Earlier this week, I spent a long, long day—from 5:30 a.m. until 8:20 p.m.—as a poll worker. As always, I came home exhausted, feeling virtuous, civic-minded, and happy. I always have a great time.

Using archival notes and new interviews, Australian psychologist Perry (Behind the Shock Machine) looks at a notable 1954 experiment in Oklahoma’s remote Robbers Cave State Park in her unsatisfying ...