Abstract
On a mission to Mars the crew will experience high autonomy and interdependence. “Groupthink,” known as a tendency to strive for consensus at the cost of considering alternative courses of action, represents a potential safety hazard. This chapter addresses two aspects of “groupthink”: the extent to which confined crew members perceive increasing convergence in personal values, and whether they attribute less tension to individual differences over time. It further examines the impact of personal values for interpersonal compatibility. These questions were investigated in a 105-day confinement study in which a multinational crew (N = 6) simulated a Mars mission. The Portrait of Crew Values Questionnaire was administered regularly to assess personal values, perceived value homogeneity, and tension attributed to value disparities. Interviews were conducted before and after the confinement. Multiple regression analysis revealed no significant changes in value homogeneity over time; rather the opposite tendency was indicated. More tension was attributed to differences in hedonism, benevolence and tradition in the last 35 days when the crew was allowed greater autonomy. Three subgroups, distinct in terms of personal values, were identified. No evidence for “groupthink” was found. The results suggest that personal values should be considered in composition of crews for long-duration missions.
Adaptation of Sandal et al. (2011), reprinted with permission from Elsevier.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Burrough, B.: Dragonfly: NASA and the Crisis Aboard Mir. HarperCollins, New York (1998)
Cable, D., Edwards, J.R.: Complementary and supplementary fit: a theoretical and empirical integration. J. Appl. Psychol. 89, 822–834 (2004)
Ferraris, C.L., Carveth, R.: NASA and the Columbia disaster: decision-making by Groupthink? In: Proceedings of the 2003 Association for Business Communication Annual Convention. Albuquerque, New Mexico (2003)
Gushin, V.I., Efimov, V.A., Smirnova, T.M., Vinokhodova, A.G.: Dynamics of subjective perception of in-crew interactions during long-term isolation and confinement. Aerospace Ecol. Med. 31(4), 23–29 (1997a)
Gushin, V.I., Zaprisa, N.S., Kolinitchenko, T.B., Efimov, V.A., Smirnova, T.M., Vinokhodova, A.G., et al.: Content analysis of the crew communication with external communicants under prolonged isolation. Aviat. Space Environ. Med. 68, 1093–1098 (1997b)
Hofstede, G.: Culture’s consequences. Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations, 2nd edn. Sage, Thousand Oaks (2001)
Janis, I.L.: Victims of Groupthink. Houghton Mifflin, Boston (1972)
Kanas, N., Manzey, D.: Space Psychology and Psychiatry, 2nd edn. Springer, Dordrecht (2008)
Kanas, N., Weiss, D.S., Marmar, C.R.: Crewmember interaction during a Mir space station simulation. Aviat. Space Environ. Med. 10, 969–975 (1997)
Kanas, N., Saylor, S., Harris, M.A., Neylan, T., Boyd, J., Weiss, D.S., et al.: High versus low crewmember autonomy in space simulation environments. Acta Astronaut. 67, 731–738 (2010)
Kelly, A.D., Kanas, N.: Crewmember communication in space: a survey of astronauts and cosmonauts. Aviat. Space Environ. Med. 63, 721–726 (1992)
Kristof-Brown, A.L., Zimmerman, R.D., Johnson, E.C.: Consequences of individuals’ fit at work: a meta-analysis of person-job, person-organization, person-group, and person-supervisor fit. Pers. Psychol. 58(2), 281–342 (2005)
Leon, G.R., Sandal, G.M., Fink, B., Ciofani, P.: Positive experiences and personal growth in a two-man north pole expedition team. Environ. Behav. 43, 710–731 (2011)
Lozano, M.L., Wong, C.: Concerns for a multicultural crew aboard the International Space Station, CSERIAC Gateway (1996)
Manzey, D.: Study of the survivability and adaptation of humans to long-duration interplanetary and planetary environments. ESA/ESTEC, Nordwijk (2003)
Nadin, S., Cassell, C.: Using data matrices. In: Catherine Cassell and Gillian Symon (eds) Essential guide to qualitative methods in organizational research. Sage, London (2004)
Palinkas, L.A.: Sociocultural influences on psychosocial adjustment in Antarctica. Med. Anthropol. 10, 235–246 (1989)
Palinkas, L.A., Cravalho, M., Browner, D.: Seasonal variation of depressive symptoms in Antarctica. Acta Psychiatr. Scand. 91, 423–429 (1995)
QSR International: QSR Nvivo Version 8.0.340.0 SP4 (2009)
Sandal, G.M.: Crew tension during a space station simulation. Environ. Behav. 33(1), 134–150 (2001)
Sandal, G.M.: Culture and crew tension during an International Space Station simulation; results from SFINCSS’99. Aviat. Space Environ. Med. 75(1), 44–51 (2004)
Sandal, G.M., Bye, H.H., van de Vijver, F.J.R.: Personal values and crew compatibility: Results from a 105 days simulated space mission. Acta Astronautica 69, 141–149 (2011)
Sandal, G.M., Værnes, R., Ursin, H.: Interpersonal relations during simulated space missions. Aviat. Space Environ. Med. 66, 617–624 (1995)
Santy, P.A., Holland, A.W.: Looper BS multicultural factors in the space environment: results of an international shuttle crew debrief. Aviat. Space Environ. Med. 64, 196–200 (1993)
Sarris, A.: Applying organisational theory to isolated, confined and extreme settings. Aust. N. Z. J. Organ. Psychol. 1, 1–6 (2008)
Schwartz, S.: Basic human values: their content and structure across countries. In: A. Tamayo and J.B. Porto (eds) Valores e comportamento nas organizacões [Values and behavior in organizations], pp. 21–55. Vozes, Petrópolis (2006a)
Schwartz, S.H.: A theory of cultural value orientations. Explications and applications. Comp. Sociol. 5, 137–182 (2006b)
Schwartz, S., Bilsky, W.: Toward a theory of the universal content and structure of values: extensions and cross cultural replications. J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 58, 878–891 (1990)
Schwartz, S.H., Melech, G., Lehmann, A., Burgess, S., Harris, M.: Extending the cross-cultural validity of the theory of basic human values with a different method of measurement. J. Crosscult. Psychol. 32, 519–542 (2001)
Shore, L.M., Chung-Herrera, B.G., Dean, M.A., Ehrhart, K.H., Jung, D.I., Randel, A.E., et al.: Diversity in organizations: where are we now and where are we going? Hum. Resour. Manag. Rev. 19, 117–133 (2009)
Suedfeld, P.: The impact of outer space on inner space. Aviat. Space Environ. Med. 75(7), C6–C9 (2004). Suppl
Suedfeld, P.: Space memoirs: value hierarchies before and after missions—a pilot study. Acta Astronaut. 58(11), 583–586 (2006)
Tomi, L.: The role of cross-cultural factors in long-duration international space missions: lessons from the SFINCSS study. In: Baranov, V.M. (ed.) Simulation of extended isolation: advances and problems. Firm Slovo, Moscow (2001)
Werbel, J.D., Johnson, D.J.: The use of person-group fit for employment selection: a missing link in person-environment fit. Hum. Resour. Manag. 40(3), 227–240 (2001)
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the European Space Agency and the Institute for Biomedical Problems in Moscow for the support of our participation in the Mars 105 study. They also express their gratefulness for the contributions of the crew members.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Sandal, G.M., Bye, H.H., van de Vijver, F.J.R. (2013). The Risk for Groupthink During Long-Duration Space Missions: Results from a 105-Day Confinement Study. In: Vakoch, D. (eds) On Orbit and Beyond. Space Technology Library, vol 29. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-30583-2_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-30583-2_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-30582-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-30583-2
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)