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Abstract
Astronauts report certain experiences that can be classified as awe and wonder when looking out of their space station or shuttle portals at two different stimuli: the earth and deep space. Based on these reports, it was of interest to further investigate those types of experiences by using a mixed-reality environment resembling an International Space Station workstation designed to expose subjects to simulated stimuli of the earth and deep space. The study is multidisciplinary, involving simulation construction, physiological assessment, psychological testing, textual analysis, and phenomenological interviews. The goal was to induce in the average person the experiences and responses of the astronauts. Preliminary results show promise for using a virtual/mixed-reality environment in a laboratory when assessing cognitive/affective experiences, such as awe and wonder, found in a real-world context.
Notes
1. Space, Science, and Spirituality (http://www.chdr.cah.ucf.edu/spaceandspirituality/) is a research project supported by a 2-year grant from the John Templeton Foundation. It is a collaboration among researchers from a number of disciplines, including simulation science, psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy, and from a number of different institutions: The Institute of Simulation and Training and the Philosophy Department at the University of Central Florida, the Philosophy Department at the University of Memphis, and the Kolleg-Forschergruppe Bildakt und Verkörperung (College for Advanced Study of Image-act and Embodiment) at the Humboldt University, Berlin.
2. Kolleg-Forschergruppe Bildakt und Verkörperung (The Collegium for the Advanced Study of Picture Act and Embodiment) at the Humboldt University. The term Bildakt (image-act) derives from the work of Horst Bredekamp, Director of the Bildakt group. It should be understood in a way similar to the concept ‘speech-act’. It involves the interdisciplinary study of how we use images, what images do for us, and what they do to us. See http://bildakt-verkoerperung.de/.