If teaching to the narrow content of a test is a problem, broaden the content of the test rather than throwing your hands in the air and giving up on standardized testing. Whatever isn't being measured will often be neglected -- if they have to teach to the test they'll often neglect whatever isn't on the test, but if there's no test the same danger exists. Just broaden the test by a hundredfold so that the only option is a really broad education and not constant drilling on the few things that are on the test. Nobody should graduate from high school without being able to recite most of the bill of rights from memory, describe the three branches of government, and know about hundreds of thousands of other things from acetylene to Zimbardo.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'Zimbardo, psychology, milgram, guard, prisoner, dominance, ethics, fear' to 'Zimbardo, psychology, guard, prisoner, dominance, ethics, fear' - edited by xxovercastxx

I think this is from Zimbardo's "Discovering Psychology" series which is sadly not marketed to consumers. They charge like $380 for the dvd set because they expect only institutions to buy it, so it's either that or downloading it from TPB

narrator: Dr. Philip Zimbardo, Ph.D
more widely known for leading the Stanford Prison Experiment in 1971, viewed as another "gone too far" social experiment. Potent and relevant, yes, however also crossing the lines of ethics and valid scientific inquiry.

@chilaxe @NetRunner

I've been stupid busy all week, but would've loved to talk about this stuff with you two.

About importing poverty...have either of you heard of this thesis? I gather that it has been tested, but I haven't seen that evidence myself.

Dopamine, a pleasure-inducing brain chemical, is linked with curiosity, adventure, entrepreneurship, and helps drive results in uncertain environments. Populations generally have about 2% of their members with high enough dopamine levels with the curiosity to emigrate. Ergo, immigrant nations like the U.S. and Canada, and increasingly the UK, have high dopamine-intensity populations.


It's been cited numerous times in things I've read, including in the infamous citigroup plutonomy memos:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/6674234/Citigroup-Oct-16-2005-Plutonomy-Report-Part-1

High dopamine is also associated with risk-taking. The citigroup guys were obviously citing it as though being an immigrant nation was going to save us in uncertain times. However, regardless of which theories or hypotheses you subscribe to or hear about, there's something quite different about people who emigrate. Taking that idea further, you have to separate people who emigrated en masse because of rather forced conditions (tons of Irish people during the potato famine, Polish/Lithuanian people in the early 1900s, etc) and individuals who emigrate simply because they're after more money/opportunity.

I've also read some stuff that indicates dopamine levels affect your perception of time. Schizophrenics have really high dopamine levels, which causes their internal clock to speed up, and it alters their perception of time. This is interesting in relation to the dopamine/emigration theory because of Philip Zimbardo's work on perception of time and how it relates to personality.

Plus, Zimbardo's work is just interesting, period:
http://videosift.com/video/The-Secret-Powers-of-Time
http://fora.tv/2008/11/12/Philip_Zimbardo_The_Time_Paradox

Another article about time perception with a few mentions of dopamine, drugs, etc.
http://delontin1.wordpress.com/2008/01/24/stretch-time/

Anyway, not to derail things, but it's mostly on topic with all the earlier discussion of brain stuff. I really think perception of time affects our personality in profound ways, and it's clear that brain chemistry affects our perception of time. I also think there's evidence that there can be overall brain chemistry trends in populations which have interesting implications.

>> ^MaxWilder:

1. Wow, this thread has sure brought out the crazy in a lot of people.

2. Of course this situation could have been handled better if this guy had better training,

3. but if it wasn't for the atmosphere of disrespect toward officers that some in this thread are exacerbating, this situation would not have ever happened.


1. I agree.

2. So why not just get all officers better training. This seems to happen quite a bit.

3. You sincerely think it's our outrage at a situation which under any other context would be consider 'uncalled for' is the reason cops are disrespected? Instead of say - the entire history of police corruption and misconduct. Seriously?!

Being a cop doesn't give you the right to be violent whenever you feel like it. There's no excuse.

If you can't handle a jaywalking teenager without excessive forceful you shouldn't be a cop.

If you don't hold cops accountable when they overstep their duties, you give them a superiority complex which inevitably leads to abuse.
Zimbardo's Prison experiment proves that.

Laws don't mean shit if there's a double standard.
Max, you can't comprehend how that's more important then arresting some jaywalking idiot?!

And Democrats aren't corrupt? Someone needs to come down from that tower.

I'm referring to a system that lends itself to corruption. See Philip Zimbardo's Lucifer Effect.

Netrunner, I can think of one thing. The 1913 Federal Reserve act. Woodrow Wilson member of the Democratic Party. How about the repealing of the Glass Steagall Act, President Bill Clinton?

How about the current president and Habeus Corpus for Bagram Airforce base detainees? Preservation of extraordinary rendition? Escalation of Afghanistan? Violations of Pakistani sovereignty?

You know what don't answer those questions. I don't want to see any more rationalizations for the two parties today. Freedom of choice be damned.

videosiftbannedme:
Paging, Dr. Zimbardo....Dr. Phillip Zimbardo, please pick up the white courtesy phone.

Somehow, I don't think anyone in this video needs help with shyness...

Paging, Dr. Zimbardo....Dr. Phillip Zimbardo, please pick up the white courtesy phone.

He heeeee! I got to hand it to Dag and Lucky. They make Zimbardo look like a chump!

Ah, Zimbardo! These programs are great, anyone else here view these in college/university? From the looks of the graphic effects, I'd guess psych students have been watching ol' Zimmy for the past 20 years!

I spent some time with Phil on the day that the Abu Ghraib scandal broke nationally. He was shocked, as all of us were, but not surprised and was amazed about how pertinent the research he had done almost 30 years previously had become with regards to what was happening on a global scale. It was an inspiration to chat with him that night and brought home the real value of hard-hitting psychological research, like the study that he's doing now.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'Philip Zimbardo, experiment, bad, good, Abu Ghraib, torture' to 'Philip Zimbardo, experiment, bad, good, Abu Ghraib, torture, TED talks' - edited by calvados

This reminds me of Milgram's and Zimbardo's experiments that showed that people were capable of doing atrocious things so long as they could rationalize that they were just doing their job or that it wasn't their responsibility.

I'm totally with Nordlich on this one. Any photographer that says they didn't help because they have the more important responsibility of getting the news out is full of sh*t. That footage from Georgia of the photographers just standing around taking photos had nothing to do with getting the story out and everything to do with each of them hoping to get the cover or Time or Newsweek and make a lot of cash in the process. Your responsibility as a human being to help others in immediate need supersedes any responsibility you may think you have to your job.

As a final note, notice that in this vid not once do you see the photographer standing around taking pictures of wounded people who are obviously in need of first aid. The shots he takes of the wounded are at the hospital--and no less compelling because of it.

Good stuff. Milgram's and Zimbardo's experiments are a fascinating look into how everyone is capable of evil under the right circumstances, particularly when there is social pressure to conform.

By the way, does anyone else think Zimbardo would make a good Lucifer look-alike? Some horns and a little red make-up... too bad the voice would give him away.