Tend-and-befriend behaviour during spaceflight simulation

Stress under extreme conditions can promote not only negative reactions but also prosocial behaviour or provision of protection and social support. This study presents research aimed at detecting the ‘tend-and-befriend’ stress response among crewmembers of the SIRIUS-19 international spaceflight simulation (120 days, 3 men, 3 women). Emotional energy proved to be a good indicator of individual capability to emotionally invest in relationships with crewmates. To measure emotional energy, we applied a subscale of Shirom-Melamed Vigor Measure. Personal Self Perception and Attitudes computerised test and sociometry were used to assess cohesion and psychological closeness in the crew. The results show a high level of emotional energy invested by the crew in their crewmates. Crew cohesion, assessed on the basis of reciprocal sociometric choices, and psychological closeness, measured as perceived similarity, both tended to increase during the isolation experiment. In a mixed crew, both men and women showed high levels of emotional energy and social support. It seems therefore that in a cohesive crew, emotional relationships – expressed in increased psychological closeness, emotional energy, and the tend-and-befriend behaviour (provision of mutual protection and assistance) – represent the dominant prosocial response to the challenge of social isolation. This line of research deserves further development in the context of simulated space flights and would profit from further work on instruments aimed at a deeper analysis of emotional relationships in small isolated groups.