The impact of outer space on inner space.
Thematic content analysis for 11 seminal values was applied to the published memoirs of 4 early U.S. astronauts (John Glenn, Gordon Cooper, "Buzz" Aldrin, and Michael Collins). Premission values did not show the expected conventional pattern; some regularities were observed across the pre-, during-, and postflight profiles. Aldrin's post-NASA adjustment problems were possibly related to his highly (and uniquely) skewed focus on Achievement to the exclusion of other values. Because of the small and unrepresentative sample of both subjects and measures, this paper is best considered an illustration of the potential usefulness of thematic content analysis in studying the history of human spaceflight and the understanding of astronauts' lives.
Suedfeld
Peter
P
Department of Psychology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. psuedfeld@psych.ubc.ca
Weiszbeck
Tara
T
D000124:Achievement; D018480:Astronauts; D005197:Famous Persons; D006801:Humans; D010555:Personality Inventory; D010684:Philosophy; D012919:Social Behavior; D029181:Spirituality; D014481:United States