THE TEKTITE II HUMAN BEHAVIOR PROGRAM 



Robert Helmreich 



Principal Investigator 



The University of Texas at Austin 



ABSTRACT 



The objectives of this program were to study and assess the 

 psychological dynamics of small groups under stress in a hazard- 

 ous environment. The program was designed to obtain information 

 applicable to crew selection, concepts, and command structure. 

 The data were collected utilizing closed circuit television and 

 open microphones. The results were recorded directly on com- 

 puter cards. The findings indicated that the techniques used 

 and the criteria applied should provide valuable information 

 with respect to the selection of crews for future under sea and 

 space missions. 



INTRODUCTION 



The TEKTITE II Human Behavior Program was a large-scale field investigation of 

 ongoing human behavior in an isolated, confined environment. The program sought 

 to advance basic research on individual and group behavior, to provide informa- 

 tion useful for selecting crews and manning future underwater habitats, and to 

 obtain data applicable to problems of long duration space flight. 



The multiple goals of the research necessitated a broad approach to the collec- 

 tion of data with defined subareas of interest. A primary concern was the 

 development of batteries based on pre-mission testing which can effectively pre- 

 dict performance and behavior in this and other settings. The research strategy 

 was to attempt to refine general measures which can be validated against objec- 

 tive criteria and should have many applications in selecting personnel for a 

 variety of tasks. Another major goal was to describe and explain patterns of 

 adjustment to isolated and stressful environments. Directly related to this was 

 comparison of these trends in missions of different lengths. This aspect of the 

 study also included determination of the intercorrelations between such compon- 

 ents of behavior as crew composition and its effects on performance. Components 

 of this research area were leadership roles, scientist-engineer relations, and 

 the effects of partial crew rotation. 



Secondary research goals encompassed detailed studies of communication patterns, 

 social dominance, utilization of space within the habitat, meai behavior, energy 

 expenditure, mood fluctuations, and territoriality. 



Four modes of data collection were employed: (1) psychological testing prior 

 to each mission; (2) continuous observation of in-habitat behavior by closed 

 circuit television and open microphones; (3) self -reports on emotional state by 

 aquanauts; and (4) structured debriefing of each aquanaut immediately after 

 decompression. The systematic, quantified observation of in~habitat benavior 

 was the heart of the program. Behavior was monitored Zh hours a day during the 

 182 days that the habitat was occupied by the ten scientific missions. 



VIII-15 



