Psychological selection of Antarctic personnel: the "SOAP" instrument
INTRODUCTION: The potential advantage of including a psychological test battery in the selection process for service in the Antarctic was examined in 348 applicants for employment in Antarctica with the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). METHODS: Applicants were screened with the Selection of Antarctic...
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2007
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:11743 2023-05-15T13:45:10+02:00 Psychological selection of Antarctic personnel: the "SOAP" instrument Grant, Iain Eriksen, Hege R. Marquis, Peter Orre, Ingrid J. Palinkas, Lawrence A. Suedfeld, Peter Svensen, Erling Ursin, Holger 2007 http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/11743/ unknown Aerospace Medical Association Grant, Iain; Eriksen, Hege R.; Marquis, Peter; Orre, Ingrid J.; Palinkas, Lawrence A.; Suedfeld, Peter; Svensen, Erling; Ursin, Holger. 2007 Psychological selection of Antarctic personnel: the "SOAP" instrument. Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, 78 (8). 793-800. Health Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2007 ftnerc 2023-02-04T19:27:34Z INTRODUCTION: The potential advantage of including a psychological test battery in the selection process for service in the Antarctic was examined in 348 applicants for employment in Antarctica with the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). METHODS: Applicants were screened with the Selection of Antarctic Personnel battery (SOAP) consisting of nine well-known psychological instruments. The SOAP scores were not revealed to the BAS selection panel members, who based the selection on operational criteria, interview, and a general medical examination. The SOAP scores of those selected (n = 177) were further compared with station commanders' reports of winter adaptation (n = 140), and subjective health complaints (SHC) (n = 86). RESULTS: There were no significant agreements between SOAP scores (n = 348) and those actually selected by the BAS panel (121 accepted, 227 not accepted) (Cohen's Kappas for inter-rater agreement < 0.20). Participants characterized as exceptionally well adapted by the station commanders had higher scores on Openness on the NEO-FFI (the "Big Five" personality inventory) [Odds Ratio (OR) = 5.2], and higher levels of Emotion-Focused Coping (OR = 2.7) and fewer SHC (OR = 0.3). Participants rated by station commanders as "poor" had higher levels of Defensive Hostility (OR = 4.2), and lower levels of Emotion-Focused Coping (OR = 0.3). Women had higher rates of success in service than men, but were less likely to be selected. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Adding a psychological test battery would improve the odds of selecting good performers, and reduce the odds of selecting poor performers. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica British Antarctic Survey Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Antarctic The Antarctic |
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Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
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Health Grant, Iain Eriksen, Hege R. Marquis, Peter Orre, Ingrid J. Palinkas, Lawrence A. Suedfeld, Peter Svensen, Erling Ursin, Holger Psychological selection of Antarctic personnel: the "SOAP" instrument |
topic_facet |
Health |
description |
INTRODUCTION: The potential advantage of including a psychological test battery in the selection process for service in the Antarctic was examined in 348 applicants for employment in Antarctica with the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). METHODS: Applicants were screened with the Selection of Antarctic Personnel battery (SOAP) consisting of nine well-known psychological instruments. The SOAP scores were not revealed to the BAS selection panel members, who based the selection on operational criteria, interview, and a general medical examination. The SOAP scores of those selected (n = 177) were further compared with station commanders' reports of winter adaptation (n = 140), and subjective health complaints (SHC) (n = 86). RESULTS: There were no significant agreements between SOAP scores (n = 348) and those actually selected by the BAS panel (121 accepted, 227 not accepted) (Cohen's Kappas for inter-rater agreement < 0.20). Participants characterized as exceptionally well adapted by the station commanders had higher scores on Openness on the NEO-FFI (the "Big Five" personality inventory) [Odds Ratio (OR) = 5.2], and higher levels of Emotion-Focused Coping (OR = 2.7) and fewer SHC (OR = 0.3). Participants rated by station commanders as "poor" had higher levels of Defensive Hostility (OR = 4.2), and lower levels of Emotion-Focused Coping (OR = 0.3). Women had higher rates of success in service than men, but were less likely to be selected. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Adding a psychological test battery would improve the odds of selecting good performers, and reduce the odds of selecting poor performers. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Grant, Iain Eriksen, Hege R. Marquis, Peter Orre, Ingrid J. Palinkas, Lawrence A. Suedfeld, Peter Svensen, Erling Ursin, Holger |
author_facet |
Grant, Iain Eriksen, Hege R. Marquis, Peter Orre, Ingrid J. Palinkas, Lawrence A. Suedfeld, Peter Svensen, Erling Ursin, Holger |
author_sort |
Grant, Iain |
title |
Psychological selection of Antarctic personnel: the "SOAP" instrument |
title_short |
Psychological selection of Antarctic personnel: the "SOAP" instrument |
title_full |
Psychological selection of Antarctic personnel: the "SOAP" instrument |
title_fullStr |
Psychological selection of Antarctic personnel: the "SOAP" instrument |
title_full_unstemmed |
Psychological selection of Antarctic personnel: the "SOAP" instrument |
title_sort |
psychological selection of antarctic personnel: the "soap" instrument |
publisher |
Aerospace Medical Association |
publishDate |
2007 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/11743/ |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica British Antarctic Survey |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica British Antarctic Survey |
op_relation |
Grant, Iain; Eriksen, Hege R.; Marquis, Peter; Orre, Ingrid J.; Palinkas, Lawrence A.; Suedfeld, Peter; Svensen, Erling; Ursin, Holger. 2007 Psychological selection of Antarctic personnel: the "SOAP" instrument. Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, 78 (8). 793-800. |
_version_ |
1766214730681155584 |