THE SIMULMATICS CORPORATION

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OBSERVATIONS ON PSYCHODYNAMIC STRUCTURES IN
VIETNAMESE PERSONALITY

(INITIAL REPORT ON PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY - VIETNAM, 1966)

Walter H. Slote, Ph.D.

During the seven weeks that were spent in the field in Saigon, data was collected on four informants. Although the number of sessions per informant varied, each was regularly seen for approximately two hours each day (actually this ranged from one to seven hours), five to seven days per weeks.

The essential criteria used in selection were that the views of each informant differ from those of the present regime, that each be an activist, and that the group to which he belonged represent a significant bloc of influence in the conduct of affairs in South Viet Nam. In addition, it emerged that three were, in varying degrees of intensity and focus, critical of the American position--or what they conceived to be the American position (a much more essential consideration for the purposes of this study).

The aim of the research was that of attempting to understand at least some of the strands of the character structure of four individuals; the underlying dynamics which had led to their evolving into the kinds of persons they had become, and which had resulted in their assuming specific positions in their particular community of protest. All four were effective in the roles which

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either had been assigned to them through a chain of circumstances or which, by virtue of particular capacity and interest, they had naturally assumed; all were dedicated to their positions and convinced of the rightness of their cause; and all were unique and distinguishable within the panorama of Vietnamese society.

After some quite realistic hesitancy, all were extremely cooperative. As the interviews developed, the initial distrust of the motivation behind the research gave way to a very real commitment to its purpose, and to what they themselves were learning in the process. With the exception of the Viet Cong member, and to a lesser extent the intellectual, certain rather deep human dimensions developed in our relationship, and when the research was ended, we parted with reluctance.

The following four informants were selected:

1. The leader of most of the more effective demonstrations of the past two years (primarily Buddhist and student), who, through his own direct efforts, reputedly brought down one of the more repressive interim governments. He was seen while in hiding.

2. A senior Buddhist monk, a faculty member of three Vietnamese universities, and member of the upper echelon of the Buddhist hierarchy, administratively responsible for carrying out one important dimension of the Buddhist secular program.

3. A Viet Cong terrorist, the leader of the sabotage squad

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that bombed 7 installations, including the United States Embassy, the Metropole BOQ, and the Me Canh Restaurant, whose avowed purpose in life was that of killing Americans, "destroying the American Imperialist," and instituting a style of communism that he conceived only in a most vague and inadequate manner. He was seen in the police interrogation center where he was imprisoned.

4. One of Vietnam's outstanding intellectuals and writers: a man with a long and effective history of political activism - for which he had served many years in prison and had been condemned to death - talented in a number of important fields, experienced and knowledgeable in international political and cultural affairs, and extremely sophisticated in his view of the world.

This research was based upon the assumption that to the extent that we can understand the life pattern of the individual, we can then understand some of the psychodynamic forces that motivate others. Motivational and behavioral systems are not unique; if they are found in one, then they apply to others, although not necessarily all others. The deeper the motivation in terms of layering of consciousness, the more likely it is to represent universals which can be validly extrapolated. There is wide variance in behavioral style from one person to another and there may be significant variation in individual motivation on a conscious or subconscious level for a particular act, but the deeper one probes into the unconscious, the more likely one is to find patterns which are broadly applicable. On these levels men are more alike than not.

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["The American people are now being offered a choice between two candidates for the administration. The moreliberal and the more conservative candidates are, respectively, the two candidates of the Democratic and Republican parties. The former, in its turn, is offering to the American people two candidates, one of whom is a man who has been a member of Congress for more than twenty years, and the other a man who has been a member of the other House for more than twenty years. The former candidate is a man who has been a member of Congress for more than twenty years, and who has been a member of the other House for more than twenty years. The latter candidate is a man who has been a member of Congress for more than twenty years, and who has been a member of the other House for more than twenty years. 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During the research, certain impressions were formed. These not only came through the life data of those seen extensively, but were buttressed by contact with others, especially those met through the aegis of the informants themselves. Certain early generalizations can be suggested. It should be understood that the sample was too small to extrapolate with regard to the society as a whole, or to any segment of that society. What can be said with some degree of validity is that these generalizations apply to those who were seen, and that on this basis they can be used as hypotheses for future research and are considerations to be kept in mind when evaluating Vietnamese behavioral patterns on an individual, and perhaps, at times, a national scale. These preliminary impressions will be checked as the analysis of the data proceeds, but a statement is relevant at this point.

One further qualifying note. Unless specifically included, the following statements do not refer to the intellectual. He is a man of different dimension from the other informants, and is an impressive example of the expansive influence of broad cultural and inter-personal experience upon a person of superior intelligence. He has lived many years of his life in France, has been a friend of many internationally known political and cultural figures and a member of the groups they represented. He was educated abroad; not only did he receive his Diplôme D'Études Supérieures de Mathématiques et

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