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Abstract

Using four options regarding nuclear arming and disarming, the
perceived nuclear arming preferences of American and Soviet leaders
were obtained from survey data of Australian groups (Federal
Parliamentarians, members of the Chamber of Commerce, Peace groups
and Army personnel). The results show a small but consistent trend,
for a perceived American preference for unilateral nuclear armament
and, depending on political subgroup, a perceived Soviet preference
either for unilateral nuclear armament or for mutual nuclear
disarmament. By contrast, the subgroups differ on whether the
United States is seen as a peace-loving nation but most saw the
Soviet Union as an aggressive nation. The chance of a nuclear war
occurring during the next decade was estimated to be from four
percent (Liberal Parliamentarian group) to 42 percent (Peace group).
All groups expressed a strong personal preference that mutual
nuclear disarmament is the most desirable option for Australia.
The majority of the data for the perceived preferences of the
American and Soviet leaders is subsumed under seven 2x2 games. Of
these games, the Prisoner's Dilemma is most representative of the
respondents' perceptions. The implications associated with this,
and the other frequently occurring games, are discussed along with
reference to the model of a perceptual dilemma.

Item Type:	Thesis - Unspecified
Authors/Creators:	Newman, Margaret
Keywords:	Arms race, Nuclear disarmament
Copyright Holders:	The Author
Copyright Information:	Copyright 1987 the author - The University is continuing to endeavour to trace the copyright owner(s) and in the meantime this item has been reproduced here in good faith. We would be pleased to hear from the copyright owner(s).
Additional Information:	Thesis (M.Psych)--University of Tasmania, 1988. Bibliography: leaves 125-130
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