title: Biological and cognitive determination of the gravitational reference frame.
abstract: It is argued that space sickness is not so much a physiological problem, but a psychological one, having its roots in the perception of the environment, and its associated cognitive processing. This cognitive processing is argued to be that of field dependence and field independence, for which exist psychobiological and cognitive assessment tests. Since there is an obvious economic advantage in the use of cognite testing, it is recommended that this could be used as an initial screening when selecting for astronauts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Ulster, Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland.
authors.forename: H G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Tittmar
mesh_terms: D000337:Aerospace Medicine; D018480:Astronauts / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D006801:Humans; D009949:Orientation; D010560:Personnel Selection; D011434:Proprioception; D011581:Psychological Tests; D013026:Space Flight; D018489:Space Motion Sickness / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D014796:Visual Perception; D014893:Weightlessness / Q000009:adverse effects*