Stand up. Speak out. Change the world.
The Heroic Imagination Project (HIP) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that teaches people how to take effective action in challenging situations.
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, the Heroic Imagination Project was founded by Dr. Philip Zimbardo, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Stanford University. At HIP, we translate the extensive research findings of social psychology and related fields into meaningful insights and tools that individuals can use in their everyday lives to transform negative situations and create positive change.
Dr. Zimbardo’s work has studied the psychological foundations of negative forms of social influence (such as conformity, obedience, and the bystander effect) and is now refocused on understanding the nature of everyday heroism and the psychology of personal and social growth.
HIP is a research-based organization, which provides knowledge, tools, strategies, and exercises to individuals and groups to help them to overcome the social and psychological forces that can keep people from taking effective action at crucial moments in their lives.
Our Mission
To teach individuals the skills and awareness needed to make effective decisions in challenging situations.
Our Programs
We have created a core program of 6 modules we call “Understanding Human Nature”. Each modules contributes to the training of everyday heroes in a profound and unique way.
We differ from other approaches to social change in two major ways.
First, we focus on the dynamics of everyday social situations than on the personalities and character traits of individuals, as important as they are.
Second, we don’t stigmatize our biases and automatic reactions to difficult situations. Rather, we see our tendencies to “watch and wait,” to “go along to get along” and to make hasty judgments about others as normal and human.
All of our programs combine rich academic content with engaging videos and hands-on activities that young people find surprisingly playful and that our
Client’s—schools, colleges and youth (ages 13+) organizations—can work with us to tailor to fit their unique needs.
The Bystander Effect
Help your audience overcome the social forces that can prevent them from taking action in unclear or emergency situations, and gain the skills to respond wisely and effectively.
Mindset
Help your audience shift from a fixed mindset—a belief that one cannot change one’s abilities or personal characteristics such as intelligence— toward a growth mindset—a belief that one can improve aspects of oneself with time and effort.
Social Conformity
Help your audience gain an increased awareness of their automatic tendencies to conform in social situations, and replace those tendencies with healthy behaviors.
Adaptive Attributions
Help your audience reduce or eliminate the effects of stereotype threat and unhealthy attributions on learning and performance.
Situational Awareness
Help your audience gain awareness of how group influence and situations affect decision-making, and strategies to address social situations mindfully
Prejudice and Group Perception
Help your audience gain awareness of their tendency to make assumptions about other people and groups, and conversely gain resilience when they experience prejudice and discrimination from others.
