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Psychological predictors of astronaut effectiveness
R M Rose1, L F Fogg, R L Helmreich
1John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Chicago, IL 60603.
Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine
|October 1, 1994
Summary
Astronaut personality traits significantly impact job effectiveness. Specific traits like low impatience and high agreeableness are linked to better performance, especially for long-duration space missions.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Aerospace Medicine
- Human Factors in Spaceflight
Background:
- Understanding astronaut psychological profiles is crucial for mission success.
- Personality assessment is increasingly important for selecting individuals for extreme environments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between personality characteristics and professional effectiveness in astronauts.
- To identify specific personality traits associated with high astronaut performance.
Main Methods:
- Collected personality and effectiveness data from 65 NASA astronauts.
- Analyzed the correlation between five personality subscales and astronaut effectiveness.
- Examined the non-linear nature of these relationships.
Main Results:
- Five personality subscales showed a relationship with effectiveness.
- High negative expressivity, negative communion, low impatience/irritability, low openness, low negative instrumentality, and high agreeableness were identified.
- Undesirable traits were present across all effectiveness levels, but low levels were unique to high performers.
Conclusions:
- Certain personality traits are critical for astronaut effectiveness.
- These traits, particularly other-directed qualities, will be vital for long-term spaceflight.
- Future astronaut selection and training should prioritize these personality characteristics.