Does anyone know of any academic work that has been or is being done on the fear factor in safetry? For example, over 15 years of investigating and reviewing accidents and incidents, I have found that fear plays a major part. For example, people do things when they KNOW they shouldn't because they are afraid of being seen as lazy, as a trouble maker or as incompetent. I have also found examples of people not wanting to upset the boss or their workmates, so they go ahead with a job when they KNOW they should not. Any pointers to published research gratefully recieved.
Bill

You've raised a good question about the design of research about safety.

'Psychology in Organisations', S A Haslam, Psychology Press, 2nd edition, 2004, addresses the issue in relation to personal and social identity. 'The New Psychology of Leadership', Haslam, Reicher and Platow, Psychology Press, 2011 does likewise.

From a contrasting angle, errors associated with psychological states are examined in 'Human Error', J Reason, Cambridge University Press, 1990 and a more recent title co-authoried by Rhona Flin, which I can't recall at present (but which is avaialble through Amazon).

Fear in regards to accident causation has also been expressed as 'cognitive narrowing' where people react in an illogical manner when under pressure. There are may aspects to fear, for example, the fear of being blamed ie retribution.

Can recommend some reading on the subject which may be of help:

Furedi F. (2002) Culture of fear, Risk-taking and the morality of low expectation, Cassel, London
Hood C. and Jones D.K.C. (2002) Accident and design - contemporary debates in risk management, UCL Press, London
Smith D. (2000) On a Wing and a Prayer? Exploring the Human Components of Technological Failure
Smith D. and Elliot D (2003) Moving Beyond Denial: Exploring the barriers to Learning from Crisis

Try to look for information on the "ABC Model", which stands for Antecedent - Behaviour - Consequence. Essentially, it suggests that normally our behaviour is triggered by an antecedent. For example, having an itchy nose (the antecedent) triggers us scratching it (the behaviour) which leads to the itch subsiding (the consequence). However, when people have incorrect perceptions of potential consequences, it can influence their behaviour more than the actual trigger or antecedent. In your case, fear of reprisals etc. is an example where anticipating consequences (rightly or wrongly) can strongly influence behaviours.

Hope this helps - if you do need any clarification, please drop me an e-mail - I have a colleague who knows this subject inside out and would be happy to help.