SENSORY DEPRIVATION UNDER NULL-GRAVITY CONDITIONS
GEORGE W. BARNARD USAF (MC)1,
HAROLD D. WOLFF USAF (MC)1, , and
DUANE E. GRAVELINE USAF (MC)1
1 Psychophysiological Stress Section, Aerospace Medical Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
In evaluating the results of this series of experiments it should be noted that we did not obtain our desired level of minimal external sensory stimulation. We do believe, however, that we did obtain a significant degree of sensory deprivation and attenuation.
Although there are trends in reactions to sensory deprivation, it remains evident that the situation will be viewed differently by various subjects. Each subject will react to the situation in accordance with his past experience and personality structure.
While intellectual and emotional changes were present in our Air Force group, the degree of alterations were not as great as in some of the previously reported experimental groups. It may be that the defense mechanisms of our group did not permit as much loss of reality contact as other experimental subjects, most of whom were college students or other non-Air Force groups. An alternate explanation might be that we were introducing so much external stimulation in the nature of physical discomfort that subjects focused on this and prevented the lapse into primary process thinking with true hallucinations. By using new facilities and techniques, our future research well determine if further lowering of sensory input causes a greater loss of contact with reality. There was a suggestion that those who remained in the deprivation environment for the 10 hours were able to relate the somatic discomforts with detachment and had confidence in themselves, in the monitors and in the equipment.
