A Review of Psychological Studies in the U. S. Antarctic Programme

• Main Authors: Gunderson, E. K., Palinkas, Lawrence A.
• Other Authors: NAVAL HEALTH RESEARCH CENTER SAN DIEGO CA
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1988
• Subjects: Psychology; *ATTITUDES(PSYCHOLOGY); *STRESS(PSYCHOLOGY); *ANTARCTIC REGIONS; STATIONS; STABILITY; SPACE ENVIRONMENTS; NAVAL PERSONNEL; HEALTH; STRESS(PHYSIOLOGY); LONG RANGE(TIME); REGRESSION ANALYSIS; TECHNICIANS; CONSTRUCTION; SUPERVISORS; RATINGS; ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL; BEHAVIOR; CIVILIAN PERSONNEL; MOTIVATION; EQUATIONS; SELECTION; QUESTIONNAIRES; SPACE STATIONS; PERSONALITY; SCIENTISTS; EMOTIONS; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA198924; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA198924

Psychological studies were initiated at U.S. Antarctic stations during the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58. Attitude and symptom questionnaires, supervisor ratings, and sociometric test were administered to several wintering groups. A more comprehensive program of psychological studies, designed to develop selection criteria for screening Antarctic personnel, was instituted in 1962 by the U.S. Navy. A general concept of individual performance or adjustment emerged from earlier studies that included three essential components: task motivation, emotional stability, and social compatibility. Two methods, supervisor ratings and peer nominations, were used to measure these behavior components, and convergent and discriminant validities were evaluated. Regression equations were then developed to predict each behavior factor for each of three occupational groups, Navy construction personnel, Navy Administrative and technical personnel, and civilian scientists. Recent studies have focused on the impact of wintering-over stresses on long-term health and adjustment of participants. The winter-over experience does not place Navy Personnel at increased risk of hospitalization after their return from the Antarctic. The stressors associated with prolonged isolation in a harsh environment appear to be mediated by personality, environmental, and sociocultural factors. Antarctic psychological research may have significant implications for design of space stations and extraterrestrial exploration.