Psychology and Human Performance in Space Programs

Dr. Lauren Blackwell Landon is the Team Risk Discipline Scientist in the Human Factors and Behavioral Performance (HFBP) Element, a division of the NASA Human Research Program. In addition to overseeing team-oriented psychological research at NASA, she also conducts research in the HFBP Behavioral Health and Performance Laboratory. Her research targets teams in extreme environments, examining the influence of individual and team-oriented characteristics, and teamwork processes and team cognition as it affects team performance and functioning. She has a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, and has published 15 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and an edited book “Team Dynamics Over Time." Dr. Kelley Slack is a Senior Researcher on the operations side of Behavioral Health and Performance at NASA Johnson Space Center where she is involved with the psychological selection of astronauts. Dr. Slack is also a founding member of Minerva Work Solutions, an industrial-organizational consulting firm that provides evidence-based team training and team building, organizational development, and executive coaching. Her interests include resilience and adaptation in extreme environments and training soft skills. Dr. Slack has a Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology and is a licensed psychologist in the State of Texas. She has published over 20 book chapters and articles in peer-reviewed psychological and aeronautical journals. Dr. Eduardo Salas is the Allyn R. and Gladys M. Cline Chair, Professor, and Department Chair at Rice University. His research interests are uncovering what facilitates teamwork and team effectiveness in organizations; how and why team training work; how to optimize simulation-based training; how to design, implement, and evaluate training and development systems and generating evidence-based guidance for those in practice. Dr. Salas is a former president of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. The author of hundreds of research articles and dozens of academic books, he has also received many awards including the American Psychological Association’s Award for Outstanding Lifetime Contributions to Psychology.

Foreword. Introduction. Section 1: Selecting the Crew/Team. 1. Selection for Extreme Environments. 2. Job Analysis and Alternative Methods of Job Validation. 3. Development of Experiential Exercises for Selection. Section 2: Training the Crew/Team. 4. Methods of (technical) Training to Enhance Retention. 5. Team Training. 6. Group Living and Caring for Team and Self. Section 3: Supporting the Crew/Team. 7. Psychosocial Adaptation. 8. Psychological Support and Family Support. 9. Crew Self-Support. 10. Habitats and Habitability in Extreme Environments. 11. Human-Computer Interaction in Extreme Environments. Section 4: Organizational Processes. The Power of an Overarching Goal/Mission. 13. NASA and International Partners as Case Study of Organizational Mission. Section 5: Looking Forward. 14. Future Directions. 15. Inspirational Essay.