Behavioral Grooves Podcast Are You Too Agreeable? | Dr. Sunita Sah
Mar 9, 2026
Sunita Sah, an organizational psychologist and physician who studies why good people comply, chats about the psychology of obedience and the courage to say no. She explores Milgram’s shock studies, the hidden force of insinuation anxiety, the power of the pause, stages of defiance, and how to practice quiet resistance and moral maverick habits.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Defiance Reframed As Value-Aligned Action
- Defiance is acting in accordance with your true values when there's pressure to do otherwise.
- Sunita Sah reframes defiance from loud confrontation to a pro-social practice accessible to everyone.
Milgram Shows Tension Without Successful Refusal
- Milgram's shock experiments showed 65% of participants delivered shocks up to 450 volts despite visible distress from the learner.
- Many participants showed nervous laughter and tension, indicating they felt conflict but lacked skills to refuse orders.
Knowledge And Values Enable Resistance
- People who resisted Milgram had knowledge or strong values guiding them, like an engineer who understood voltage or a priest invoking higher authority.
- Knowledge, values, and practiced defiance skills together enable saying no under pressure.
