Psychological Adaptation to Extreme Environments: Antarctica as a Space Analogue

CAMILA TORTELLO; MARTA BARBARITO; JUAN MANUEL CUIULI; DIEGO GOLOMBEK; DANIEL E. VIGO; SANTIAGO PLANO

Psychology and Behavioral Science International Journal

Juniper Publishers

Año: 2018 vol. 9 p. 1 - 4

2474-7688

Space analogues are settings where conditions can be reproduced to study physiological and psychological variables experienced in space.Antarctica is one of the most reliable analogues to assess the effects of isolation, confinement, light-dark cycle and extreme environmentalconditions in human being. In the present review we describe some of the aspects of psychological adaptation to extreme latitudes.Most of thestudies found some evidence about changes in emotional states during Antarctica expeditions. However, these changes are highly variable, andbeneficial as well as detrimental aspects of adaptation have been described. Adaptation to extreme environments is a complex phenomenon thatneeds multidimensional studies to be fully understood, comprising aspects such as seasonality, psychological traits, isolation conditions andsocial interactions.