Mr. Frank Guldenmund performed a lecture in the conference ORP2015 - XV International Conference on Occupational Risk Prevention.
What exactly is human behaviour and how is it accomplished? This is probably the main topic of research for psychologists. Moreover, what then is safety behaviour? Well, safety behaviour is human behaviour according to a particular norm for safety. Such norms are often formalised in rules and procedures and transmitted through education and various trainings. The general idea is that when workers follow the rules, they work safely.
The following triplet defines human behaviour: stimulus – processing – response. An individual registers a stimulus, processes it and a response follows. This does not have to be an action; it can also be inaction, a decision not to act, to do anything. The first two steps, the registration of the stimulus and the processing of it, are carried out subconsciously. We can be conscious of the third step, as we can see, hear or feel what we do, but that does not have to be the case either. For instance, when we drive a car, we can do all our actions automatically, subconsciously that is, without being really aware of what we do.
How is it possible that we can function automatically as we do? Most human actions are stored as so-called action patterns in our brain. Such patterns are developed through upbringing, education, training and simple daily experience. And they are very important to us, because without these patterns, we could not function the way we function. If we would have to think about each and every movement or act, we would not accomplish much.
Numerous action patterns are also pre-wired, humans are born with them. For instance, touching hands as a sign of showing that we do not mean any harm is inborn. Biologists also observe it with, for instance, primates. However, the actual form of touching hands is shaped by culture. Interestingly, in many cultures, people do not really touch hands, but bow as a sign of greeting. The inborn touching of hands is then overruled by cultural customs.
Culture and behaviour are two sides of the same coin. All our inborn behaviour patterns are shaped by the culture we are born in, grow up in, live in and work in. A culture also brings along new behaviour patterns. And this is very handy, because we know what is expected from us in many different situations. At home, at work, at parties, in public. When arriving at a new place of work, people will experience confusion, as is not always clear what is expected from them. However, people quickly pick up the local customs, and adjust accordingly.
In psychology there are many theories for behaviour. None of them can describe all behaviour, or predict behaviour perfectly. Many factors determine how an individual might behave, internal as well as external factors. In influencing safety behaviour, the choice for a particular approach is necessary.
Clearly, insights from psychology can make a valuable contribution to safety. Unfortunately, social scientists are still underrepresented in most companies, although these very companies struggle with safety issues. As it stands now, human behaviour and interaction, communication, psychological safety and trusting relationships, and many other so-called ‘soft’ aspects have become most important to improve any safety performance.