Formation and Transformation of Relational Networks During an Antarctic Winter-Over

• Published in: Journal of Applied Social Psychology
• Main Authors: Weiss, Karine, Gaud, Richard
• Other Authors: Laboratoire de Psychologie environnementale (LPE- UMR 8069), Université Paris Descartes - Paris 5 (UPD5)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de psychologie appliquée Stress et société, Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne (URCA)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2004
• Subjects: [SCCO.PSYC]Cognitive science/Psychology; Antarc*; Antarctic
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-02149552; https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2004.tb02787.x

International audience In order to identify the effects of situational constraints on social behavior in a small isolated group, a systematic daily observation was conducted during a winter-over mission in a French research station in the Antarctic. This observation corresponded to participants' seating arrangements during meals and was supplemented by analysis of the physician's diary. We hypothesized that social stability would be an indicator of adaptation in this context. Both analyses highlighted the importance of the social relationships, even if they were not described in the diary as positive. The results underline the need for a relational balance, linked to stable but not exclusive social relations. Some indicators emphasized the end of the isolation period as one critical moment (actually 1 month before the end), with an expression of homesickness and greater negativity in the diary's descriptions of social relationships.