The effect of habit as a behavioural response in risk reduction programmes

Abstract A company's decision to implement a risk reduction programme must take account of employees' behavioural responses to the target risk. Hazard reporting by train drivers is examined in semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire study. It is suggested that the behavioural response of drivers, in terms of writing a report, depends on how the hazard is perceived. The response to “trivial” and “routine” hazards is habitual non-reporting, being characterized by a lack of risk evaluation. However, hazards that are evaluated as posing a significant risk are reported. Possible ways of breaking habitual responses to hazards, using behavioural change programmes, are discussed, and it is argued that management commitment is essential for their success.

[1]  Banwari Mittal.  Achieving Higher Seat Belt Usage: The Role of Habit in Bridging the Attitude‐Behavior Gap1 , 1988 .

[2]  Jop Groeneweg,et al.  Accidents at Sea: Multiple Causes and Impossible Consequences , 1987, Int. J. Man Mach. Stud..

[3]  Dov Zohar,et al.  Promoting the use of personal protective equipment by behavior modification techniques , 1980 .

[4]  Gerald J.S. Wilde,et al.  The Theory of Risk Homeostasis: Implications for Safety and Health , 1982 .

[5]  James T. Reason,et al.  Types and tokens in road accident causation , 1990 .

[6]  F. McKenna.  WHAT ROLE SHOULD THE CONCEPT OF RISK PLAY IN THEORIES OF ACCIDENT INVOLVEMENT , 1988 .

[7]  Gerald J.S. Wilde,et al.  Critical Issues in Risk Homeostasis Theory , 1982 .

[8]  Willem A. Wagenaar,et al.  Risk taking and accident causation. , 1992 .

[9]  James S. Baxter,et al.  Intention to commit driving violations: An application of the theory of planned behavior. , 1992 .

[10]  P. Leather,et al.  Attitudes towards safety performance on construction work: An investigation of public and private sector differences , 1988 .

[11]  Heikki Summala,et al.  RISK CONTROL IS NOT RISK ADJUSTMENT: THE ZERO-RISK THEORY OF DRIVER BEHAVIOUR AND ITS IMPLICATIONS , 1988 .

[12]  L. Festinger,et al.  A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance , 2017 .

[13]  Jagdeep S. Chhokar,et al.  Improving safety through applied behavior analysis , 1984 .

[14]  D. Zohar.  Safety climate in industrial organizations: theoretical and applied implications. , 1980, The Journal of applied psychology.

[15]  P. Leather,et al.  Safety and accidents in the construction industry: A work design perspective , 1987 .

[16]  John P. Conrad,et al.  Controlling the Uncontrollable , 1984 .

[17]  Risto Näätänen,et al.  A model for the role of motivational factors in drivers' decision-making , 1974 .

[18]  T. Cox,et al.  The structure of employee attitudes to safety: A European example , 1991 .

[19]  I. Ajzen,et al.  Understanding Attitudes and Predicting Social Behavior , 1980 .

[20]  James W. Fairfield-Sonn,et al.  The Awakening Giant: Continuity and Change in ICI. , 1987 .

[21]  Gerald J.S. Wilde,et al.  Risk homeostasis theory and traffic accidents: propositions, deductions and discussion of dissension in recent reactions , 1988 .

[22]  H.Harvey Cohen,et al.  Characteristics of successful safety programs , 1978 .

[23]  N. Weinstein.  Unrealistic optimism about future life events , 1980 .

[24]  Lynn R. Kahle,et al.  Seat Belt Attitudes, Habits, and Behaviors: An Adaptive Amendment to the Fishbein Model , 1983 .

[25]  N. Weinstein.  Effects of personal experience on self-protective behavior. , 1989, Psychological bulletin.

[26]  B. Tabachnick,et al.  Using Multivariate Statistics , 1983 .

[27]  D Klebelsberg,et al.  Risk taking behaviour. , 1973, Pharmakopsychiatrie, Neuro-Psychopharmakologie.

[28]  Gavriel Salvendy,et al.  Handbook of human factors. , 1987 .

[29]  Wyndham Anger,et al.  Self-protective measures against workplace hazards , 1979 .

[30]  Niels O. Jorgensen.  RISKY BEHAVIOUR AT TRAFFIC SIGNALS: A TRAFFIC ENGINEER'S VIEW , 1988 .