Psychology in high demanding environments

Our research aims to demonstrate that Emotional Intelligence Skills (EIS) could be a tool to support the cognitive processes that will be influenced by the complexity of tasks required during long duration space travel. Emotions, apart from being functional states of the whole organism, involve both physiological (organic) and psychological (mental) processes, therefore the management of EIS plays an important role in the regulation and self-control of a person, as well as their self-knowledge. This, in turn, contributes to professional and personal success. Very few research on this topic has been done with people working in the space sector which could be interesting since we are talking about professions that require high performance under special conditions with high levels of stress and moral responsibility. This research uses a series of questionnaires given to analog astronauts in the Analog Astronaut Training Center in Poland and groups of people brought together by the EuroMoonMars group who conducted scientific work in extreme environments. The questionnaires included in this research are: Emotional Meta-awareness Scale (TMMS-24); Group Environment Scale (GES-E & GES-R); HEXACO personality inventory; Cognitive and Affective Empathy Scale (TECA); Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS); and the SCL-90-S, a psychopathology indicator. These questionnaires will provide comparative and orientation data from which we can examine if there is a possible emergence of an ideal personality style which leads to high EIS, how emotional processes can influence cognitive functions, and whether training in emotional intelligence can affect long-term cognitive processes in these kind of environments. This would be imperative for future astronauts in order to maintain their attention, their vigilance, and reduce the effects of fatigue and stress while in space.