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Posted By Jim Walker
For my own interest, I want to research (in wider terms than H&S) a behavioural issue, but I’m not sure what it’s called.
This came about talking to a RAC man. He was telling me that there are over 200 instances every week of people putting Petrol in Diesel cars (and visa versa). This is despite: Nozzle sizes being different, filler caps colour coded, nozzles colour coded, hoses colour coded, the smell, and the words Petrol & Diesel not being at all similar. He says most folks instantly (after bunging in 40 quids worth of fuel) realise what they have done. Personally I’m so paranoid about doing this, I give myself a little TBT at the pump even pointing to the words etc ;-)))
So…… what do Psychologists & Behaviourists call this? And is it the same as me driving to work on a familiar route and suddenly thinking “was that light I just driven through on red”.
Can anyone point me to some good sources of information – I’m not after basic H&S stuff.
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Posted By Sally
I did some work a while back with a behaviour psychologist who referred to moments like this as 'alpha sleep'. Essentially where your mind switches off but your body keeps moving. I don't remember much else about it.
The guy's name was Eddie Wood. Hope this is some help
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Posted By Julian Wilkinson
Scatter brain comes to mind as in:
A giddy or thoughtless person; one incapable of concentration or attention
There is also Human Error, when you determine the risk likelihood of human error it can be called a 'Probabilistic Risk Assessment'
Not sure if this helps or not, just some observations
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Posted By Steve Cartwright
A BLOND MOMENT!
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Posted By Paul Duell
I think you've got to sub-divide it: How many of those people were driving an unfamiliar vehicle and just did what they do in their own car? I'm sure that'd be a different psychological mechanism to the others.
Been there, done that - with the unfamiliar vehicle. Although in my own defence, I WAS told that morning "don't forget the minibus needs petrol" - so I bought petrol!
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Posted By Ian G Hutchings
Jim
This sounds like an attentional slip of action. You have the skill to undertake the task correctly; so it is like someone who is trained and has undertaken the task safely before. On this occasion they have a lapse; what sometimes ends up on poor examples of investigation reports as lack of concentration!
In certain industries reminder appliances are used and other devices to assist the potential for human error.
Ian
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Posted By Ian G Hutchings
Jim
If you email me I have examples from training in investigation techniques I use.
Ian
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Posted By Andrew Lochlyn Ure
Jim
If you have a copy of the excellent James Reason book 'Human Error' have a look at Chapter 6 'A Design For A Fallible Machine'. The premise of the chapter is to answer the question "what kind of information handling device could operate correctly for most of the time, but also produce the occasional wrong response characteristic of human behaviour?"
Interesting one - keep us posted as to how you go on.
Cheers
Andrew
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Posted By WTaylor
No pun intended but from memory it's called a lapse.
Google for safety and human factors. You'll find some good bedtime reading on slips, lapses, mistakes and violations.
Regards,
Will
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Posted By Crim
A few terms come to mind,
stressed out,
force of habit,
idiotic,
lack of concentration,
I did his a few times some years ago when I owned a diesel car and had a petrol engine company car. I put petrol into the diesel tank twice but never diesel into the petrol tank which I believe would have been much worse.
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Posted By Julian Wilkinson
strangely enough, whilst replying to this post earlier one of my colleagues carried out a weekly fire alarm test.
One of the tasks is to isolate the plant when activating the alarm to prevent a shut down. This was all carried out fine until he went to put the plant back to 'normal' instead of doing this he turned the plant to 'off' and shut the plant down!!!
I asked him what do you call it when someone does something like this?
He said 'a stupid moment' :-))
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Posted By Lilian McCartney
This is very interesting. I think its similar to when you're 'told' not to do or say something and that's what you do.
For example, when someone says don't look - you automatically look.
when they say don't mention xxxx the first thing you say is xxxx
I think it must have a name but don't know what it is.
Looking forward to finding out
Lilian
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Posted By I H
Done quite a bit on this myself and it leads to some interesting conclusions. The Alpha sleep is spot on and I would well recommend following it up, although some quarters it has been debunked, especially the capacity for remembering stuff, look up the 5+-2 rule for starters.
Once we become used to something, when we do it we lapse into alpha sleep and do it automatically because we know how to do it. Then we can introduce another task, and another. However a change in the primary task leads to failure. e.g. I know how to fill my car up so I do it without thinking and occupy my mind with picking my lottery numbers. The garage has had a refurb and moved the pumps round and I don't notice.
Now put it in a safety context, a man has to drill 40 holes in a concrete floor slab. His capacity for remembering stuff at the front of his mind is between 3 and 7 items during the task. How many hazards does he have to remember? How many other things does he have to think about? What personal things is he thinking about? Got 7 items yet?
As he walks backwards do you think he can remember his toolbox he put behind him?
Here's the bit that will get the response.
No more than 5 items in a risk assessment that rely on the operative to do something. Its impossible for them to remember it at the crucial time!
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Posted By Brando
Has anyone come across a good book on the alhpa sleep problem??
I don't have a problem ( or at least not so far ) with petrol / diesel pumps but I am always hitting the wrong numbers on the coffee machine. You want a 22 but you hit a 23 ( and always when I have no more change to make another choice!!! ).
Brando
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Posted By Ian Mitchell
I always think of it as 'unconsciously competent'.
i.e. with any given task you will be unconsciously incompetent, then consciously incompetent, then consciously competent, and finally unconsciously competent.
The last is of course the dangerous stage!
A child in the back seat of a car has no inclination of how it moves and is at stage one (unconsiously incompetent). The older child is aware that something makes it move, but not how to drive themselves (consciously incompetent). The new driver knows how to drive the car, but lacks experience, and is therefore consciously competent, concentrating on every gear change! The old driver has been doing it for so long they may slip into auto pilot.
Hope this helps, think it is in the NEBOSH cert course, or was on mine...
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Posted By Chris Pope I asked an occupational psychologist to comment on this query - here is Emily Hutchinson's reply I'd say this is a classic error of action, or a 'slip' in James Reason's terms - so its the right action, but with the wrong thing. It happens when people are on automatic pilot - our brains have evolved to be very efficient at automating routine behaviours so that we can carry out familiar actions without allocating any attentional resource to them. The downside of this is that sometimes it goes wrong, so if we're carrying out a routine action such as filling the car up, we may not be focussing on th task sufficiently to notice which nozzle we've picked up. There is also a tendency for a cognitive bias called confirmation bias - we tend to look for information that confirms that what we're doing is as we think, so even if the nozzle is a different colour, we may either not perceive that or perceive it but not interpret that this means an error. She can be contacted on emily@ejhconsulting.co.uk 07763 187382
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Posted By Bruce Sutherland
1) irritating when you have to pay for it! we have had at least 7 of these over the last 3 years
2) with the causation in mind - not always a pattern either - more in the morning - but not just morning and not always when people maniac - but would tend to suggest the deep meaningful stuff already posted is very correct
3) completely poor design - there is no common colour for hoses, and what would be wrong with a triangle for diesel nozzles - ie tell everyone in 6 months that the filler would change and sell plastic triangle inserts so that rounds would not go into
however as has been pointed out all that in reality happens is that the fuel companies do is sell more fuel of the correct grade - so not much point for them
yours in consolation
Bruce
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Posted By Tabs
We covered things like this in Ergonomics. Rather than a name, we classified.
This instance would be 'Right process; wrong article' (filling up ok but with wrong fuel).
Another would be 'Right process; wrong action' (water leak, turning tap, but turning wrong way).
Another would be 'Wrong process, right action' (going to the wrong control panel, but hitting the right button on that panel).
Etc., naming wasn't really needed.
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Posted By BB
Fits the Rasmussen model.
The terms skill, rule and knowledge based information processing refer to the degree
of conscious control exercised by the individual over his or her activities.
A bit like a SPAD is a skill based error, Kegworth was rule based etc.
Or it fits the Simpson model of D'OH!
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