Psychological Aspects of Arctic Living— McCollum 257 



are many is to invite frictions which, in the long run, prove to 

 be very uneconomical. 



Probably the most forceful common factor in determining 

 human behavior in most of Alaska is the weather. In large 

 areas a great portion of one's time in the winter must be spent 

 combating the elements. The difficulties of transportation, 

 labor, amusement, etc., are multiplied by the sub-zero tem- 

 peratures, the deep snow, and the long hours of darkness. Basic 

 groups tend to become, of necessity, more isolated and self- 

 sufficient. With the range of activity restricted, the most com- 

 mon psychological problems encountered are those which arise 

 from frictions caused by prolonged close association. 



In summary, the Arctic and sub-Arctic areas of Alaska do not 

 pose the psychological problems which are commonly attributed 

 to them. There are, it is true, certain principal sources of un- 

 usual social friction such as a shortage of adequate housing at 

 a reasonable cost, the absence of normal social and sexual out- 

 lets in many communities, and the limitations imposed by the 

 weather. In spite of these, however, the normal individual finds 

 little difficulty in making the necessary adjustments intelli- 

 gently and effectively. 



REFERENCES 



1. Selection of men best qualified for Arctic and Subarctic duty, 



Project 21-01-007, Program B, An Eighteen Month Longitu- 

 dinal Study of Airmen Assigned to Alaskan Duty. 



2. Survey of human adjustment problems in the northern latitudes, 



Project 21-01-022, Program C, Part I-C, Morale Survey of 

 Alaskan Air Command. 



3. Survey of human adjustment problems in the northern latitudes, 



Project 21-01-022, Program C, Part I, Morale Survey of Per- 

 sonnel Assigned to Ladd Air Force Base. 



4. Survey of human adjustment problems in the northern latitudes, 



Project 21-01-022, Program C, Part I-B, Morale Survey of Per- 

 sonnel Assigned to Elmendorf Air Force Base. 



5. Survey of human adjustment problems in the northern latitudes, 



Project 21-01-022, Program C, Part I-D, Relationships between 

 Low Morale and Personality Structures, 



