Abstract
4 highly trained, experienced aquanauts were placed in a situation which they knew in advance would be hazardous but presented dangers with which they were familiar. They were accustomed to psychological tests but had never been tested with the particular instrument used in this experiment (IPAT 8-Parallel Form Anxiety Battery). The test was given 15 min. prior to the beginning of the dive, and another form of the test with a high correlation value was given 30 min. after the 48-hr. dive. Anxiety levels prior to the experiment were abnormally low as compared to the general population, indicating presumably the presence of anxiety and the erection of a defense to control it. After the dive, anxiety levels returned to or began to return to, points approximating those of the general population, exceeding them in one case but being still low in another.
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