Founded by Dr. Phil Zimbardo in 2010, The Heroic Imagination Project offers "Hero Training" to students and adults around the world. During this uplifting class, participants will review the psychology of how situational factors impact human behavior, with reference to current events. Participants will discover what research has found regarding everyday heroes: (1) they imagined situations where help was needed and considered how they would act; (2) they had an expansive sense of empathy, not simply with those who might be considered “like them” but also those who might be thought of as “other”; (3) they regularly took action to help people, often in small ways; and (4) they had some experience or skill that made them confident about undertaking the heroic action in question.
Suggested Reading: “The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil”, by Dr. Philip Zimbardo, Random House