9408218 Shore This research project involves a student of cultural anthropology from Emory University studying the cultural models of interpersonal behavior used by Cambodian peasants. The methods to be used include participant observation, surveys of village inhabitants in a small community, observation of children's activities and caretaking, analysis of records and other archives, and video-taping and audiotaping of interactions. The student will describe and analyze the cultural models which govern interpersonal behavior within the family and community where peace generally reigns and in other social and political contexts where violent acts are common. The hypothesis to be tested is that Cambodians have well-formed cultural models governing rules of interaction in different contexts which can be characterized as aggressive" or "peaceful", and that individuals pick and choose the governing model depending upon the social context. This research is important because violence is a subject of much concern in today's world. If we are to further our understanding of such phenomena, we must carefully examine the different contexts in which aggression does or doe not arise. This research provides a theoretical framework and methodology to analyze violence. By not typologizing people as "violent" or "peaceful", this cultural models approach illustrates that people can switch cognitive codes in different situations in order to control the amount of violence that occurs. By examining the cultural models that inform Cambodian behavior the student will be making a contribution to our understanding of aggression in Southeast Asia and in comparable situations in general.
