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Finding Aids to Official Records of the Smithsonian Institution Archives

Record Unit 179

Smithsonian Institution. Research Group in Psychology and the Social Sciences

Records, 1957-1963

Repository:Smithsonian Institution Archives, Washington, D.C. Contact us at osiaref@si.edu.
Creator:Smithsonian Institution. Research Group in Psychology and the Social Sciences
Title:Records
Dates:1957-1963
Quantity:3 cu. ft. (3 record storage boxes)
Collection:Record Unit 179
Language of Materials:English
Summary:

These records include Charles W. Bray's incoming and outgoing correspondence in his capacity as Special Research Director; drafts and final copies of reports written by the Research Group consultants; and bibliographies compiled for the reports. Some information files and planning records predate establishment of the Research Group.

Historical Note

In 1959, the Smithsonian Institution established the Research Group in Psychology and the Social Sciences under Defense contract Nonr 1354(08) with the Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering for the purpose of advising the latter concerning long-range research plans and programs. The Research Group consisted of sixty-five (65) leading U. S. psychologists and social scientists as consultants, with Dr. Charles W. Bray as the Special Research Director. The Scientific Officer for the contract was the Director of Defense Research and Engineering (DDRE). The closest technical contact was maintained with the Chief of the Division of Psychology and Social Sciences in the Office of Science, later the Office of the Assistant Director for Research, DDRE. In addition, close contact was maintained, particularly in the final year of the contract (1963), with the Group Psychology branch, Psychological Sciences Division, Office of Naval Research.

The Research Group conducted research and research planning studies in the Area of psychological and social sciences which included, but was not limited to the following: (1) Design and use of man-machine systems; (2) Human performance capabilities and limitations; (3) Decision processes; (4) Team functions; (5) Persuasion and motivation; and (6) Adaptation of complex organizations to changing demands. A series of reports was issued under the contract on the subjects listed above and extensive advice was furnished to the Department of Defense concerning implementation through the Advanced Research Projects Agency of some of the recommendations contained in the reports. In the first phase of the contract, emphasis was placed on the psychological knowledge needed by the Department of Defense in order to improve the management of its own personnel. The second phase included a series of studies, with emphasis on the social science research needed by the Department of Defense to improve its operations in relation to the peoples of other nations and cultures. These studies culminated in Social Science Research and National Security, published by the Office of Naval Research in 1963.

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Descriptive Entry

These records constitute the files of the Smithsonian Institution's Research Group in Psychology and the Social Sciences (1959-1963). Records consist of a joint name/subject file, arranged alphabetically. Included are Charles W. Bray's incoming and outgoing correspondence in his capacity as Special Research Director; drafts and final copies of reports written by the Research Group consultants; bibliographies compiled for the reports, etc.

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This collection is indexed under the following access terms. These are links to collections with related topics, persons or places.

Name

Subject

Physical Characteristics of Materials in the Collection

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Preferred Citation

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 179, Smithsonian Institution, Research Group in Psychology and the Social Sciences, Records

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Container List

Box 1

A - Miscellaneous, 1960

Box 1 of 3

Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) - Behavioral Sciences Council, 1961-1963

Box 1 of 3

ARPA - Command and Control, 1963

Box 1 of 3

Air Force Office of Scientific Research, 1961

Box 1 of 3

Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, 1959-1961

Box 1 of 3

Arms Control, 1961-1962

Box 1 of 3

Army, Human Factors Research and Development Programs, 1959-1963

Box 1 of 3

Army Key Scientists Meeting, 1960

Box 1 of 3

A.S.A.G. (Army Symp. Adv. Group), 1961

Box 1 of 3

B - Miscellaneous, 1960-1962

Box 1 of 3

Baker, Dr. Lynn, 1960-1961

Box 1 of 3

Bauer, Dr. Raymond A., 1961

Box 1 of 3

Biderman, Dr. Albert D., 1962

Box 1 of 3

Borgatta, Dr. Edgar F., 1959-1961

Box 1 of 3

Bower, Dr. Robert T., 1960

Box 1 of 3

Brady, Maj. Joseph V., 1960

Box 1 of 3

Bronfenbrenner, Dr. Urie, 1960-1962

Box 1 of 3

Burke, Dr. Fred G., 1960-1961

Box 1 of 3

C - Miscellaneous, 1961-1962

Box 1 of 3

Carmichael, Dr. Leonard C., 1960-1963

Box 1 of 3

Carter, Dr. Launor F., 1961

Box 1 of 3

Chapman, Dr. Robert L., 1959-1962

Box 1 of 3

Coale, Dr. Ansley J., 1961-1963

Box 1 of 3

Consultants - General Instructions, 1959-1963

Box 1 of 3

Consultants, List of, 1961

Box 1 of 3

Contract, 1959-1963

Box 1 of 3

D - Miscellaneous, 1962

Box 1 of 3

Davison, Dr. W. Phillips, 1959-1963

Box 1 of 3

Deutsch, Dr. Morton, 1961

Box 1 of 3

Director of Defense Research and Engineering (DDRE) - Ad hoc advisory group on psychology and the social sciences, 1957

Box 1 of 3

Director of Defense Research and Engineering (DDRE) - Defense Science Board, 1960-1963

Box 1 of 3

DDRE - Comments on Draft Report dated 26 June 1963, 1963

Box 1 of 3

Duhl, Dr. Leonard J., 1960-1961

Box 1 of 3

E - Miscellaneous, 1962-1963

Box 1 of 3

Eckstein, Dr. Harry E., 1961-1962 (2 folders)

Box 1 of 3

Eckstein for clearance, 1961

Box 1 of 3

Ellsberg, Daniel, 1961-1962

Box 1 of 3

F - Miscellaneous, 1961-1963

Box 1 of 3

Federal Council for Science and Technology, 1961

Box 1 of 3

Fleishman, Dr. Edwin A., 1959-1962

Box 1 of 3

Frick, Dr. Frederick C., 1961

Box 1 of 3

Friedman, Dr. Julian R., 1960

Box 1 of 3

Fritz, Dr. Charles E., 1960-1961

Box 1 of 3

G. - Miscellaneous, 1960-1962

Box 1 of 3

Gagne, Dr. Robert M., 1959-1963

Box 1 of 3

Guided Missiles Training, 1958-1959

Box 1 of 3

H - Miscellaneous, 1960-1963

Box 1 of 3

Halsey, Prof. A. H., 1960-1961

Box 1 of 3

Howland, Dr. Daniel, 1959-1963

Box 1 of 3

Human Sciences Research, Inc., 1960

Box 1 of 3

Human Sciences Research - briefing, ca. 1970

Box 1 of 3

Hutchinson, Dr. Charles E., 1960-1961

Box 1 of 3

I - Miscellaneous, 1962-1963

Box 1 of 3

Indigenous leaders, 1960-1961

Box 1 of 3

Institute for Defense Analyses, 1961-1962

Box 1 of 3

Box 2

J - Miscellaneous, 1963

Box 2 of 3

Janowitz, Dr. Morris, 1959-1963

Box 2 of 3

Joint Chiefs of Staff Idea Program, 1960

Box 2 of 3

K - Miscellaneous, 1961-1963

Box 2 of 3

Kendler, Dr. Howard H., 1959

Box 2 of 3

Kennedy, Dr. John L., 1960-1962

Box 2 of 3

Knorr, Dr. Klaus, 1959-1963

Box 2 of 3

Kornhauser, Dr. William A., 1959

Box 2 of 3

L - Miscellaneous, 1959

Box 2 of 3

Lanier, Dr. Lyle H., 1959-1961

Box 2 of 3

Leites, Nathan, 1960-1961

Box 2 of 3

Licklider, Dr. J. C. R., 1961

Box 2 of 3

Limited War, 1961

Box 2 of 3

Lindblom, Dr. Charles E., 1960

Box 2 of 3

Long, Dr. George E., 1961

Box 2 of 3

M - Miscellaneous, 1960-1961

Box 2 of 3

McConnell, Dr. James V., 1959

Box 2 of 3

McGrath, Dr. Joseph E., 1960

Box 2 of 3

McRae, Dr. Vincent V., 1961-1962

Box 2 of 3

Melton, Dr. Arthur W., 1960-1961

Box 2 of 3

Miller, Dr. Robert B., 1959-1962

Box 2 of 3

Millikan, Dr. Max F., 1960

Box 2 of 3

Mitchell, Col. P. H., 1959-1960

Box 2 of 3

Morgan, Dr. Clifford T., 1959-1960

Box 2 of 3

Nadel, Aaron B., 1961

Box 2 of 3

National Research Council (NRC) - Committee on the Use of Electronic Computers in Life Sciences, 1961

Box 2 of 3

NRC - Division of Behavioral Sciences, 1960-1963

Box 2 of 3

National Science Foundation, 1962

Box 2 of 3

Neff, Dr. William D., 1960

Box 2 of 3

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) - Advisory Group on Defense Psychology, 1962-1963

Box 2 of 3

NATO Symposium, July 27-29, 1960

Box 2 of 3

NATO Symposium, August 14-17, 1963

Box 2 of 3

NATO - Von Karman Report, early suggestions, 1958-1962

Box 2 of 3

NATO - Von Karman Report, Participants and Minutes, Paris, February, 1963

Box 2 of 3

Office of Naval Research (ONR), 1963

Box 2 of 3

Orlansky, Dr. Jesse, 1960-1961

Box 2 of 3

Osgood, Dr. Charles E., 1961

Box 2 of 3

P - Miscellaneous, 1961-1963

Box 2 of 3

Pool, Dr. Ithiel de Sola, 1961-1963

Box 2 of 3

Pool Report, 1960

Box 2 of 3

President's Science Advisory Committee, 1958-1963

Box 2 of 3

Preston, Dr. Harley, 1960-1962

Box 2 of 3

Pye, Lucian W., 1960-1963

Box 2 of 3

R - Miscellaneous, 1961-1963

Box 2 of 3

Rath, Dr. Gustave J., 1959-1962

Box 2 of 3

Reynolds, Dr. Orr E., 1960-1961

Box 2 of 3

Riley, Dr. John W., Jr., 1960-1963

Box 2 of 3

Rosenblith, Dr. Walter, 1960

Box 2 of 3

Rowen, Harry, 1960-1962

Box 2 of 3

S - Miscellaneous, 1960-1963

Box 2 of 3

Safe, Carmichael's, 1962-1963

Box 2 of 3

Schelling, Dr. Thomas C., 1960-1963

Box 2 of 3

Schramm, Dr. Wilbur L. (Chairman), 1959-1962

Box 2 of 3

Security, 1959-1962

Box 2 of 3

Security Clearances - Consultants, 1959-1962

Box 2 of 3

Security Manual, 1960-1962

Box 2 of 3

Self-Programming Computers, 1960

Box 2 of 3

Selznick, Dr. Philip, 1959-1963

Box 2 of 3

Shartle, Dr. Carroll L., 1961-1963

Box 2 of 3

Shepard, Herbert A., 1959-1960

Box 2 of 3

Shimkin, Dr. Demitri B., 1960-1961

Box 2 of 3

Social Science Research and National Security (Book), 1962-1963

Box 2 of 3

Box 3

Social Science Research and National Security: Distribution Lists, 1962-1963

Box 3 of 3

Social Science Research and National Security: Front Pages, final, 1963

Box 3 of 3

Speier, Dr. Hans, 1960-1961

Box 3 of 3

Steering Group Progress Reports, 1957-1962

Box 3 of 3

Steering Group Social Science Studies, 1960-1962

Box 3 of 3

Stein, Dr. Morris I., 1960

Box 3 of 3

Supplies, 1959-1963

Box 3 of 3

System Development Corporation, 1961-1963

Box 3 of 3

T - Miscellaneous, 1962

Box 3 of 3

Task Group - Complex Organization, 1959-1963

Box 3 of 3

Task Group - Decision Processes, 1959-1962

Box 3 of 3

Task Group - Human Performance, 1959-1962

Box 3 of 3

Task Group - Man-Machine Systems, 1959-1962

Box 3 of 3

Task Group - Persuasion and Motivation, 1959-1962

Box 3 of 3

Task Group - Team Functions, 1959-1962

Box 3 of 3

Technology of Human Behavior and Coordinating Committee on Science & Defense Science Board, 1960-1962

Box 3 of 3

Technology of Human Behavior - Comments, 1960-1963

Box 3 of 3

Technology of Human Behavior - Program Costs, 1960

Box 3 of 3

Thomson, Dr. Charles A. H., 1960-1963

Box 3 of 3

"Toward a Technology of Human Behavior for Defense Use" (American Psychologists, 1962)

Box 3 of 3

U - Miscellaneous, 1962-1963

Box 3 of 3

Vollmer, Dr. Howard M., 1959

Box 3 of 3

W - Miscellaneous, 1961-1963

Box 3 of 3

Wolfle, Dr. Dael L., 1960

Box 3 of 3