Psychological and physiological changes during isolation and confinement: I. Group dynamics and member interaction

The isolated and confined environment of a laboratory setting was used as one of the analogous environments of long-term manned spaceflight. This setting has more advantages than the natural one in that the behavioral variables can be easily controlled. Thus, a hyperbaric chamber was used in this experiment. The subjects were five men from 22- to 26-years old who had never met before the experiment. Over a total 5-day isolation and confinement period as well as 2-day pre- and post-isolation periods, the subjects were given different kinds of physiological and psychological tasks. During these periods their behavior and communications were recorded in order to observe when the formation of a group begins and how it forms and functions. The formation of a sub-group of three men was observed on the third day of isolation, showing strong reciprocal connections among these subjects who developed bonds that were quite stable. It is, however, not known how this sub-group functioned within the large group, since the experimental period was possibly too short.