamed up with Allen Funt, the creator and host of the American hidden-camera show Candid Camera, in producing narrated educational videos in which classic episodes reveal principles in psychology.

He received many awards for his teaching, creative research, dedication to social action, and career-long advocacy and contributions to social psychology. His professional leadership included serving as president of the American Psychological Association and the Western Psychological Association, chair of the Council of Scientific Society Presidents (CSSP), and board and membership participation of a number of psychology organizations.

He is survived by his loving wife of 52 years, Christina Maslach Zimbardo, a professor emerita of psychology and former vice provost at UC Berkeley; his son Adam (C. Jezzie, Jessi) from his first marriage to the late Rose Zimbardo, and daughters Zara (Patrick Reinsborough) and Tanya (Michael Doyle); and four grandchildren: Clay Doyle, Philip and Victoria Zimbardo, and Taylor Epstein-Bliss. He is preceded in peace by his father George, mother Margaret, siblings George, Donald, and Vera.