HUMAN BEHAVIOR PROGRAM 



259 



this test with the divers following submersion, it was revealed that some of the men found it 

 annoying to be required to perform the test. This was particularly true at the end of a sortie 

 when they were cold and tired. As a result they occasionally vented their frustrations and an- 

 noyance on the test by pulling for all they were worth. This large expenditure of energy (for 

 whatever reason) may have had the effect of counteracting what might, under normal conditions, 

 be a larger loss of overall strength. The fact remains, however, that the energy resources 

 were available when called upon. 



It is interesting to note further that a significant positive correlation was found to exist 

 between the amount of strength exerted and (a) the expressed dislike for meals, and (b) com- 

 plaints about not having enough free time. These relationships lend support to the notion that 

 certain men felt frustration and annoyance and that they found suitable expression both by re- 

 porting their dislikes and by extreme application of themselves on the strength test. 



Individual Assembly Test — The individual assembly (triangle) test was performed on dry 

 land, in shallow water, and during Sealab. Table 27 presents the group means (M) and the 

 number of times the test was performed (N). The (N) does not necessarily indicate the number 

 of divers who performed the test, inasmuch as some divers performed the same test more 

 than once. 



Table 27 



GROUP MEANS (M) AND NUMBER OF TRIALS (N) 



FOR INDIVIDUAL ASSEMBLY TEST 



(Data Given in Seconds) 



■'Mean value. 

 iNumber of tests. 



Figure 104 illustrates more clearly the overall trend of the data. The data show a 37- 

 percent increase in performance time between dry-land and Sealab conditions. It also shows 

 that performance time increases as a function of smaller size components and greater restric- 

 tion on the number of available ways to assemble the triangle properly. It should be noted that 

 success in the individual assembly task is significantly correlated with the amount of diving 

 experience and significantly negatively correlated with the number of aborted missions. That 

 is, the shorter the assembly time, the fewer number of aborted missions. An interpretation of 

 these findings will have to await further analysis. 



Two-Hand Coordination Test — The amount of data taken on this test was less complete 

 than for all other psychomotor tests due to equipment malfunctions and allows a comparison to 

 be made of the three conditions of performance only for plate 5. The track on this plate was 

 essentially a straight line S with a "bump." Table 28 presents a summary of the data. 



The data indicate a 17-percent increase in performance time between dry land and Sealab 

 conditions. Plate 5 might be considered to be a medium difficulty. It should be of interest in 

 the future to determine the relationship between level of difficulty and performance decrement, 

 using some of the more difficult plates not used sufficiently in this study for valid conclusions 

 to be drawn. 



Group Assembly Test — Only one group assembly test was undertaken outside the habitat. 

 The time taken was 12 min, 20 sec. However, the team had practiced assembling the compo- 

 nents and discussed their strategy immediately prior to going out to do the test. Hence, the 

 time taken may be compared to the best time recorded by a team operating on dry land who had 

 inspected the test, discussed it, and practiced it. The best dry-land assembly time was six 

 minutes. There is thus prima facie indication that this type of work may take twice as long to 

 do under Sealab conditions as compared to dry-land conditions. 



