Despite the importance of the issue, psychologists have not played a major part in studying these issue. This is surprising, because the theoretical and methodological traditions of psychology have much to offer in terms of understanding the causes and prevention of occupational injuries.
The psychologists contributing to this volume aim to correct the situation by analyzing both the behaviors that lead to accidental injuries in the workplace and the behaviors that can prevent and manage them. In the process, the contributors summarize what is known and not known about the subject, and raise interesting questions for researchers to answer in the future. While our knowledge is incomplete, it is clear that job-related injuries are related to poor worker-employer collaboration, lack of safety management systems, poor safety culture, deficient knowledge and training, and lack of incentive-based compensation systems.
By Jwala Sharma
(india )
Dr. Bill Rhodes is onto something very important that could help all of us pilots fly safer. (I was fortunate to catch his talk at Rochester Wings this weekend) 70% of flight accidents are caused by pilot error and it is clear that the biggest risk in general aviation is the psychology of pilots (and we can fix this).
Consider the last person you know who had an airplane accident. Was this truly an "accident" or was everyone on the airport expecting it to happen sooner or later? "Folk wisdom" around most airports will usually recognize the most dangerous pilots. Would you agree to fly in the back seat (hand cuffed) with one of these pilots? Bill is gathering extensive data on these (already recognized) risky behaviors and codifying these to educate pilots to embrace and develop safer piloting behaviors. This simplistic description by no means does justice to the depth and subtly of his research and the amount of work to be done. Thanks to Avemco for recognizing and funding this essential project.