Kelley J. Slack, PhD, is an industrial/organizational psychologist specializing in an unusual workplace: space.
"I was never one of those kids who built model rockets, but I remember watching launches as a kid and thinking it was fascinating," says Slack.
Since 2004, she has been part of the Behavioral Health and Performance group at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), helping to select and train astronauts. When NASA decides it needs more astronauts, the process begins with NASA winnowing an initial pool of 18,000 would-be astronauts to 120. Then Slack and colleagues step in to identify the candidates most suited to being astronauts via interviews, standardized tests and experiential exercises.
Slack works part-time for NASA and also has an industrial/organizational psychology business called Minerva Work Solutions.* The Monitor spoke to Slack about her work.
What makes would-be astronauts ideal?
A space craft is an isolated, confined, extreme environment so they must have a temperament that's conducive to hostile, dangerous situations. They have to be able to adapt to living in a space craft, which involves a lot of routine tasks, such as cleaning and maintenance. Teamwork is essential. But they also have to be capable of switching at a moment's notice to a more active environment. It's like being a firefighter who's in the station doing maintenance and training and then called out to fires.
How do you train them?
With space flight, we're putting people in a small container they can't get out of in a dangerous situation and seeing how they handle it. That to me is one heck of an interesting psychological question. How can we help them not only survive but thrive? Astronauts do an incredible amount of training. They have to learn Russian, for example, because of the international aspect of space flight these days. On the psychological side, we train them on stress management, conflict management and something we call space flight resource management, which is communication, situational awareness, leadership, that kind of stuff.
Research has found that astronauts feel something called the "overview effect." What's that?
The overview effect has to do with a sense of connectedness, awe and a feeling of greater purpose astronauts feel as they're looking at Earth and seeing the entire thing. Astronauts talk about a feeling of protectiveness or sense of responsibility. One of astronauts' favorite leisure activities is photographing Earth. On the way to Mars, they won't be able to see Earth for most of the three-year mission, and there's a concern about this "Earth out of view" phenomenon.
Is there any spillover between your work with NASA and your work with Earth-bound workers?
One example is Moonbase, NASA's table-top simulation in which the goal is to get from the launch pad up to the moon base and back. Our group at Minerva Work Solutions has modified it so we can use it with our clients in business settings. It teaches space flight resource management skills—leadership, communication, teamwork—that are essential for success in all types of organizations.
*Minerva Work Solutions is not part of NASA, nor does NASA endorse it.