Behind the shock machine : the untold story of the notorious Milgram psychology experiments PDF
Preview Behind the shock machine : the untold story of the notorious Milgram psychology experiments
BEHIND THE SHOCK MACHINE BEHIND THE SHOOK MACHINE The Untold Story of the Notorious Milgram Psychology Experiments GINA PERRY NEW YORK LONDON Copyright © 2012, 2013 by Gina Perry All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, in any form, without written permission from the publisher. Requests for permission to reproduce selections from this book should be mailed to: Permissions Department, The New Press, 38 Greene Street, New York, NY 10013. First published in Australia by Scribe, Brunswick, 2012 This revised edition published in the United States by The New Press, New York, 2013 Distributed by Perseus Distribution LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Perry, Gina. Behind the shock machine : the untold story of the notorious Milgram psychology experiments / Gina Perry. -- Revised edition. pages cm Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-1-59558-925-5 (e-book) 1. Milgram, Stanley. 2. Interpersonal relations. 3. Social psychology- -Experiments--History. 4. Behaviorism (Psychology)--Moral and ethical aspects. 5. Human experimentation in psychology--Moral and ethical aspects. 6. Psychology--Research--Effect of experimenters on. 7. Obedience--Psychological aspects. I. Title. HM132.P4185 2013 302--dc23 2013014976 The New Press publishes books that promote and enrich public discussion and understanding of the issues vital to our democracy and to a more equitable world. These books are made possible by the enthusiasm of our readers; the support of a committed group of donors, large and small; the collaboration of our many partners in the independent media and the not-for-profit sector; booksellers, who often hand-sell New Press books; librarians; and above all by our authors. www.thenewpress.com Composition and design by Bookbright Media This book was set in Adobe Garamond and DIN 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 CONTENTS Note to Readers Timeline of the Obedience Experiments Prologue Introduction 1. The Man Behind the Mirror 2. Going All the Way 3. The Limits of Debriefing 4. Subjects as Objects 5. Disobedience 6. The Secret Experiments 7. Milgram’s Staff 8. In Search of a Theory 9. The Ethical Controversy 10. Milgram’s Book 11. Representing Obedience Conclusion Appendix: List of Conditions Acknowledgments Notes Additional Sources NOTE TO READERS Before we start this journey, a few words about language, use of names, and privacy. You’ll notice that I refer to some people in this book by their first names and others by their surnames, and some not by name at all but by number. Let me explain. With their permission, I have used the real names—except where a pseudonym was requested—of those I interviewed. I’ve referred to them by their first names because “Mr. Menold” or “Mrs. Bergman” didn’t feel apt, given they shared their intimate experiences with me. But where I’ve quoted from conversations that took place during the obedience experiments—which Milgram recorded on audiotape—I’ve had to refer to people by their subject number or make up a name to help you picture them more accurately. These recordings are classified until 2039, so they have been sanitized, meaning that the names of subjects have been removed before being made available. At the time of my research, 140 recordings had been made available, each of them around fifty minutes long. I spent over two hundred hours listening to and transcribing them, from which I have quoted selectively. I refer to people I didn’t meet, such as Milgram and his staff, by their surnames, as that’s how they were named in the transcripts, reports, and research documents I read. In a sense, they’re the titles by which I’ve come to know them, and it would feel like an uninvited intimacy to refer to them otherwise (even if they’re no longer around to call me on it). I struggled with how to describe the people who took part in the experiments. Were they subjects? Volunteers? Participants? Each suggests something different about the power relationship between the researcher and the researched. The term “volunteers” was misleading: they did not volunteer for the experiment they found themselves in, but for a benign-sounding memory test. And while I preferred the term “participant,” it reflects a more contemporary attitude than Milgram held. Despite my discomfort with the term “subject,” with its connotations of passivity and people-as-objects, it does more accurately reflect the attitude implicit in Milgram’s relationship to the people he studied and is a reminder to readers of the times. In the end, I used all three. I have also quoted from Milgram’s records of conversations between himself and psychiatrist Dr. Paul Errera and from the post-experiment sessions that Errera conducted for the subjects. These records have been transcribed from Milgram’s audio recordings. Lastly, when I’ve quoted from Milgram’s original documents, I’ve retained any misspellings or careless expression in order to capture his mood or give an insight into his state of mind at the time of writing. I’ve shown others this same courtesy. TIMELINE OF THE OBEDIENCE EXPERIMENTS 1960 Between September and October, Stanley Milgram and a group of his students begin a project on what will become the obedience experiments. 1961 From January to August, Milgram makes preparations for the obedience experiments. In August, they begin. Between August and November: • Joe Dimow is in condition 2. • Bill Menold is in condition 5 or 6. • Herb Winer is in condition 5 or 6. • Bob Lee is in condition 9. (See appendix for a full list of the 1962 conditions.) From January to May, the obedience experiments continue. Between March and May: • Hannah Bergman is in condition 20. • Bernardo Vittori and Enzo Cerrato are in condition 24. Milgram shoots his documentary Obedience during the last three days of the experiments, in May. Fred Prozi is one of the subjects filmed during this time. In July, Milgram sends out a questionnaire to all subjects. 1963 Between February and May, Dr. Paul Errera conducts interviews with selected subjects. In October, Milgram’s first article about the obedience research is published, causing a media storm.
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