Psychology of Space Exploration
DISCUSSION
Flying with Strangers: The Influence of Minority-Majority StatusIt seems clear that space voyagers who fly in a crew composed mostly of people
from their own country have a different experience from those who are a minor-
ity flying with a mostly foreign crew. However, contrary to some assumptions that
minority status would be generally aversive, the data show a mixed picture. For
example, among minority participants, the value of Stimulation and Conformity
decreases between the preflight and in-flight phases; this decrease presumably indi-
cates that both boredom and the desire to submerge one’s own culturally learned
characteristics become less of a challenge over time. Simultaneously, Spirituality
increases, indicating a growing internal recognition of transcendental values that is
often found among astronauts and is apparently not thwarted—and may in fact be
enhanced—by being the “odd person out” in the crew.^39 Hedonism also increases,
implying a heightened concern with pleasure.
Being in the minority was associated with fewer references to social interac-
tion, community, other specific individuals, and human beings in general. This
datum emerged from the computerized frequency analysis and is difficult to inter-
pret because LIWC merely counts words and phrases; it does not differentiate on
the basis of context. More interesting is the fact that minority status also led to
more positive comments about one’s family, perhaps to compensate for some degree
of social isolation; apparently, absence made the heart grow fonder (which was not
found for majority crewmembers). One’s own home organization evoked more neg-
ative references, confirming the complaints of inadequate preparation and support
that characterize some anecdotal comments. The agency in charge of the mission—
that is, a space agency foreign to the minority flier—was viewed with increasing
mistrust as the mission unfolded, perhaps with the recognition that its rules and
procedures were alien and sometimes uncomfortable.
However, there was no evidence that bad feelings prevailed toward the major-
ity crewmates, again despite conclusions sometimes drawn from selected anec-
dotal reports. In fact, the data showed a generally trustful and friendly attitude,
- P. Suedfeld, “Space Memoirs: Value Hierarchies Before and After Missions—A Pilot
Study,” Acta Astronautica 58 (2006): 583–586.