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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1972

On the fundamental importance of the social psychology of research as a basic paradigm for the philosophy of science: A philosophical case study of the psychology of the Apollo moon scientists

A combined philosophical and social psychological study of over 40 of the Apollo moon Scientists reveals that the Orthodox or Received View of Scientific Theories is found wanting in several respects: (1) observations are not theory-free; (2) scientific observations are not directly observable; and (3) observations are no less problematic than theories. The study also raises some severe criticisms of distinction between the context of discovery and the context of justification. Not only does this distinction fail to describe the actual practice of science but even more important it has the dangerous effect of excluding some of the strongest lines of evidence which could most effectively challenge the distinction. The distinction is harmful of efforts to found interdisciplinary theories and philosophies of science.

Mitroff, I. I.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Psychological Health Maintenance on Space Station Freedom

The scheduling of crew rotations for up to 180 days on Space Station Freedom presents a special challenge for behavioral scientists who are tasked with providing psychological support for the crews, their families, and mission flight controllers. Preflight psychological support planning may minimize the negative impact of psychological and social issues on mission success, as well as assist NASA management in making real-time mission planning decisions in the event of a significant social event (for example, the death of a family member). During flight, the combined psychological, emotional, and social stressors on the astronauts must be monitored, along with other aspects of their health. The Health Maintenance Facility (HMF) will have the capability of providing preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic assistance for significant psychiatric and interpersonal problems which may develop. Psychological support will not end with the termination of the mission. Mental health professionals must be part of the team of medical personnel whose job will be to facilitate the transition—physical and mental—from the space environment back to planet Earth. This paper reviews each phase of mission planning for Space Station Freedom and specifies those factors that may be critical for psychological health maintenance on extended-duration space missions.

Patricia A Santy↗
NASA NTRS2000

Forty Years of Psychological and Psychiatric Selection of NASA Astronauts

The purpose of this presentation is to chronicle the history and development of the psychological selection process for NASA astronauts. For over 40 years, astronaut applicants have undergone rigorous medical testing to qualify for candidacy. Psychological selection has an equally long history, dating back to 1958, when psychological requirements were established for astronauts during the Mercury program. However, for many years, psychological selection consisted of psychiatric screening for psychopathology. As we approach the day in which the first ISS crew will live and work in space for months at a time, it becomes clear that both the psychological criteria and the selection system to detect said criteria have changed. This presentation discusses the events that led to the current, dual-phase selection system that is used to select individuals into the astronaut corps. Future directions for psychological selection will also be addressed.

Holland, Albert W.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Psychological and interpersonal adaptation to Mars missions

The crucial importance of a thorough understanding of the psychological and interpersonal dimensions of Mars flights is indicated. This is necessary both to reduce the chances that psychological problems or interpersonal frictions will threaten the success of Mars missions and to enhance the quality of life of the people involved. Adaptation to interplanetary flight will depend on an interplay of the psychological stresses imposed by the missions and the psychological strengths and vulnerabilities of the crewmembers involved. Stresses may be reduced through environmental engineering, manipulating crew composition, and the structuring of situations and tasks. Vulnerabilities may be reduced through improving personnel selection procedures, training personnel in psychological and group dynamics, and providing mechanisms for emotional support. It is essential to supplement anecdotal evidence regarding the human side of space travel with the results of carefully conducted scientific research.

Harrison, A. A.↗
NASA NTRS1992

The Language Research Center's Computerized Test System for environmental enrichment and psychological assessment

In the spring of 1987, we undertook to provide environmental enrichment to nonhuman primate subjects in ways that would complement and even contribute to the bio-behaviorial science that justified the monkeys' captivity. Of course, the psychological well-being of captive primates--and indeed all research species-- has been an area of intense research activity since the 1985 amendment of the Animal Welfare Act. This mandate for researchers to ensure the psychological, as well as physical, fitness of experimental animals catalyzed the humane and scientific interests of the research community. The contemporary literature is replete with proposed means both of assaying and of providing enrichment and well-being. Notwithstanding, consensus on either assessment or intervention has yet to be reached. The paradigm we employed was modelled after successful efforts with chimpanzees. An automated test system was constructed in which subjects responded to computer tasks by manipulating a joystick. The tasks, interactive game-like versions of many of the classic testing paradigms of cognitive and comparative psychology, permitted the controlled presentation of stimuli and demands without the required presence of a human experimenter. Despite significant barriers to the success, rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) and a variety of other primate species (including, of course, humans) have mastered the skills necessary for testing in this paradigm. Previous experiments have illustrated the utility of the test system for addressing questions of learning, memory, attention, perception, and motivation. Additional data have been reported to support the contention that the Language Research Center's Computerized Test System (LRC-CTS) serves its other raison d'etre--providing environmental enrichment and assessing psychological well-being. This paper is designed to augment previous descriptions of the technology and the paradigm for scientists and caretakers interested in environmental enrichment and performance assessment with primates.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS1999

Psychological Usability of Layered Application Software Platforms

This grant provided Graduate Research Fellowship Program support to James Michael Herold to obtain a graduate degree from the Department of Psychology at Kansas State University and conduct usability testing of graphical user interfaces the Kennedy Space Center. The student independently took an additional internship at Boll Laboratories without informing his graduate advisor or the Department of Psychology. Because he was NOT making progress toward his degree, he elected not to pursue his graduate studies at Kansas State University and self-terminated from the program (spin without informing his advisor or the Department of Psychology]. What he accomplished for NASA in terms of usability testing at the Kennedy Space Center is unclear. NASA terminated support for the project: 07/30/99, including a $4,000 commitment to provide infrastructure support to the Department of Psychology.

Uhiarik, John↗
NASA NTRS1999

Psychological Selection of NASA Astronauts for International Space Station Missions

During the relatively short-duration Space Shuffle missions, a psychological support program for the astronauts has not been required. Such missions primarily require providing occasional communication with family members by means of audio, video or e-mail, and some diversions such as CD players. During the NASA-Mir Program, conducted from March 1995 through June 1998, mission duration increased to 4-6 months. As a result of these changes it was necessary for NASA to establish an operational Human Behavior and Performance Group (HBPG) to develop and implement a comprehensive program of psychological support. The Mir experience provided the opportunity to develop and implement a psychological support program for long-duration space missions. Many factors influence the support program, including individual preferences, mission duration, and environmental factors such as habitable and personal areas. Lessons learned from the Mir experience are being applied to improve the ISS psychological support program plan. This presentation will address which includes various preflight, in-flight, and post-flight support activities and tools that NASA's HBPG will provide to astronauts and their families for ISS missions.

VanderArk, Steve↗
NASA NTRS1999

Psychological changes in hundred-day remote Antarctic field groups

Psychological adaptation to extreme environments has been examined from several perspectives. In this study, two Australian teams, each consisting of six male crew members, completed computer-administered questionnaires twice weekly during 100-day traverses around the Lambert Glacier Basin, Antarctica. Only small trends were noted when data were aggregated at the group level, which is consistent with the findings of others. Data were then analyzed using pooled time-series regression. These analyses incorporated personality characteristics, environmental factors, and interpersonal factors as predictors of Group Tensions, Personal Morale, Emotional State, Cognitive Readiness, and the Team's Work Life. Most of the psychological discomfort and problems that occurred appeared to be within the individual or between individuals. They did not affect all members of the group equally.

NASA Discipline Space Human Factors↗
NASA NTRS1975

Psychological stress measurement through voice output analysis

Audio tape recordings of selected Skylab communications were processed by a psychological stress evaluator. Strip chart tracings were read blind and scores were assigned based on characteristics reported by the manufacturer to indicate psychological stress. These scores were analyzed for their empirical relationships with operational variables in Skylab judged to represent varying degrees of situational stress. Although some statistically significant relationships were found, the technique was not judged to be sufficiently predictive to warrant its use in assessing the degree of psychological stress of crew members in future space missions.

Older, H. J.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Requirements for psychological models to support design: Towards ecological task analysis

Cognitive engineering is largely concerned with creating environmental designs to support skillful and effective human activity. A set of necessary conditions are proposed for psychological models capable of supporting this enterprise. An analysis of the psychological nature of the design product is used to identify a set of constraints that models must meet if they can usefully guide design. It is concluded that cognitive engineering requires models with resources for describing the integrated human-environment system, and that these models must be capable of describing the activities underlying fluent and effective interaction. These features are required in order to be able to predict the cognitive activity that will be required given various design concepts, and to design systems that promote the acquisition of fluent, skilled behavior. These necessary conditions suggest that an ecological approach can provide valuable resources for psychological modeling to support design. Relying heavily on concepts from Brunswik's and Gibson's ecological theories, ecological task analysis is proposed as a framework in which to predict the types of cognitive activity required to achieve productive behavior, and to suggest how interfaces can be manipulated to alleviate certain types of cognitive demands. The framework is described in terms, and illustrated with an example from the previous research on modeling skilled human-environment interaction.

Kirlik, Alex↗
NASA NTRS1992

Psychological training of NASA astronauts for extended missions

The success of operational teams working in remote and hostile environments rests in large part on adequate preparation of those teams prior to emplacement in field settings. Psychological training, directed at the maintenance of crew health and performance becomes increasingly important as space missions grow in duration and complexity. Methods: Topics to be discussed include: the conceptual framework of psychological training; needs analysis; content and delivery options; methods of assessing training efficacy; use of testbeds and analogies and the relationship of training to crew selection and real-time support activities. Results and Conclusions: This paper will discuss the psychological training approach being developed at the NASA/JSC Behavior and Performance Laboratory. This approach will be compared and contrasted with those underway in the U.S. Department of Defense and in other space agencies.

Holland, A. W.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Psychological Adaptation to Extreme Environments: Effects of Team Composition on Individual Adaptation

This study is part of an ongoing program of research examining the psychological effects of isolation and confinement on individual adaptation, productivity and group relations in Antarctic winter personnel. This environment is used as an analogue for long-duration space mission scenarios, such as a space station sojourn, or a mission to Mars. Earlier results from this and other environments have demonstrated that: (1) most changes in psychological well-being are event-related and of relatively short duration; and (2) the greatest problem facing most individuals is interpersonal conflict. Content analysis of responses to open-ended questions has identified the numerous enjoyable aspects of Antarctic living, and confirmed that many of the problems reported were interpersonal in nature, and that problems varied significantly by station. Current work is exploring the effects of team assignment on the self-reported psychological changes and self-evaluations of members of isolated teams. This work includes identifying the dimensions by which subjects determine how well they are functioning. These dimensions (e.g., work, social life, internal emotional state) appear to play an important role in how subjects evaluate many aspects of life in isolation.

Wood, J.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Psychological and Behavioral Health Issues of Long-Duration Space Missions

It will be the responsibility of the long-duration space flight crew to take the actions necessary to maintain their health and well-being and to cope with medical emergencies without direct assistance from support personnel, including maintaining mental health and managing physiological and psychological changes that may impair decision making and performance. The Behavior and Performance Integrated Product Team at Johnson Space Center, working, within the Space Medicine, Monitoring, and Countermeasures Program, has identified critical questions pertaining to long-duration space crew behavioral health, psychological adaptation, human factors and habitability, and sleep and circadian rhythms. Among the projects addressing these questions are: the development of tools to assess cognitive functions during space missions; the development of a model of psychological adaptation in isolated and confined environments; tools and methods for selecting individuals and teams well-suited for long-duration missions; identification of mission-critical tasks and performance evaluation; and measures of sleep quality and correlation to mission performance.

Eksuzian, Daniel J.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Stress and Cognition: A Cognitive Psychological Perspective

Research in cognitive psychology has made a significant contribution to our understanding of how acute and chronic stress affect performance. It has done so by identifying some of the factors that contribute to operator error and by suggesting how operators might be trained to respond more effectively in a variety of circumstances. The major purpose of this paper was to review the literature of cognitive psychology as it relates to these questions and issues. Based on the existence of earlier reviews (e.g., Hamilton, & Warburton, 1979; Hockey, 1983) the following investigation was limited to the last 15 years (1988-2002) and restricted to a review of the primary peer-reviewed literature. The results of this examination revealed that while cognitive psychology has contributed in a substantive way to our understanding of stress impact on various cognitive processes, it has also left many questions unanswered. Concerns about how we define and use the term stress and the gaps that remain in our knowledge about the specific effects of stressors on cognitive processes are discussed in the text.

Bourne, Lyle E., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Behavioral and Psychological Issues in Long Duration Head-down Bed Rest

Behavioral health services, similar to those offered to the U.S. astronauts who complete six-month missions on board the International Space Station, were provided to 13 long-duration head-down bed rest participants. Issues in psychological screening, selection, and support are discussed as they relate to other isolated and confined environments. Psychological services offered to participants are described, and challenges in subject selection and retention are discussed. Psychological support and training provided to both subjects and study personnel have successfully improved the well-being of study participants. Behavioral health services are indispensable to long-duration head-down tilt bed rest studies.

Seaton, Kimberly A.↗
NASA NTRS2022

Space Psychology

There is a robust and effective psychological support system on the ISS. Future exploration missions however will expose the crew to unprecedent hazards, included extended durations of isolation and confinement, distance from earth, galactic cosmic radiation. Research in spaceflight and terrestrial analogs demonstrate that while most participants remain psychologically healthy and high performing, some risks do emerge, including declines in positive adaptation and emotion recognition. We must understand and implement the right countermeasures to support the psychological health and performance in future exploration missions. Future challenges include high fidelity research platforms and characterizing effects of multiple hazards.

Alexandra Whitmire↗
DOE OSTI2026

Digital-Threat Bias and Psychological Distance: Barriers to Foundational Digital-Security Improvement

Modern life is held together by a web of digital dependencies that enable and provide delivery of critical services and functions—think the provision of utilities such as electricity and water, as well as our dependency on digital services for social and economic services (internet, communication, etc.). As this dependency grows, the complexity related to the delivery of these critical services increases as well. As complexity increases, the understanding of the risk and impact associated with potential disruption, degradation, or destruction—due to either malicious or non-malicious events of those digitally enabled functions—decreases. One potential explanation for the difficulty to 1) understand the risks faced and 2) address them appropriately and effectively is the abstractness and psychological distance assigned to “digital threat.” The complexity of these digitally enabled services creates a perceived complicatedness; as a result, digital threats are treated differently than similarly devasting (but more easily understood) kinetic or physical threats. How we categorize these threats also matters. Acts of cyber-enabled sabotage to critical infrastructure need to be defined as irregular warfare. By inadequately defining the threat, we compound the problem. Acknowledging this digital-threat bias is foundational to improving the ability to protect critical infrastructure. Using construal-level theory and psychological-distance concepts provides an intriguing starting point to address these issues, to reframe the challenges faced, and pursue more effective critical infrastructure security and defense policy.

29 - ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY AND ECONOMY↗
NASA NTRS1967

A report of the physiological, psychological, and bacteriological aspects of 20 days in full pressure suits, 20 days at 27,000 feet on 100 percent oxygen, and 34 days of confinement, parts I, II, III

The study was designed to validate the 100% oxygen (258 mmHg) gaseous environment for 20 days with 7 days pre and post run evaluations. Studies include: renal and pulmonary function, retinal vascular changes, rather extensive blood work, nutrition, metabolic and water balance, bacteriological flora alterations, psychological manifestations, and full pressure suit and personal hygiene evaluations. While certain significant psychological alterations were observed, the physiological studies disclosed no significant variations from normal values. The atmosphere was well tolerated; however, 20 days constant full pressure suit wear posed some special problems.

PRESSURIZED SUIT↗