-16-
characteristic decision-making processes.
Trimble
(1977)
Kiste
(1974)
and
emphasize that the sociocultural characteris-
tics of the Marshallese have largely contributed to misunderstandings about radiation and resettlement.
The Marshallese
have a different social orientation and perspective than Americans.
While some of the cultural characteristics are known (cf. Kiste
1974; Tobin, 1973), certain social-psychological characteristics
remain undefined and need to be assessed.
Results can aid
in understanding how the Marshallese interpret and respond to
communications from federal agencies.
Therefore, measures
will be developed to assess:
1.
subjective perception of risks as experienced in
daily activities and during natural disasters,
e.g.,
typhoons;
2.
group problem-solving procedures;
3.
processes by which
4,
factors that are perceived to control and influence
decisions are formed;
and
behavior.
Techniques exist for assessing the above psychological
variables among western societies;
however their appropriate-
ness for use with Marshallese is yet to be determined.
For
example, risk perception studies typically require subjects to
assign a subjective probability to participation in some
event
(skiing,
mountain climbing,
auto racing,
etc.).
The
Marshallese counting system does not contain percentages or
probabilities;
hence an approach to measurement needs to be
sensitive to this problem.