You cannot improve your organization's safety performance to enviable levels without addressing human behavior and attitude effectively. The only comprehensive reference on the psychology of the human dynamics of safety, The Psychology of Safety Handbook shows you how to apply psychology to improve safety and health in your organization. Dr. Geller provides theory, procedures, and tools to guide your organization's long-term continuous improvement.
Based on Dr. Geller's bestselling The Psychology of Safety, this new and expanded Handbook gives you everything you need to decrease the frequency and severity of accidental injuries in your organization. He covers all areas of psychology directly relevant to understanding and influencing safety-related behaviors.
Engineering interventions and government policy have made their mark on injury reduction. Now it is time to work with the human dynamics of injury prevention. The cause of most injuries can be attributed to at-risk behavior or insufficient safe behavior. The Psychology of Safety Handbook not only teaches principles and practical procedures for improving safety-related behaviors, but also illustrates how to increase people's willingness to use these techniques to create a Total Safety Culture.
For more than three decades, Professor E. Scott Geller has taught and conducted research as a faculty member of Virginia Tech's Department of Psychology. In this capacity he has authored more than 250 research articles and over 50 books or chapters addressing the development and evaluation of behavior-change interventions to improve quality of life. He has authored seven books on managing behaviors and attitudes for occupational health and safety, including The Psychology of Safety and Working Safe.
Dr. Geller is Senior Partner of Safety Performance Solutions, a leading training and consulting firm helping companies empower their employees to achieve a Total Safety Culture. He has been awarded Fellow status by the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society, and the World Academy of Productivity and Quality. Moreover, Scott Geller has been honored with three university-wide teaching awards - every one offered by Virginia Tech.
Choosing the Right Approach
Selecting the Best Approach
The Fallacy of Relying on Common Sense
Start with Behavior
Starting with Theory
The Mission Statement
Theory as a Map
Behavior-Based vs. Person-Based Approaches
Paradigm Shifts for Total Safety
The Old Three Es
Three New Es
Shifting Paradigms
Enduring Values
HUMAN BARRIERS TO SAFETY
The Complexity of People
Fighting Human Nature
Cognitive Failures
Interpersonal Factors
Sensation, Perception, and Perceived Risk
An Example of Selective Sensation or Perception
Perceived Risk
Risk Compensation
Stress vs. Distress
What is Stress?
Identifying Stressors
Coping with Stressors
Attributional Bias
BEHAVIOR-BASED PSYCHOLOGY
Basic Principles
Primacy of Behavior
Direct Assessment and Evaluation
Intervention by Managers and Peers
Learning from Experience
Defining Critical Behaviors
The DO IT Process
Defining Target Behaviors
Observing Behavior
Two Basic Approaches
Behavioral Safety Analysis
Reducing Behavioral Discrepancy
Behavior-Based Safety Training
Intervention and the Flow of Behavior Change
BEHAVIOR-BASED INTERVENTION
Intervening with Activators
Principle #1: Specify Behavior
Principle #2: Maintain Salience with Novelty
Principle #3: Vary the Message
Principle #4: Involve the Target Audience
Principle #5: Activate Close to Response Opportunity
Principle #6: Implicate Consequences
Intervening with Consequences
The Power of Consequences
Managing Consequences for Safety
"Dos" and "Don'ts" of Safety Rewards
Intervening as a Behavior-Change Agent
Selecting an Intervention Approach
Intervening as a Safety Coach
The Safety Coaching Process
What Can a Safety Coach Achieve?
Self Appraisal of Coaching Skills
Intervening with Supportive Conversation
The Power of Conversation
The Art of Improving Conversation
Conversation for Safety Management
Recognizing Safety Achievement
Receiving Recognition Well
Quality Safety Celebrations
Choosing the Best Management Conversation
ACTIVELY CARING FOR SAFETY
Understanding Actively Caring
What is Actively Caring?
The Psychology of Actively Caring
Deciding to Actively Care
A Consequence Analysis of Actively Caring
The Power of Context
The Person-Based Approach to Actively Caring
Actively Caring From the Inside
Measuring Actively Caring States
Theoretical Support for the Actively Caring Model
Research Support for the Actively Caring Model
Actively Caring and Emotional Intelligence
Increasing Actively Caring Behaviors
Enhancing the Actively Caring Person States
The Power of Choice
Directly Increasing Actively Caring Behaviors
The Reciprocity Principle
Commitment and Consistency
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Promoting High-Performance Teamwork
Paradigm Shifts for Teamwork
When Teams Don't Work Well
Cultivating High-Performance Teamwork
The Developmental Stages of Teamwork
Evaluating for Continuous Improvement
Measuring the Right Stuff
Developing a Comprehensive Evaluation Process
Cooking Numbers for Evaluation
Evaluating Costs and Benefits
You Cannot Measure Everything
Obtaining and Maintaining Involvement
Starting the Process
Cultivating Continuous Support
Overcoming Resistance to Change
Planning for Safety Generalization
Building and Sustaining Momentum
Reviewing the Principles
The 50 Principles
Subject Index
Name Index
Each chapter also includes In Conclusion and Reference sections.
Biography
Geller, E. Scott
"This book is a must read for all safety professionals who desire to influence individuals and organizations for improving performance"
-Samuel J. Gualardo, CSP, President, American Society of Safety Engineers
"This is a book for people who want to get things done…for people who want to save lives. The approach works."
-William A. Smith, Ph.D., Academy for Educational Development
"…the most comprehensive and state-of-the-art review of what is an incredibly complex and often frustrating subject for safety professionals and managers alike."
-Richard Lack, Safety and Protection Services, Cheyenne, Wyoming
"This book is vintage Scott Geller - full of insight, practical examples, and genuine concern for protecting the safety and health of others."
-Don Lisman, VP, Hoescht Fibers and Specialty Chemicals
"Scott Geller knows more about the psychology of safety than anyone…[he] shows how to create a culture that values actively caring. It should be required reading for every safety professional, every manager, and every employee."
-Terry E. McSween, Ph.D., President, Quality Safety Edge, Houston, Texas
"Dr. Geller teaches us that safety is really in our own hands for ourselves and those around us."
-Morris E. Chafetz, M.D., 1995 Inductee into the Health and Safety Hall of Fame International