Lost on the Moon Task

Abstract

The Lost on the Moon Task, developed by Jay Hall in 1963, is a classic simulation exercise designed to evaluate group performance and collaborative problem-solving abilities. It presents participants with a hypothetical crisis scenario—a crash landing on the moon—and requires them to engage in group decision-making regarding survival priorities. Specifically, the task mandates the ranking of 15 critical items necessary for survival and a 200-mile journey to a rendezvous point. This instrument is widely used in organizational development and academic research concerning team dynamics and has significant practical implications for assessing teamwork in the modern workplace. However, specific data pertaining to the instrument’s reliability and validity are not generally provided in its primary documentation.

Keywords

Group Decision Making, Team Performance Assessment, Teamwork, Organizational Behavior, Social Measures, Workplace Dynamics, Group Performance

Authors

Hall, Jay

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Lost on the Moon Task is to systematically assess the processes involved in teamwork and group decision-making. The exercise requires groups to move from individual ranking to a consensus ranking, allowing researchers and trainers to observe communication patterns, conflict resolution, influence tactics, and overall group efficacy.

The simulation is particularly relevant for understanding workplace dynamics, as the pressure of the survival scenario often highlights natural leadership structures and communication breakdowns within a team. The score is typically calculated by comparing the group’s rank order against an expert-derived ranking, quantifying the quality of the group’s collective decision.

Construct

The instrument is designed to measure the construct of Group Decision Making. This construct encompasses the ability of a team to utilize collective knowledge, synthesize diverse perspectives, and arrive at an optimal solution under constraints (time pressure and hypothetical resource scarcity).

The emphasis is not solely on the final outcome but on the interaction processes that lead to that outcome. Effective performance on the task is indicative of high levels of interpersonal communication, shared understanding, and effective utilization of team members’ input, all critical components of high-functioning teams in organizational settings.

Validity

Formal psychometric data regarding the validity of the Lost on the Moon Task are not explicitly indicated or provided in the foundational documentation by Hall (1963). While its utility is widely recognized in applied organizational psychology and training, users should note the absence of standard measures of construct, criterion, or content validity typically associated with validated psychological instruments.

Despite the lack of formal validation studies, the task’s continued widespread use in research and training suggests a high degree of face validity, particularly in its ability to simulate realistic pressure and highlight observable behaviors related to team performance.

Reliability

No specific reliability data, such as test-retest coefficients or internal consistency measures (e.g., Cronbach’s alpha), are indicated for the Lost on the Moon Task. Given that the instrument is structured as a single-session performance task rather than a traditional personality or attitude scale, traditional measures of internal consistency are typically less applicable.

Researchers and practitioners employing the task should acknowledge this limitation regarding formal psychometric reliability when interpreting results, particularly concerning the stability or consistency of group performance across different administrations or contexts.

Factor Analysis

No factor analysis has been indicated or reported for the Lost on the Moon Task. As the instrument requires participants to rank 15 distinct items based on their perceived importance for survival, it operates as a holistic performance measure rather than a multi-factor scale designed to decompose underlying latent traits.

Instrument

Test Type: Task / Simulation Exercise

Alternate Test Names: NASA Exercise: Survival on the Moon; NASA Moon Survival Task; Lost on the Moon Test; NASA Task

Format: Participants are presented with a scenario: “Your space crew crash-landed on the moon 200 miles from a rendezvous point. Rank the items critical for the journey.” The task involves ranking 15 items in order of importance for survival. The time limit for completion is typically 10 minutes for the individual ranking phase, followed by a group consensus phase.

Language Available: English (Original)

Population Group: Human; Male; Female

Age Group: Adulthood (18 years and older)

Population Details: The initial studies were conducted primarily in the United States, utilizing undergraduate students as respondents.

Test Methodology: The task is administered using a paper format. Participants first complete the ranking individually, and then, as a group, they must negotiate and agree upon a single, unified ranking. Performance is scored by comparing the individual and group rankings against an authoritative expert ranking (often derived from NASA specialists or survival experts).

Keywords

Group Decision Making, Team Performance Assessment, Teamwork, Organizational and Occupational Measures, Social and Interpersonal Measures, Group Performance, Organizational Behavior

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source documentation.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source documentation.

Correspondence Address: Jay Hall, University of Texas, Graduate School of Business (Affiliation at time of publication).

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Lost on the Moon Task was developed and first published in 1963 by Jay Hall. Information regarding specific fees or permissions for large-scale commercial use is often managed by subsequent publishers or distributors, although the core concept and structure of the task are widely available in academic and organizational training literature.

Reference’s

• Hall, J. (1963). Lost on the Moon Task. University of Texas, Graduate School of Business.
• Hall, J., & Watson, W. H. (1970). The effects of group size and task structure on group performance and member reactions. Journal of Social Psychology, 80(2), 163-172.
• Latham, G. P., Hu, J., & Brcic, J. (2020). The effect of a context-specific primed goal on goal commitment and team performance. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 69(3), 805–833. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12207
• Pollio, H. R., & Bainum, I. (1983). The effects of group size on the solution of a multiple-solution task. Journal of Social Psychology, 119(1), 17-25.

Items of the Lost on the Moon Task

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

The test items for the Lost on the Moon Task are not available in the public domain or source documentation. To access the test items, users are directed to contact the corresponding author or the institution affiliated with the original publication.