Role of beliefs in accident and risk analysis and prevention
Introduction
Much progress has undeniably been made in improving the reliability and safety of modern production systems. However, these systems still involve considerable risk and accidents, sometimes with major consequences that are tolerated less and less well. Technical and organizational solutions have been tried in some cases, with varying degrees of success (Kouabenan et al., 2003). It has been noted on numerous occasions that the interplay between people’s behaviors and mental representations often play a major role in accidents and dangerous situations (Kouabenan, 1999). Preventive measures are not always respected, operators do not always wear available protective gear, supervisors and directors often show little concern for accident prevention, focusing instead on meeting production objectives, and so on. In summary, few people seem to be truly concerned with prevention, even though risks are far from being under control. Our hypothesis is that such indifference about accident prevention, and the relative ineffectiveness of preventive measures, results from different “readings” of the same situation and from poor quality communication about risk and methods of overcoming it. This situation is caused by differing and sometimes biased representations of risks and accidents. We believe that by analyzing the sociocognitive functioning of the different actors at the workplace, and thus their representations and beliefs, we can enrich accident analysis and increase involvement in and commitment to safety and safety measures. We analyzed two complementary types of data, spontaneous explanations of accidents provided by operators, and their perception of risks inherent in the organization.
This paper particularly deals with an old psychological theme, i.e., the impact of comprehensive reference systems such as belief systems and culture on safety and accident prevention. Such approach is especially relevant in the current era, characterized by the globalization of trade, the transfer of production technologies and systems, and the internationalization of labour. Today we see not only “travelling factories”, but also many workers relocating to foreign countries. In this climate, culture and even more so beliefs, take on particular importance for safety. Each production system carries with it a system of values and standards specific to its developers’ country of origin and to certain ideas about work. Likewise, each worker had his or her own set of beliefs, representations, norms, and culture. These representations, and more specifically risk perception and spontaneous (or naive) explanations of accidents, influence all levels of risk management. They affect political or strategic choices, and economic and cultural choices as to what types and levels of risk are acceptable, unavoidable, or useful; they have an impact on measures taken to counter potentially harmful effects, and on whether safety procedures are accepted and followed; they influence how individuals evaluate their personal exposure to risk, their decision as to whether or not to protect themselves, and their receptivity to prevention messages. By gaining insight into the representations, beliefs, and naive causal explanations not only of operators, but also of decision-makers, investors, directors, various other stakeholders involved in an organization, and all those engaged in risky activities, we can understand their attitudes with respect to safety problems and thus the behavioral choices they make.
The present paper seeks to describe the role of beliefs in handling and defining safety measures as well as in designing and developing prevention programs. First, the relationship between beliefs and safety is illustrated (1st part); then, we present the influence of beliefs on accident explanation (2nd part) and on risk perception (3rd part). In the fourth part, we show how culture is an important factor in risk perception and the explanations of accidents. Finally, we underline the relationship between beliefs, safety diagnosis and preventive measures (5th part).
Section snippets
Beliefs and perceptions about safety: illustrations in developing and developed countries
Several past studies (Kouabenan, 1998, Kouabenan, 1999, Kouabenan, 2000a, Kouabenan, 2003) have shown that experts are not the only ones affected by safety problems. People at all levels in the workplace, from laborers and operators to supervisors and top executives, have representations of risks and why they exist. Each person has ideas about what causes accidents and how to prevent them. These representations and beliefs, whether held by employers or operators, inevitably influence the
Beliefs and explanations of accidents
Within both industrialized and developing countries, explanations of accidents are a fundamental and prerequisite element for instituting preventive actions. Accident explanations are generally drawn up by experts, who then go on to design preventive procedures. However, the procedures they devise are implemented by operators, who are rarely consulted during the causal analysis and development of preventive measures. We showed (Kouabenan, 1999) that not only do operators have certain ideas
Perception of risks and illusory beliefs
Today more than ever, all organizations – especially those in industrialized societies – are greatly concerned with identifying, evaluating, and managing occupational hazards and health and environmental risks. Various beliefs influence people’s perceptions of risks and these perceptions affect their behavior with respect to safety. Indeed, risks are generally perceived more or less directly in relation to whether they are judged as tolerable or intolerable, manageable or unmanageable,
Culture, an important factor in risk perception and in explanation of accidents
We will adopt a broad definition of culture here. Culture refers to a system of beliefs, values, representations, and shared experiences among the members of a given social group. Thus defined, it consists of views of the world shared by more or less overlapping groups of varying sizes. We can distinguish societal culture (national or ethnic), which is the culture of a nation; corporatist or professional culture, which characterizes a group of trades or occupations; organizational culture,
Beliefs, safety diagnosis, and preventive measures
The importance of beliefs in safety matters has been emphasized by many researchers who assert that representations and causal inferences influence behavior. In this vein, Heider (1958) remarked that “if a person believes that the lines of his palm foretell his future, this belief must be taken into account in explaining certain of his expectations and actions” (p. 5). For their part, Slovic et al. (1981) consider that “subjective judgements, whether by experts or laymen, are a major component
Conclusion
The research reviewed in this paper has undeniably practical implications for risk management and accident prevention in a context of globalization. Such a context is characterized by the development of the organisations, mergers and buying out, relocations of companies, exportation of production systems and machine-tools, but also characterized by a great mobility of workers, managers as well as employees. That means that nowadays we face large and large organisations in which people from
References (53)
Managing safety in the workplace: an attribution theory analysis and model
Journal of Safety Research
(1994)- et al.
The safety of CNC and robot technology
Journal of Occupational Accidents
(1988) - et al.
What folklore tells us about risk and risk taking: cross-cultural comparisons of American, German, and Chinese proverbs
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
(1998) Effective occupational safety activities: findings in three Asian developing countries
International Labour Review
(1988)- et al.
Overly positive self-evaluations and personality: negative implications for mental health
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
(1995) Orienting dispositions in the perception of risk: an analysis of contemporary worldviews and cultural biases
Journal of Cross-cultural Psychology
(1991)Myths of nature: culture and the social construction of risk
Journal of Social Issues
(1992)- et al.
Unrealistic pessimism
The Journal of Social Psychology
(1987) Les travailleurs de la chimie face aux dangers industriels,;;
- Dupont, F., Abramovsky, C. d’après Baratta, R., Cru, D., 1993. Aucun risque ! Paroles de compagnons. In: Ramaciotti,...
Technical and democratic values in risk analysis
Risk Analysis
Decidedly different: expert and public views of risks from a radioactive waste repository
Risk Analysis
La prévention des risques professionnels. Que sais-je? (No. 3082)
Robotics safety: exclusion of safeguards for industrial operations
Journal of Occupational Accidents
The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations
Culture at work in aviation and medicine
Représentations sociales et causalité
Societal attribution: collective beliefs and the explanation of social events
Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work-related Values
The health belief model: a decade later
Health Education Quarterly
Risk evaluation and accident analysis
Advances in Psychology Research
Degree of involvement in an accident and causal attributions
Journal of Occupational Accidents
Occupational safety and health problems in Côte d’Ivoire. A diagnosis and some possible remedies
International Labour Review
Beliefs and the perception of risks and accidents
Risk Analysis: An International Journal
Explication Naïve de l’Accident et Prévention
Cited by (58)
Risk self-perception and occupational accidents
2024, Journal of Safety ResearchUnconventional Warfare in the Ancient Near East
2023, Social Sciences and Humanities OpenSafety, human interactions, and decision-makings processes
2022, Storage of Cereal Grains and their ProductsDemand for mitigating the risk of COVID-19 infection in public transport: The role of social trust and fatalistic beliefs
2022, Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour