Suchergebnisse

Three participants, a male leader and a married couple, carried out a 46-day expedition in the Canadian High Arctic, retracing the exploratory route followed by Otto Sverdrup 100 years earlier. The group departed from an ice-locked boat in the Arctic, at which site they had lived andworked together for a 9-month period. Participants completed a Weekly Rating Form assessing personal, interpersonal, and work performance factors. All team members rated mood, satisfaction with the expedition, group camaraderie, and enjoyment of the environment consistently high over six of the seven weekly rating periods. Participants showed some differences but generally gave high ratings on group efficiency over the course of the expedition. Weather conditions at Week 7 and ensuing delays in airplane pickup were associated with a tendency to direct frustration and anger to external sources of decision control.

This study assessed the intrapersonal and interpersonal functioning of a three-couple expedition group that included a 2½-year-old child which was ice-locked on a boat in the High Arctic during a major portion of the expedition. Personality assessment indicated that team members were generally well adjusted, scoring relatively higher on well-being and achievement and relatively lower on stress reactivity. Weekly mood ratings showed that the group exhibited significantly higher positive than negative affect. Reported negative events were relatively most frequent at the beginning of the Arctic stay and toward the end of the darkness period and were lowest during the initial darkness interval. The period of darkness had both a salutary and negative impact. A highly important means of coping with stress was seeking emotional support from one's partner. Selection of couples with strong bonds with their partner appears to be one viable approach for crew selection for long-duration missions.