Effect of 45-day simulated microgravity on the evaluation of orally reported emergencies

Abstract

Accurate evaluation of emergencies is a critical concern in long-duration space flights. Accordingly, we studied the effect of 45 days of − 6° head-down bed rest – a model that simulates the conditions in microgravity environments – on the evaluation of orally reported emergencies. Sixteen male participants listened to corresponding emergency scenarios and assessed the severity of these situations eight times before, during and after bed rest. The results revealed a ‘ recency effect’: compared with emergency descriptions in the order of serious to mild, those framed in the reverse order were judged to be more serious. However, the severity ratings did not vary with time spent in the simulated microgravity environment. These findings are similar to those observed in a regular environment on Earth, indicating that the design principles of information presentation for situations on Earth may also be extended to designs intended for outer space.

Practitioner Summary: A recency effect was found in the evaluation of orally reported emergencies under simulated microgravity conditions. The design principles of information presentation for situations on Earth may also be extended to designs intended for outer space.

Keywords:

• bed rest
• evaluation
• emergency
• primacy effect
• recency effect

Acknowledgements

This research was partially supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, No. 2011CB711000), the Knowledge Innovation Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KSCX2-EW-J-8) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31170976). The authors thank Yin Su, Xue-Lei Du and Hong-Yue Sun for their assistance with data collection.