How focusing on the past, present or future shapes our experience of time

By Manoush Zomorodi,

Fiona Geiran, Sanaz Meshkinpour

Published May 16, 2025 at 12:03 PM EDT

Part 4 of the TED Radio Hour episode How we experience time.
Pioneering and controversial psychologist Philip Zimbardo passed away in 2024. In this remembrance, we revisit his talk on how our sense of time plays a powerful role in shaping our outlook on life.

About Philip Zimbardo

Philip Zimbardo was a psychologist and longtime professor at Stanford University. He was best known for leading the Stanford Prison Experiment in 1971. He also conducted research on shyness, time perspective and the psychology of evil.

Zimbardo devoted his later years to promoting "everyday heroism" through his nonprofit Heroic Imagination Project, teaching people worldwide how to resist negative social pressures and take positive action.

Zimbardo died in October 2024 at age 91.

This segment of the TED Radio Hour was produced by Fiona Geiran and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour. You can follow us on Facebook and email us at TEDRadioHour@npr.org.

Web Resource

Related TED Bio: Philip Zimbardo