Relationships of personality traits with performance in reaction time, psychomotor ability, and mental efficiency during a 31-day simulated climb of Mount Everest in a hypobaric chamber

Exposure to chronic hypoxia induces behavioral and mood disturbances and al terations in cognitive functions. We examined the relationships of personal ity traits, including trait-anxiety, with performance in binary visual reac tion time, psychomotor abi ty, and mental efficiency, using the psychologic al database of the 'Everest-Comex 97' experiment, which consisted in a 31-d ay simulated climb in a hypobaric chamber from sea level to 8,848 in altitu de. Analysis yielded a significant positive correlation between the climber s' mean reaction time at hypoxic conditions and preclimb scores on trait-an xiety (as assessed by Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory) and furt her significant negative correlations with both Factor A (reserved-outgoing ) and Factor G (expedient-conscientious) of the Carrell Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire. In contrast, no significant correlation was found be tween the climbers' mean psychomotor performance and mental efficiency with personality traits, including anxiety. These findings agree with those of previous studies: (i) anxiety could mediate stimulus-response tasks but not more complex tasks requiring strategic processes, (ii) individuals with pe rsonality traits such as 'reserved' and 'expedient' could have slight advan tages in processing information on stimulus-response tasks. Limitations in study design are also discussed.