Psychology of Space Exploration
from participants requesting answers to all sorts of space questions. It seemed that
now that they were perceived by others as authorities on space, people called to ask
space-related questions of them. When they could not answer them, they turned to
us for the answers. What is important here is that this postsimulation experience
gave us the opportunity to see how this simulation had changed the participants’
lives in a positive, space-related way.
During the first of the two simulations, we had programmed in an hour during
the early part of the “orbiting” for the participants to talk with “Mission Control.”
This was a question-and-answer period. We hoped they might find it instructive
and even entertaining. As it turned out, the early part of their flight had gener-
ated many questions that they were eager to have answered or have an opportu-
nity to discuss. They so enjoyed that hour that they pleaded to have another such
hour added for later in the flight. Fortunately, this request was made on the first
flight, because the experimental design required that the program schedules be
the same in both flights. We did add the extra hour to both flights. In the post-
flight questionnaires, the participants of both flights indicated that the discus-
sions with Mission Control while flying were the favorite parts of the trip. Very
clearly, the participants enjoyed the spaceflight aspects of the simulation very
much. All of the subsystems of the simulator worked as planned. No extraneous
variables intruded, such as outside noises. From the standpoint of the equipment,
the experiment was uneventful.
Just before entering the simulator, the experimental group received a 2-hour-
long program designed to enhance interpersonal prosocial behavior. It was designed
much like the type of program corporations provide for their executives in order to
develop team building and enhance effective workplace interactions. The program
was divided into two main sections, one emphasizing effective interpersonal behav-
ior and the other dealing with understanding and resolving conflicts. In essence, the
first part taught participants how to be sensitive to one another and get along, and
the second part taught them how to recover if a falling-out did occur. Each partici-
pant in the experimental group received a bound 14-page pamphlet of notes about
the course material. Much of the formal presentation was lecture/discussion in style,
but about one-fifth involved group activities as well.
Just before entering the spacecraft, the control group was given a presenta-
tion that lasted the same amount of time but had nothing to do with effective
group behavior.