Saving a victim from himself: The rhetoric of the learner’s presence and absence in the Milgram experiments
Corresponding Author
David Kaposi
The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
Correspondence should be addressed to David Kaposi, The Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK (email: [email protected]).
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
David Kaposi
The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
Correspondence should be addressed to David Kaposi, The Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK (email: [email protected]).
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
This paper contests what has remained a core assumption in social psychological and general understandings of the Milgram experiments. Analysing the learner/victim’s rhetoric in experimental sessions across five conditions (N = 170), it demonstrates that what participants were exposed to was not the black-and-white scenario of being pushed towards continuation by the experimental authority and pulled towards discontinuation by the learner/victim. Instead, the traditionally posited explicit collision of ‘forces’ or ‘identities’ was at all points of the experiments undermined by an implicit collusion between them: rendering the learner/victim a divided and contradictory subject, and the experimental process a constantly shifting and paradoxical experiential-moral field. As a result, the paper concludes that evaluating the participants’ conduct requires an understanding of the experiments where morality and non-destructive agency were not simple givens to be applied to a transparent case, but had to be re-created anew – in the face not just of their explicit denial by the experimenter but also of their implicit denial by the victim.
Conflicts of interest
All authors declare no conflict of interest.
Open Research
Data availability statement
Research data may be shared on request.
Supporting Information
Filename | Description |
---|---|
bjso12369-sup-0001-AppendixS1.docxWord document, 11.2 KB | Appendix S1. Transcription conventions. |
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
References
- Arendt, H. (2003). Responsibility and judgment. New York, NY: Schocken Books.
- Augoustinos, M., & Tileaga, C. (2012). Twenty five years of discursive psychology. British Journal of Social Psychology, 51, 405–412. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8309.2012.02096.x
- Billig, M. (1996). Arguing and thinking: A rhetorical approach to psychology ( 2nd ed .). London, UK: Cambridge UP.
- Billig, M. (1999a). Freudian repression: Conversation creating the unconscious. London, UK: Cambridge University Press.
10.1017/CBO9780511490088 Google Scholar
- Billig, M. (1999b). Whose terms? Whose ordinariness? Rhetoric and ideology in conversation analysis. Discourse and Society, 10, 543–558. https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926599010004005
- Billig, M. (2006). A psychoanalytic discursive psychology: From consciousness to unconsciousness. Discourse Studies, 8, 17–24. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445606059546
- Brannigan, A., Nicholson, I., & Cherry, F. (2015). Introduction to the special issue: Unplugging the Milgram machine. Theory & Psychology, 25, 551–563. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354315604408
- Byford, J. (2018). The emotional and political power of images of suffering: Discursive psychology and study of visual rhetoric. In S. Gibson (Ed.), Discourse, peace and conflict: Discursive psychology perspectives (pp. 285–302). London, UK: Springer.
10.1007/978-3-319-99094-1_16 Google Scholar
- Eco, U. (1988). Horns, hooves, insteps: Some hypotheses on three types of abduction. In U. Eco & T. Sebeok (Eds.), The sign of three: Dupin, Holmes, Peirce (pp. 198–220). Bloomington, IN: Indiana UP.
- Edwards, D. (2007). Managing subjectivity in talk. In A. Hepburn & A. S. Wiggins (Eds.), Discursive research in practice – New approaches to psychology in interaction (pp. 31–49). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Edwards, D. (2012). Discursive and scientific psychology. British Journal of Social Psychology, 51, 425–435. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8309.2012.02103.x
- Frosh, S., & Baraitser, L. (2008). Psychoanalysis and psychosocial studies. Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society, 13, 346–365. https://doi.org/10.1057/pcs.2008.8
10.1057/pcs.2008.8 Google Scholar
- Frosh, S., Phoenix, A., & Pattman, R. (2003). Taking a stand: Using psychoanalysis to explore the positioning of subjects in discourse. British Journal of Social Psychology, 42, 39–53. https://doi.org/10.1348/014466603763276117
- Gibson, S. (2013a). Milgram’s obedience experiments: A rhetorical analysis. British Journal of Social Psychology, 52, 290–309. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8309.2011.02070.x
- Gibson, S. (2013b). “The last possible resort”: A forgotten prod and the in situ standardization of Stanley Milgram’s voice-feedback condition. History of Psychology, 16, 177–194. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032430
- Gibson, S. (2014). Discourse, defiance and rationality: 'Knowledge work' in the 'obedience' experiments. Journal of Social Issues, 70, 424–438. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12069
- Gibson, S. (2017). Developing psychology’s archival sensibilities: Re-visiting Milgram’s ‘obedience’ experiments. Qualitative Psychology, 4, 73–89. https://doi.org/10.1037/qup0000040
10.1037/qup0000040 Google Scholar
- Gibson, S. (2019a). Arguing, obeying, and defying: A rhetorical perspective on Stanley Milgram’s obedience experiments. London, UK: Cambridge UP.
10.1017/9781108367943 Google Scholar
- Gibson, S. (2019b). Obedience without orders: Expanding social psychology’s conception of “obedience”. British Journal of Social Psychology, 58(1), 241–259. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12272
- Greco, M., & Stenner, P. (2017). From paradox to pattern shift: Conceptualising liminal hotspots and their affective dynamics. Theory & Psychology, 27(2), 147–166. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354317693120
- Haslam, S. A., & Reicher, S. D. (2012). Contesting the “nature” of conformity: What Milgram and Zimbardo’s studies really show. PLoS Biology, 10(11), e1001426. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001426
- Haslam, S. A., & Reicher, S. D. (2017). 50 years of “obedience to authority”: From blind obedience to engaged followership. Annual Review of Law and Social Science, 13, 59–78. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-110316-113710
- Haslam, S. A., & Reicher, S. D. (2018). A truth that does not always speak its name: How Hollander and Turowetz’s findings confirm and extend the engaged followership analysis of harm-doing in the Milgram paradigm. British Journal of Social Psychology, 57(2), 292–300. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12247
- Haslam, S. A., Reicher, S. D., & Birney, M. (2014). Nothing by mere authority: Evidence that in an experimental analogue of the Milgram paradigm participants are motivated not by orders but by appeals to science. Journal of Social Issues, 70, 473–488. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12072
- Haslam, S. A., Reicher, S. D., & Birney, M. E. (2016). Questioning authority: New perspectives on Milgram’s ‘obedience’ research and its implications for intergroup relations. Current Opinion in Psychology, 11, 6–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2016.03.007
- Haslam, S. A., Reicher, S. D., Millard, K., & McDonald, R. (2015). “Happy to have been of service”: The Yale archive as a window into the engaged followership of participants in Milgram’s ‘obedience’ experiments. British Journal of Social Psychology, 54, 55–83. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12074
- Hollander, M. M. (2015). The repertoire of resistance: Non-compliance with directives in Milgram’s “obedience” experiments. British Journal of Social Psychology, 54, 425–444. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12099
- Hollander, M., & Maynard, D. (2016). Do unto others…? Methodological advance and self- versus other-attentive resistance in Milgram’s “obedience” experiments. Social Psychological Quarterly, 79, 355–375. https://doi.org/10.1177/0190272516648967
- Hollander, M., & Turowetz, J. (2017). Normalising trust: Participants’ immediate post-hoc explanations of behaviour in Milgram’s “obedience” experiments. British Journal of Social Psychology, 56, 655–674. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12206
- Hollway, W., & Jefferson, T. (2005). Panic and perjury: A psychosocial exploration of agency. British Journal of Social Psychology, 44, 147–163. https://doi.org/10.1348/014466604X18983
- Hollway, W., & Jefferson, T. (2017). Doing qualitative research differently: A psychosocial approach. London, UK: Sage.
- Kaposi, D. (2012). Truth and rhetoric: The promise of John Dean's memory to the discipline of psychology. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 42(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5914.2011.00473.x
- Kaposi, D. (2013). The crooked timber of identity: Integrating discursive, critical, and psychosocial analysis. British Journal of Social Psychology, 52, 310–328. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8309.2011.02074.x
- Kaposi, D. (2017). The resistance experiments: Morality, authority and obedience in Stanley Milgram’s account. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 47, 382–401. https://doi.org/10.1111/jtsb.12137
- Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioral study of obedience. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67, 371–378. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0040525
- Milgram, S. (1965). Some conditions of obedience and disobedience to authority. Human Relations, 18, 57–76. https://doi.org/10.1177/001872676501800
- Milgram, S. (1974). Obedience to authority: An experimental view. New York, NY: Harper and Row.
- Miller, A. G. (1986). The obedience experiments: A case study of controversy in social science. New York, NY: Praeger.
- Miller, A. G. (2009). Reflections on “Replicating Milgram” (Burger, 2009). American Psychologist, 64, 20–27. https://doi.org/10.1037/a001440
- Mixon, D. (1972). Instead of deception. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 2, 145–174. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5914.1972.tb00309.x
10.1111/j.1468-5914.1972.tb00309.x Google Scholar
- Mixon, D. (1989). Obedience and civilization: Authorized crime and the normality of evil. London, UK: Pluto Press.
- Modigliani, A., & Rochat, F. (1995). The role of interaction sequences and the timing of resistance in shaping obedience and defiance to authority. Journal of Social Issues, 51, 107–123. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1995.tb01337.x
- Nicholson, I. (2011). Torture at Yale”: Experimental subjects, laboratory torment and the “rehabilitation” of Milgram’s “obedience to authority”. Theory & Psychology, 21, 737–761. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354311420199
- Nicholson, I. (2015). The normalisation of torment: Producing and managing anguish in Milgram’s “obedience” laboratory. Theory & Psychology, 25, 639–656. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354315605393
- Packer, D. (2008). Identifying systematic disobedience in Milgram’s obedience experiments: A meta-analytic review. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3, 301–304. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppsc.2008.3.issue-4.105
- Perry, G. (2012). Behind the shock machine: The untold story of the notorious Milgram psychology experiments. London, UK: Scribe.
- Perry, G. (2013). Deception and illusion in Milgram’s accounts of the obedience experiments. Theoretical & Applied Ethics, 2, 79–92.
- Potter, J. (2010). Contemporary discursive psychology: Issues, prospects and Corcoran’s awkward ontology. British Journal of Social Psychology, 49, 657–678. https://doi.org/10.1348/014466610X486158
- Potter, J. (2012). Re-reading Discourse and Social Psychology: Transforming social psychology. British Journal of Social Psychology, 51, 436–455. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8309.2011.02085.x
- Reicher, S., Haslam, A., & Miller, A. (2014). What makes a person a perpetrator? The intellectual, moral, and methodological arguments for revisiting Milgram’s research on the influence of authority. Journal of Social Issues, 70, 393–408. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12067
- Reicher, S., Haslam, A., & Smith, J. (2012). Working towards the experimenter: Reconceptualizing obedience within the Milgram paradigm as identification based followership. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 7, 315–324. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691612448482
- Reicher, S., & Haslam, S. A. (2011). After shock? Towards a social identity explanation of the Milgram “obedience” studies. British Journal of Social Psychology, 50, 163–169. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8309.2010.02015.x
- Rochat, F., & Modigliani, A. (1997). Authority: Obedience, defiance, and identification in experimental and historical contexts. In M. Gold & E. Douvan (Eds.), A new outline of social psychology (pp. 235–246). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
10.1037/10225-013 Google Scholar
- Ross, L., & Nisbett, R. E. (1991). The person and the situation: Perspectives of social psychology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
- Russell, N. J. C. (2011). Milgram’s obedience to authority experiments: Origins and early evolution. British Journal of Social Psychology, 50, 140–162. https://doi.org/10.1348/014466610X492205
- Russell, N. J. C. (2014). The emergence of Milgram’s bureaucratic machine. Journal of Social Issues, 70, 409–423. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12068
- Russell, N. J. C. (2018). Understanding willing participants: Vol. I. London, UK: Palgrave.
10.1007/978-3-319-95816-3 Google Scholar
- Schegloff, E. (1998). Reply to Wetherell. Discourse and Society, 9, 413–416. https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926598009003006
- Schegloff, E. (1999). Naivety vs sophistication or discipline vs self-indulgence: A rejoinder to Billig. Discourse and Society, 10, 577–582. https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926599010004008
- Smith, J., Flowers, P., & Larkin, M. (2009). Interpretative phenomenological analysis. London, UK: Sage.
- Stenner, P. (2017). Liminality and experience: A transdisciplinary approach to the psychosocial. London, UK: Palgrave.
10.1057/978-1-137-27211-9 Google Scholar
- Taylor, S. (2015). Discursive and psychosocial? Theorising a complex contemporary subject. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 12(1), 8–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2014.958340
- Wetherell, M. (2012). Affect and emotion: A new social science understanding. London, UK: Sage.
10.4135/9781446250945 Google Scholar
- Willig, C., & Stainton-Rogers, W. (2017). The SAGE handbook of qualitative research in psychology ( 2nd ed.). London, UK: Sage.
10.4135/9781526405555 Google Scholar
- Zimbardo, P. G. (1974). On “obedience to authority”. American Psychologist, 29, 566–567.