“Cultural” vs. “Ecological” Factors in the Expression of Values, Attitudes, and Personality Characteristics

MY ROLE in the Culture and Ecology Project was first, to provide a systematic, objective investigation of values, attitudes, and personality characteristics among both the farming and herding sectors of all 4 tribes, and, second, to determine the extent to which differences in these matters might be accounted for by ecological variation. It was obvious from the outset that if legitimate comparisons between tribal groups were to be made, that the data involved would have to be collected under rigorously standardized circumstances, and that further, these data must be at least minimally quantifiable. As all anthropologists are acutely aware, satisfying such conditions in field research is difficult in the extreme. However, following a series of conferences between project personnel and consultations with persons skilled in sundry interviewing and projective testing techniques, an interviewing program was decided upon that, with luck, had a chance to be successful.