(ESTIMATED PUB DATE) MISSION & HISTORY RE BEHAVIORAL ACTIVITIES OF THE (DELETED) DIVISION

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 00173875
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: January 21, 2025
• Document Release Date: January 15, 1983
• Publication Date: January 1, 1973

Mission
or.
1. The , . Division of was
established in June 1965 and tasked with the responsibility of carry-
ing out research and development in support of intelligence require-
ments in the behavioral activities area. Behavioral Activities was
subsequently established as an Agency R&D subelenent. Under this
subelement three Agency R&D projects were established: Stress
Measurement and Interpretation, Behavioral Control, and Human Factors.
In 1970 these R&D projects were revised and increased in number to
accommodate the enlarged scope of Divisional activities. These new
Agency R&D projects were: Performance Measurement, Assessment and
Selection, Human Factors, and Materials Analysis. In 1972 an addi-
tional R&D project entitled Narcotics Abuse was added.'
2. The term Behavioral Activities is defined as those activities
concerned with human performance, reliability, and control. In Agency
terms Behavioral Activities addresses problems concerned with personnel
security, assessment, health, performance, protection, and control.
These problems apply to individuals, groups, and organizations or
institutions.
3. is addressing these problem areas as follows:
Personnel Security
Personnel Assessment
Personnel Health
Personnel Performance
Personnel Protection
.1MP.
) Research
1Program
Speech Research
Monotony/Isolation Research
Asr?ssment Validation
Program
1ProgProgram
ram
Personality & Behavioral Scales
1Program
"Program
Training Research
Analytic Models
Predictive Models
Software Programs
Materials Analysis
Drug Abuse
�stisimassibambleakiiime
Personnel Control -- Evoked [Potentials
1Foreign Cultures
4. Although is "addressing� the problem areas listed
above, there are distinct gaps and omissions in the program. These
are:
dr �
a. The recently initiated._ )Program cannot be
funded beyond FY 72 without serious revisions and cutbacks in
other Behavioral Activities programs.
b. The exploration and development of new personality
scales has remained essentially stationary because of lack of
_funds and staff ersonnel. Partial exceptions have been the
land monoton scales.
c. I4 the past, training. research has yielded Positive
results. has approached cwith new requirements.
It is expected that these will be formalized and forwarded to
! The current Behavioral Activities budget does not have
funds available for this work.
d. 'effectiveness
in foreign cultures have been on the books for many years.
No work has been done in these areas because of lack of funds
and personnel. One small effort in )is planned
for this year. Follow-on funding and personnel are still
inadequate.
5. In addition to the above, 'believes that considerably
more work needs to be done in the areas of decision theory, predictive
modeling, and operations research. The same is true in the areas
of prisoner exploitation, agent assessment and recruitment dynamics,
and psychological evaluation of certain foreign groups such as the
6. fbelieves that the Behavioral Activities area needs to
be re-evaluated and upgraded in staff and dollars. There are no
serious day-to-day problems confronting the Division. Past policy
on reouirements has been an impediment at times. Hopefully, present
policy will correct this barrier to needed research whenever it
appears to be arbitrarily applied.
7. Achievements.
a. Established performance leveas of the current _
system.
b. Determined thc human factors aspect of a
2
interrogation.
c. Developed a prototype
d. Developed an experimental all-electronic
instrument.
d. Developed at
channel without additional sensor.
f. Developed a prototype
_
tmonitor capable of detecting
signs...TS at distances pf 12 to 15 feet':
g. Devtlored an experimental
hnonitor capable of detectingi
'signals
space distances of 100 feet plus.
.1 at free-
h. A multiple 'assembly was designed for group
_
.111,
i. Conducted a training system survey resulting in an
in-house capability to produce program aided (PA!) courses of
instruction. Funded a PA! *course in Vietnamese language.
the.
- -
Delivered the original and many updated versions of
Icomputer package for the medical and social sciences.
k. Funded with a computer model for predicting
epidemics of meningitis'.
1. Adapted Bayesian analysis strategy to the intelligence
analyst's problem of forecasting.
m. Developed a health hazard radiometer for measuring
microwave fields.
n. Acquired and developed a large data base on potentially
dangerous psychopharmacological agents.
o. Developed a conceptual design for a
1predictive system.
-
3
����
HISTORY
_
The .1DivisionL !was
established in June 1965. The creation of this Division, and the
simultaneous establishment ot the 'Division,
was brought about as a result Of the growing complexity and rapidly
expanding diversity of their parent organization,
The:
lexisted from 1963 until June 1965. During
this time this group initiated a wide variety of priority research
tasks which were representative of life science disciplines ranging from
humgm psychology and decision theory to biological sub-systems such as
nicroimmunology and particle physics. Because of this exaggerated
diversity, it was believed that a division of life science activities
into separate but closely coordinated working groups responsible for
behavioral activities and for biological activities would be more
efficient and productive. Accordingly the 1
Division 'was established and tasked with the primary responsibility
of carrying out research and development operations in support of intelligence
requirements in the behavioral activities area. Behavioral Activities
was therefore established as an Agency Research and Development Sub-element.
Under this Sub-element, three Agency R&D Projects were established. These-
were (a) Stress Measurement and Interpretation, (b) BehaviorLControl,
and (c) Human Factors.
The initial [Division consisted of
a Division Chief, four technical officers and one secretary. Professional
disciplines represented were: one Medical Doctor, one Ph.D. Physiologist,
two Ph.D. Psychologists and one Pharmacologist. During the period
June 1966 to April 1968 the Pharmacologist resigned, a Ph.D.
Physiologist with a background in pharmacology joi4ed the Divtsion
staff and one secretary was added bringing the Division complement
to seven.
Research projects initiated by the and
continued by the .1Division were: polygraph
-
pftgram, stress measurement support, baseline stress measurements,
vulnerabilities of special behavioral groups, hypnotic susceptibility
� . :
and biological effects of
With the
exception of the polygraph and baseline stress measurement studies, these
initial projects were subsequently redirected or discontinued. Stress
measurement support and biological effects
i were discontinued, the latter responsibility going to the
Department of Defense. The vulnerabilities of special behavioral groups
effort was redirected to a study.. of undercover agent characteristics,
con men, and provocation, elicitation, interrogation techniques while
the hypnotic susceptibility work was redirected to a study of sleep
suggestibility. Meanwhile the Stress Measurement Project was expanded
to include 'monitoring and the polygraph
program was enlarged from .............research contracts. This latter
effort was coordinated and directed by a team within Athat performed
most of the data analysis and that prepared and published reports of
polygraph program developments. The Behavior Control Project was expanded
to include a drug acquisition and screening program, exploratory and
developmental work on techniques for improved
assessment of individuals and smAll groups, work on covert provocation
and elicitation techniques and new efforts in the area of ethnocultural
factors concerned with communication barriers within and betweea
selected cultural groups, national issues and tribal issues among
nomads and other minority groups. The Human Factors Project has
developed during the period June 1965 to April 1968 to include a co-
ordinated multi-task effort to improve
performance in
target detection, to improve Thdperformance, to improve
performance of the Agency training system, to analyse and define the
role or transfer functions of the human in the intelligence process
and to develop means of optimizing his performance with particular
emphaiis to date on the intelligence analyst and the decision making
process, and to identify and exploit factors influencing learning,
memory, and fatigue.
Starting in June 1965 with a budget of t and a program of
Iprojects, in April 1968 the
had established jpontracts and
Icontracts amounting to
In spite of the smn.11 size of the
-1
Division
during this developmental phase its officer personnel were
successfully monitoring two projects for other \Divisions, serving
as consultants on three Department of Defense committees, and as
consultants to various Agency components or activities. ipersonnel,
both as a group and as individuals were actively involved in a
collaborative effort with other Agency components to identify Agency
problems and related requirements. With the Office of land
Ithese relationships centered about the polygraph program and the
training systems study, both of which were carried forward with the
assistance of outside contractors. With the Office of
� initiated research to identify problems associated
I
/
with the role of the intelligence analyst. . (initiated work with
Ito better define problems associated with
assessment of individuals and groups.
A's a result of these efforts problems of access and of cooperation
between offices based on habits and established practices have been
largely overcame. The principal example of progress in this area was
the polygraph program jointly undertaken by the
This example setting effort, along with the training system survey, has
gone a long way toward establishing precedence for future cooperative
efforts between 'and other Agency components. It is expected that
the current method emp4oyed of establishing procedures for the
identification of Agency problems will be the first step toward a
definition of the various human roles in the intelligence analysis process.
Immediate plans of the 1Division
include a moderate growth in personnel and funds to complete the work
now under way and to support new work needed in the Stress Measurement,
Behavior Control and Human Factors areas. It is also planned to increase
the in-house effort with respect to the ongoing analysis of Agency problems.
At the same time it is planned to systematize and adapt special analytical
-- techniques, Bayesian, contextual and others to the Agency's peculiar
problems and to implement their use as appropriate.
.4
Long range plans call for careful analytical studies and
preparations for the probable needs of the Agency in the years to come.
If predictors for example indicate that human group behavior ii to
became increasingly more emotional and violent for the foreseeable
future, requirements concerning the struggle for men's minds could change
radically. To survive and succeed in a rapidly changing world it may .
be that the Agency will have to have some means of instant self analysis
of any one or more of its various components and a means of quickly
instituting changes as needed.
At this point in time a number of accomplishments may be cited as
milestones toward the achievement of established goals:
(a) Polygraph program results have yielded findings with respect
to polygraph utility, reliability and validity.
(b) Automatic measurement of polygraph signals was accomplished.
The method could be used to assist the examiner.
(c) An improved Idesign was developed and demonstrated.
(d) An improved )sensor was developed. The improved
design has yet to be demonstrated as superior in operation.
(e) An improved j sensor is under development.
(f) A !sensor is under development.
(g) The was slown to be a sensitive indicator of stress.
(h) The was shown to be a sensitive indicator of "yes" and
"no" answers and hence potentially an indicator of deception.
(i) Three new stress indicators,
lwere investigated and
discarded as potential polygraph parameters.
(j) Significant new developments in
monitoring were identified and redirected for Agency application.
(k) Sleep suggestibility as distinct from hypnotic suggestibility
was demonstrated as a phenomenon.
(1) Some characteristics of individuals more successful in
resisting /were identified.
(m) Methods that -- luse to identify susceptible targets were
studied and classified.
(n) Two first operation health hazard radiometers were developed
and deployed to the field.
(o) A dosemetry slide-rule for safe operation of
was developed and disseminated to users.
(p) Preliminary design specification were developed for a system
to determine critical parameters in fdetection of targets.