Motivational profile of retired cosmonauts

Paper number

IAC-17,A1,1,1,x40155

Author

Dr. Peter Suedfeld, University of British Columbia, Canada

Coauthor

Dr. Phyllis J. Johnson, University of British Columbia, Canada

Coauthor

Dr. Vadim Gushin, Institute for Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Russian Federation

Coauthor

Dr. Jelena Brcic, University of British Columbia, Canada

Year

2017

Abstract

Motivational Profile of Retired Cosmonauts
Peter
Suedfeld,
Department
of
Psychology,
The
University
of
British
Columbia,
Vancouver,
BC
Canada.
Tel.:
+1
604-­‐822-­‐5713

Purpose: The motive triad of needs for Achievement, Power, and Affiliation can predict
outcomes such as occupational success and satisfaction, innovation, aggressiveness, cooperation,
and conformity (McClelland, 1985). It is therefore a likely, but not used, measure for selection
and prediction of adaptation to the demands of flying in a space crew. Methodology: Winter’s
(1991) procedure for scoring the three motives from running text was used to analyze
autobiographical interviews with 20 retired long-duration male cosmonauts. Results: Overall,
the cosmonauts mentioned need for Affiliation most often, followed by need for Achievement,
with need for Power the least frequently mentioned. Cosmonauts who had spent less than a year
in space mentioned need for Achievement significantly more frequently than those who had
spent more than a year. Significant changes across pairs of career phases were not observed;
however, need for Power increased between reminiscences of one’s pre-flight career to those
concerning the post-flight period. On the other hand, imagery related to the needs for
Achievement and Affiliation decreased. Conclusions: The high scores for Affiliation need
indicate the importance of selecting compatible teams and fostering friendship and cooperation
during training and deployment. A relatively flat hierarchical organization would be harmonious
with low Power motivation, but after retirement from flight former space crews should be
afforded opportunities for leadership and decision-making. Other implications, and comparisons
to other data from space and analogue environments (e.g., polar stations), and other scoring
systems, such as that for personal values, will also be discussed.
WORD COUNT EXCLUDING AUTHOR INFORMATION: 250

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