Extreme environmental and social conditions in polar and circumpolar regions present great challenges to field research personnel. In 1997, a new station was constructed at the summit of Greenland for the National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs to carry out research on a year-round basis. A longitudinal survey was conducted with the first winter-over crew from August 1997 through April 1998 to find out how the users evaluated the station and to what extent their evaluation of the station was related to their well-being. Results of the survey indicate that the users maintained a positive evaluation of the built environment throughout the season. However, effects of the spatial confinement of the station on the users were somewhat visible. Furthermore, the survey revealed some tendencies between the self-described well-being and environmental and psychological factors. The article concludes with suggestions for design of similar stations in the future.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Altman, I. , & Christensen, K. (1990). Environment and behavior studies: Emergence of intellectual traditions. New York: Plenum.
2.
Barabasz, A. , & Barabasz, M. (1986). Antarctic isolation and inversion perception: Regression phenomena. Environment and Behavior, 18, 285-292.
3.
Bechtel, R. , (1997). Environment and behavior: An introduction. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
4.
Bechtel, R. , Marans, R., & Michelson, W. (Eds.). (1987). Methods in environmental and behavioral research. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
5.
Berry, C. A. (1973). A view of human problems to be addressed for long duration space flights. Aerospace Medicine, 44, 1136-1146.
6.
Carrere, S. , & Evans, G. W. (1994). Life in an isolated and confined environment: A qualitative study of the role of the designed environment. Environment and Behavior, 26, 707-741.
7.
Cherulnik, P. D. (1993). Applications of environment-behavior research: Case studies and analysis. New York: Cambridge University Press.
8.
Connors, M. M. , & Herskowitz, M. (1985). Living aloft: Human requirements for extended spaceflight (NASASP-483). Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
9.
Derogatis, L. R. , Lipman, R. S., Rickels, K., Uhlenhuth, E. H., & Covi, L. (1974). The Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL): A self-report symptom inventory. Behavioral Science, 19, 1-15.
10.
Evans, G. , Stokols, B., & Carrere, S. (1988). Human adaptation to isolated and confined environments (microform): Preliminary findings of a seven month Antarctic winter-over human factors study. Moffett Field, CA: NASA Ames Research Center.
11.
Gunderson, E.K.E. (1974). Psychological studies in Antarctica: A review. In O. G. Edholm & E.K.E. Gunderson (Eds.), Polar human biology: The proceedings of the SCAR/IUPS/IUBS symposium on human biology and medicine in the Antarctic (pp. 352-361). London: William Heinemann Medical.
12.
Gunderson, E.K.E. , & Nelson, P. D. (1963). Adaptation of small groups to extreme environments. Aerospace Medicine, 34, 1111-1115.
13.
Huntford, R. (Ed.). (1987). The Amundsen photographs. New York: Athaneum.
14.
Leon, G. R. (1991). Individual and group process characteristics of polar expedition teams. Environment and Behavior, 23, 723-748.
15.
Marans, R. , & Spreckelmeyer, K. (1981). Evaluating built environments: A behavioral approach. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan.
16.
McAndrew, F. T. (1993). Environmental psychology. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
17.
Mocellin, J.S.P. , & Suedfeld, P. (1991). Voices from the ice: Diaries of polar explorers. Environment and Behavior, 23, 704-722.
18.
Natani, K. , & Shurley, J. T. (1979). Sociopsychological aspects of a winter vigil at South Pole Station. In E.K.E. Gunderson (Ed.), Human adaptability to Antarctic conditions (Antarctic Research Series, Vol. 22, pp. 89-114). Worcester, MA: Heffernan.
19.
Nelson, L. (1992). To thrive—Not just survive: A study of the habitability of Australian Antarctic buildings (ASAC Project No. 505, First Interim Report). Unpublished working report.
20.
Oakley, E.N.H. (1986). First Antarctic winter in tents: The joint services expedition to Brabant Island. Journal of the Royal Naval Medical Services London, 72, 69-74.
21.
Palinkas, L. A. (1991). Effects of physical and social environments on the health and well-being of Antarctic winter-over personnel. Environment and Behavior, 23, 782-799.
22.
Potter, J. J. , Yan, X. W., Krug, N. S., Kuivinen, K. C., & England, M. E. (1998). Polar field tent shelters and well-being of users. Environment and Behavior, 30 (3), 398-421.
23.
Rivolier, J. , Goldsmith, R., Lugg D. J., & Taylor, A.J.W. (Eds.). (1988). Man in the Antarctic. London: Taylor and Francis.
24.
Steel, G. D. , & Suedfeld, P. (1991). Temporal patterns of affect in an isolated group. Environment and Behavior, 23, 749-765.
25.
Stokols, D. , & Altman, I. (1987). Handbook of environmental psychology. New York: John Wiley.
26.
Stuster, J. W. (1996). Bold endeavor: Lessons from polar and space exploration. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute.
27.
Suedfeld, P. (1987). Extreme and unusual environments. In D. Stokols & I. Altman (Eds.), Handbook of environmental psychology (pp. 863-887). New York: John Wiley.
28.
Suedfeld, P. (1991). Polar psychology: An overview. Environment and Behavior, 23, 653-665.
29.
Taylor, T. , (1987). Antarctic psychology. Wellington, New Zealand: Science Information Publishing Center.
30.
Ursin, H. (1991). Psychological studies of individuals in small, isolated groups in the Antarctic and in space analogues. Environment and Behavior, 23, 766-781.
31.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers . (1993). Current literature: Cold regions science and technology. Cold Regions Research & Engineering Laboratory.
32.
Veitch, J. A. , & Gifford, R. (1996). Choice, perceived control, and performance decrements in the physical environment. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 16, 269-276.
33.
Weybrew, B. B. , & Noddin, E. M. (1979). Psychiatric aspects of adaptation to long submarine missions. Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine, 37, 522-534.
34.
Wood, J. , Lugg, D., & Harm, D. (1999). Psychological changes in hundred-day remote Antarctic field groups. Environment and Behavior, 31(3), 299-338.
35.
Yan, X. W. , England, M. E., Kuivinen, K. C., Potter, J. J. & Krug, N. S. (1998, April). A critical review of design and use of field tent shelters in polar regions. Polar Record, 34(189), 113-122.
36.
Yan, X. W. , Kuivinen, K. C., & England, M. E. (1998, July). The built habitat in polar regions: An environmental behavioral design approach. Paper presented at the 15th International Conference of People-Space Studies, Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
37.
Zeisel, J. (1981). Inquiry by design. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
