I recently read Gina Perry’s book Behind the Shock Machine: The Untold Story of the Notorious Milgram Psychology Experiments
Perry considers Milgram’s design in the broader context of the era’s views of social psychology, the experiences of his subjects and their later reflections, and what type of conclusions we can draw decades later. Along the way you’ll learn the details of the “de-hoaxing”, Milgram’s own misgivings about his research, and a surprising variation of the study which was never published.
While I was already very familiar with Milgram’s work and its many criticisms, this book helped me to see it in a new light. While the results are commonly cast in terms of “little Eichmanns”, the banality of evil, and Milgram’s vague notion of an “agentic state”, Perry’s book questions how appropriate these interpretations are. She investigates how Milgram carefully choreographed the setting to minimize dissent, how he managed to sidestep critics, and why the crucial assumption that Milgram was actually measuring “obedience” is so seldom scrutinized. Perry manages to do all of the above without attacking or condemning Milgram, presenting details designed to raise questions rather than offer definitive answers. No matter how much you know (or think you know) about Milgram’s work, chances are that you’ll find some fascinating new insights here. Highly recommended!
