During future long-duration space missions, countermeasures need to be developed to deal with psy... more During future long-duration space missions, countermeasures need to be developed to deal with psychosocial issues that might impact negatively on crewmember performance and well-being. In our recently completed NASA-funded study of 5 U.S. astronauts, 8 Russian cosmonauts, and 42 U.S. and 16 Russian mission control personnel who participated in the Shuttle/Mir program, we evaluated a number of important psychosocial issues such as group tension, cohesion, leadership role, and the displacement of negative emotions from crewmembers to people in mission control and from mission control personnel to management. Based on our findings, which are reviewed, a number of psychosocial countermeasures are suggested to help ameliorate the negative impact of potential psychosocial problems during future manned space missions. Crewmembers should be selected not only to rule out psychopathology but also to select-in for group compatibility and facility in a common language. Training should include b...
Anecdotal reports from space and results from simulation studies on Earth have suggested that spa... more Anecdotal reports from space and results from simulation studies on Earth have suggested that space crewmembers may experience decrements in their interpersonal environment over time and may displace tension and dysphoria to mission control personnel. To evaluate these issues, we studied 5 American astronauts, 8 Russian cosmonauts, and 42 American and 16 Russian mission control personnel who participated in the Shuttle/Mir space program. Subjects completed questions from subscales of the Profile of Mood States, the Group Environment Scale, and the Work Environment Scale on a weekly basis before, during, and after the missions. Among the crewmembers, there was little evidence for significant time effects based on triphasic (U-shaped) or linear models for the 21 subscales tested, although the presence of an initial novelty effect that declined over time was found in three subscales for the astronauts. Compared with work groups on Earth, the crewmembers reported less dysphoria and perceived their crew environment as more constraining, cohesive, and guided by leadership. There was no change in ratings of mood and interpersonal environment before, during, and after the missions. There was little support for the presence of a moderate to strong time effect that influenced the space crews. Crewmembers perceived their work environment differently from people on Earth, and they demonstrated equanimity in mood and group perceptions, both in space and on the ground. Grant numbers: NAS9-19411.
During future long-duration space missions, countermeasures need to be developed to deal with psy... more During future long-duration space missions, countermeasures need to be developed to deal with psychosocial issues that might impact negatively on crewmember performance and well-being. In our recently completed NASA-funded study of 5 U.S. astronauts, 8 Russian cosmonauts, and 42 U.S. and 16 Russian mission control personnel who participated in the Shuttle/Mir program, we evaluated a number of important psychosocial issues such as group tension, cohesion, leadership role, and the displacement of negative emotions from crewmembers to people in mission control and from mission control personnel to management. Based on our findings, which are reviewed, a number of psychosocial countermeasures are suggested to help ameliorate the negative impact of potential psychosocial problems during future manned space missions. Crewmembers should be selected not only to rule out psychopathology but also to select-in for group compatibility and facility in a common language. Training should include b...
Anecdotal reports from space and results from simulation studies on Earth have suggested that spa... more Anecdotal reports from space and results from simulation studies on Earth have suggested that space crewmembers may experience decrements in their interpersonal environment over time and may displace tension and dysphoria to mission control personnel. To evaluate these issues, we studied 5 American astronauts, 8 Russian cosmonauts, and 42 American and 16 Russian mission control personnel who participated in the Shuttle/Mir space program. Subjects completed questions from subscales of the Profile of Mood States, the Group Environment Scale, and the Work Environment Scale on a weekly basis before, during, and after the missions. Among the crewmembers, there was little evidence for significant time effects based on triphasic (U-shaped) or linear models for the 21 subscales tested, although the presence of an initial novelty effect that declined over time was found in three subscales for the astronauts. Compared with work groups on Earth, the crewmembers reported less dysphoria and perceived their crew environment as more constraining, cohesive, and guided by leadership. There was no change in ratings of mood and interpersonal environment before, during, and after the missions. There was little support for the presence of a moderate to strong time effect that influenced the space crews. Crewmembers perceived their work environment differently from people on Earth, and they demonstrated equanimity in mood and group perceptions, both in space and on the ground. Grant numbers: NAS9-19411.
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Papers by Vadim Gushin