female mission, which far exceeded that accorded any other mission, 

 unquestionably caused members of this team to be more conscious of their per- 

 formance and more highly motivated to look good in comparison with other teams. 



None of the factors cited above reflect any discredit on the performance of the 

 female mission, which was excellent on an absolute basis; they are cited to 

 illustrate the importance of motivational factors. 



The conclusion that motivational factors probably account for most of the 

 obtained performance differences is supported by the general lack of differences 

 between female and male aquanauts on demographic and personality factors related 

 to diving performance. Female aquanauts were compared with male aquanauts by 

 unweighted means analysis of variance on general demographic and personality 

 variables. A significant difference was found only on mean age--the females as 

 a group were significantly younger than the males (X = 32.7 for males, 27.0 for 

 females; F = 5.43, p^.025). Among the variables on which there was no differ- 

 ence were years of s^cuba experience, IQ, religious activity, and value struc- 

 ture (as measured by the Allport-Vernon-Lindzey) . The two groups were also 

 compared on variables derived from the Life History Questionnaire. Significant 

 differences were found on only four variables. These were: parental physical 

 affection (females received more); school performance (females received higher 

 grades); fights with peers (females had fewer); and work during summer months 

 (females were less likely to have worked) . These contrasts are all in agree- 

 ment with sex differences in the American population. The remarkable fact, 

 then, is how similar the male and female groups were on all predictive measures. 



In stmraiary, female aquanauts logged more marine science activity and more total 

 work than did males. They were remarkably similar to males on personality and 

 demographic variables, and a hypothesis that their higher performance was a 

 result of higher motivation seems warranted. It does seem possible to conclude 

 that female aquanauts can perform as effectively as males in a saturation diving 

 operation such as TEKTITE. 



Scientist-Engineer Relations 



One of the questions frequently debated in social psychology is the nature of 

 relations between individuals with differing goals and orientations who are 

 forced into close interaction. The issue has been raised in particular in the 

 American space program where scientists and engineers are often described as 

 having incompatible goals which make professional and social interaction diffi- 

 cult. A valid concern is how a mixed crew of engineer-pilot astronauts and 

 scientist-astronauts would fare in close contact on a long-duration spaceflight. 

 Could individuals with divergent roles and goals be compatible in an isolated 

 environment for long periods of time where no opportunity for escape is present? 



TEKTITE II provided one opportunity to evaluate the interactions of mixed groups 

 in a natural setting. Each aquanaut team was composed of four scientists and 

 one engineer; the goal of the scientists was marine research while the engineer 

 was charged with the operation and maintenance of the habitat. The opportun- 

 ities for misunderstanding and conflict were many--over work goals and sched- 

 ules, space utilization, and social interests. 



VIII-41 



