This project, supported with a Small Grant for Exploratory Research, will collect archival material and oral histories from behavioral scientists who were central in the creation of `disasters research` for the Civil Defense Administration during the years 1951-62. Disasters research is a category of behavioral science that views disasters as opportunities for studying social processes (e.g., leadership, role behavior, social perception) in extreme circumstances. Its rise and development offer insight into the state of U.S. behavioral science during the Cold War years. The main purpose of this award is to gather archival material and conduct oral interviews with five principal scientists involved in that effort, many of whom are now quite elderly. Unless this effort is undertaken immediately, the material may be lost.
