The Use of Cultural Data in Psychological Operations Programs in Vietnam

Abstract

This is one of two reports from a research project designed to collect cultural data on rural Vietnamese--data which can be used to improve the effectiveness of psychological operations. The purpose of this report is to illustrate how the data obtained in the study can be employed in psychological operations. The data collected in the field study are presented in summary form only. To obtain this basic information, a team of researchers spent eight months in the Mekong Delta collecting data in three hamlets--one Buddhist, one Catholic, and one Cao Dai. All of the data were obtained from selected samples of the population by standardized face-to-face interviews administered by trained Vietnamese interviewers. Contents: Analysis of functional steps in psyops process; information requirements for this process; summary of data collected; scenario displaying use of data in psyops tasks; other applications of the data.