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Behind the Shock Machine: the untold story of the notorious Milgram psychology experiments by [Perry, Gina]

Behind the Shock Machine: the untold story of the notorious Milgram psychology experiments Kindle Edition

by Gina Perry (Author)

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The true story of the most controversial psychological research of the modern era.

In the summer of 1961, a group of men and women volunteered for a memory experiment to be conducted by young, dynamic psychologist Stanley Milgram. None could have imagined that, once seated in the lab, they would be placed in front of a box known as a shock machine and asked to administer a series of electric shocks to a man they’d just met. And no one could have foreseen how the repercussions of their actions, made under pressure and duress, would reverberate throughout their lives. For what the volunteers did not know was that the man was an actor, the shocks were fake, and what was really being tested was just how far they would go.

When Milgram’s results were released, they created a worldwide sensation. He reported that people had repeatedly shocked a man they believed to be in pain, even dying, because they had been told to — he linked the finding to Nazi behaviour during the Holocaust. But some questioned Milgram’s unethical methods in fooling people. Milgram became both hero and villain, and his work seized the public imagination for more than half a century, inspiring books, plays, films, and art.

For Gina Perry, the story of the experiments never felt finished. Listening to participants’ accounts and reading Milgram’s unpublished files and notebooks, she pieced together an intriguing, sensational story: Milgram’s plans went further than anyone had imagined. This is the compelling tale of one man’s ambition and of the experiment that defined a generation.

Length: 432 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
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Product details

File Size: 1141 KB
Print Length: 432 pages
Publisher: Scribe (April 26, 2012)
Publication Date: April 26, 2012
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B007NOI2YC
Text-to-Speech: Enabled

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Word Wise: Enabled
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Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,327,771 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #294 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Counseling & Psychology > Experimental Psychology
- #302 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Biographies & Memoirs > Professionals & Academics > Social Scientists & Psychologists
- #529 in Books > Medical Books > Psychology > Experimental Psychology

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William Ashcraft

worth reading

March 22, 2014

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

The writer of this book, Australian journalist Gina Perry, began her research to discover why Milgram's famous psychological experiments were so dreadful. What she discovered instead, and brings the reader along in this discovery, is the very human, messy, complex story of not just Milgram, but many of the subjects of his experiments as well as the people who helped him conduct the experiments. Throughout the book the writer shares with the reader her reflections, doubts, and insights as she journeys toward completing the research for this book. The book shows that there's more to this story than merely proving that we are all capable of doing harmful things to others under the right circumstances.

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Sally D. Bailey

A Must Read for Social Scientists

August 3, 2014

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Really fascinating look at how of Stanley Milgram set up and ran his experiments. Should be read by every person doing research in social sciences…and journalism (in order to understand what questions to ask before writing about results of an experiment). So many ethical lapses that I groaned numerous times.

3 people found this helpful

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September 5, 2013

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

I had heard an interview with the author on NPR a week or so before this book was published and preordered it as a result. It brought back memories of my good fortune to have been a student in a senior seminar taught by Dr. Solomon Asch, Milgram's teacher and prominently mentioned in Dr. Perry's book. A good portion of the seminar was taken up with Dr. Asch's "conformity" experiments. I put quotations around the word because he made clear that he had actually moved away from Social Psychology because of the way that work was presented-as indicating people were very prone to conform which was how it had been presented in my introductory psychology class. He was adamant that in fact significant pressure had to be brought to bear to induce that result while if even one confederate gave the correct answer the number of subjects who were then "independent" jumped tremendously. He wanted his students to see the many variables involved and the complexity of people's understanding of what was happening and thus their responses. Dr. Perry's book is certainly in that tradition not only in trying to tease out the actual details of the Milgram experiments but keeping front and center that in doing so there remains the possibility that she is presenting things according to her own "confirmation bias", a lesson within a lesson.

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Ernie Nokovacs

After thoroughly familiarizing herself with Milgram's archival material, Ms ...

February 13, 2015

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

After thoroughly familiarizing herself with Milgram's archival material, Ms Perry has a written a provocative book containing an abundance of new information about Milgram, his research associates (Williams and McDonough), the experimental participants, procedures, and results. Her book significantly contributes to a more critical approach to Milgram's obedience experiments. The hardback text could be greatly improved by including an "index."

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December 20, 2013

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

As someone studying this experiment as the book was published, naturally, I ordered it. As a detailed explanation of not only the famous first experiment, but also other experiments following on from that, I found this book a terrific (and much more nuanced) introduction to the infamous Milgram shock machine experiments than the usual brief précis of the experiments as evidence that (mostly) we'll all do exactly as told. Milgram's experiments, like Safir's work with the Robbers Cave experiments are worthy of much revisiting and this work does not disappoint.

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September 3, 2013

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This is a valuable book because based on Milgram's reports alone we do not know how many different experiments were run and how different the results were across studies, i.e., actually between 0 and 100% obedience in the various conditions. It shows Milgram was trying to prove a personal point rather than trying to build a theory of obedience. He seemd interested in publicity than objective science. It also shows that he lied about debriefing the subjects

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NEdwards

How stories become the truth.

October 7, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Gina Perry demonstrates - one more time - how a story repeated often enough becomes the truth. While from the very beginning Milgram had his doubts, and respected researchers challenged the methods and conclusions, the main STORY survived and became the over-arching "truth".

Quoting one of the scientists the author interviews: There's much, much more going on in history than goes on in the lab."

This book is must reading for anyone who is a fan of Dr. Cialdini - I count myself in that group. Milgram's experiments are cited in his chapter on authority. It will be interesting to get his reaction.

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March 14, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Ms. Perry has done a terrific job of telling an important part of the Milgram story that has been overlooked in previous accounts. In doing so, she debunks a common misconception, which I shared, about the dehoaxing of Milgram participants.

Jon Taylor

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Most recent customer reviews

Jan Peczkis

Sophisticated Deconstruction of Milgram’s “Anyone Can Become a Nazi Killer” Experiments. Implications For German Guilt-Dilution

Some critics of this book have implied the author is unqualified. Whether in agreement with her or not, the objective reader will quickly realize that she is.Read more

Published 1 year ago

Samuel A. Nigro

suppressed facts...

Book Review of Behind the Shock Machine: The Untold Story of the Notorious Milgrim Psychology Experiments By Gina Perry, The New Press, 2012, 2013, 339 Pages.Read more

Published on April 22, 2016

Frank P.

good perspective

Many unexpected insights.

Published on June 29, 2015

Natan Avram

a fake book by a fake psychologist

This is an awful and entirely dishonest book by Gina Perry. It is purple long-winded prose written by an extremely narcissistic writer.Read more

Published on October 8, 2014

Amazon Customer

I never quite bought the whole theory that Stanley Milgram ...

I never quite bought the whole theory that Stanley Milgram was supposed to have "proven", despite many persons in authority telling me I must do so.

Published on September 6, 2014

California Surfer

why not to buy this book

Primary Distortion: Ignoring Writings of Book Subject. The primary distortion that Perry makes in this book, and the hyperventilating publicity that she concocted to hawk this...Read more

Published on May 16, 2014

Reid Harrod Jr

The other story...

Perry's interviews breakthrough the obfuscation inherent in the art of social psychology. And man was Milgram an artist. Thank you Gina Perry!

Published on March 2, 2014

Amy Werman

A lesson in critical thinking!

Mention the Milgram study and the common understanding is that anyone could succumb to doing horrible deeds if ordered by an authority.Read more

Published on February 12, 2014

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