A simulation vehicle for studying national policy formation in a less armed world.

Persons responsible for the formulation and direction of national policy are costantly confronted with problems of predicting the future under unknown or unanticipated social and psychological conditions. Basic issues in the processes of negotiation behavior involve such questions as: If a particular course of action is adopted, how will the environmnt respond? Given the social pressures and human prejudices that are operative, what is feasible? Would some other course of action be more productive for the nation as a whole or for some particular interest groups? Here the authors present a simulation vehicle and supporting experiments to study problems of national policy planning and negotiation.