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Psychology and Safety

The Human Element in Loss

Prevention

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Human Error

85-95% of all accidents are the result of humanerror

Why do only selected individuals get hurt orbecome ill? (Why do bad things happen to goodpeople?) Physiological and psychological differences

Motivation and injury prevention

Satisfaction and safety

Attitudes and safety

Personality and loss prevention

Management leadership styles and injury prevention

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Terms

Psychologystudy of human behavior

Attitudesenduring reactions toward people,

places, or objects. Based on our beliefs oremotional feelings Biaspreferences based on attitudes

Job satisfactionspecific attitude that is

emotional feeling that individuals have abouttheir job.

Moralesatisfaction of individuals needs andthe extent to which employees recognize that

this satisfaction comes from their jobs

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More terms

Motivationinner drive, impulse, or need

that creates a personal incentive toward

behavior Behavior modificationapplication of

operant conditioning principles for

behavioral change in the occupationalenvironment

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Motivation

People cannot and do not motivate others.

It is an individual who acts or behaves in a

given situation Environment can increase likelihood of

action or performance, but individual must

respond

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Theories of motivation

Goal-directedpeople have various types of

needs

Needs-Hierarchy Theory Need-Achievement Theory

Motivational Hygiene Theory

Behavioralexamines environmental factors

that influence human performance Pavlovian

Operant

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Maslows Needs-Hierarchy

Theory

Everyone has basic needs that must be satisfiedbefore more advanced needs can becomemotivating factors

Physiological needsfood, water, shelter

Safety-securityhealth and well-being

Socialfriendships, relationships

Self-esteemsense of personal worth Self-Actualizationindividual more concerned

with well-being of others or state of society

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McClellands Need Achievement

Theory

3 essential motives that drive behavior

Achievement

Accomplishment of tasks and activities

Affiliation

Seeking company or association with others

PowerAbility to positively influence others

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Motivation Hygiene Theory

Employee motivation depends on

characteristics of the job, known as

intrinsic job factors Greater intrinsic job factors results in

increased job satisfaction

Negative correlation between jobsatisfaction and accidents

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Behavioral theories

Pavlovian theory

Also known as classical conditioning

Views behavior as reflexive

Skinnerian theory

Also know as operant conditioning

Views behavior as learned and dependent onenvironmental consequences

Positive vs. negative reinforcement

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Behavior Modification

A=Antecedents

Stimuli or cues in the workplace that prompt a

behavior B=Behavior

Anything observable or measurable

Consequences

Events in the environment that influencebehavior

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Incentives

May create more problems than they solve

Employees come to expect bonuses or

awards as part of regular pay Create unhealthy competition

Encourage inaccurate recordkeeping

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Reinforces

Anything that increases the likelihood of a

behavior

Sometimes used in place of effectivesafety programs and positive safety

cultures