E. Scott Geller

Evaluating Energy Conservation Programs: Is Verbal Report Enough?

T here is a national need for community sources of applicable energy information, and for conservation programs to organize appropriate community services and consumer education to help householders cope with energysupply problems. In response to these needs, both state and national agencies have formed special organizations to disseminate energy conservation advice. For example, since 1977 state agencies and universities in Virginia have been funded annually to provide the general public with energyconservation information through community-based workshops. It has been estimated that more than 12,000 residents in Virginia attended energy conservation workshops in 1978 and 1979 (Geller, Ferguson, and Brasted 1979). For seven of the workshops presented by an interdisciplinary team of five professors and six students at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, the attitudes, knowledge, and behavioral intentions regarding energy conservation of all adult workshop attendees were assessed through a 21-item questionnaire. Subsequently, an evaluation of the actual behavioral effects of the workshops was accomplished by visiting the homes of 40 workshop attendees and 40 residents who had not attended an energy-conservation workshop in 1977 or 1978, and determining whether certain energy-conservation actions (which had been advised at the workshops) had been taken.

Attempts to promote residential water conservation with educational, behavioral and engineering strategies

The water meters of 129 residences were read for 70 consecutive days. After five weeks of baseline, state-of-the-art education, feedback, and engineering interventions were applied according to the factorial design: 2(Education versus No Education) × 2(Daily Consumption Feedback versus No Feedback) × 2(Low Cost Conservation Devices versus No Devices). Significant water savings occurred following only the installation of low cost water conservation devices, although the amount of water saved with these devices (a daily average of 17 gallons) was much less than expected. The findings are discussed with reference to the development of cost-effective water conservation programs.

Critical Success Factors for Behavior-Based Safety: A Study of Twenty Industry-wide Applications

One-on-one interviews and focus-group meetings were held at 20 organizations that had implemented a behavior-based safety (BBS) process in order to find reasons for program success/failures. A total of 31 focus groups gave 629 answers to six different questions. A content analysis of these responses uncovered critical information for understanding what employees are looking for in a BBS program. A perception survey administered to individual employees (n = 701) at these organizations measured a variety of variables identified in prior research to influence success in safety efforts. The survey data showed five variables to be significantly predictive of employee involvement in a BBS process: 1) perceptions that BBS training was effective; 2) trust in management abilities; 3) accountability for BBS through performance appraisals; 4) whether or not one had received education in BBS; and 5) tenure with the organization. Also, employees in organizations mandating employee participation in a BBS process (n=8 companies) reported significantly higher levels of: (a) involvement; (b) trust in management; (c) trust in coworkers; and (d) satisfaction with BBS training than did employees whose process was completely voluntary (n = 12 companies). In addition, employees in mandatory processes reported significantly greater frequency of giving and receiving positive behavior-based feedback.

An instrumented vehicle assessment of problem behavior and driving style: do younger males really take more risks?

An instrumented vehicle was used to obtain behavioral data from 61 drivers ranging in age from 18 to 82. Each driver completed a personality questionnaire and participated in a study described as an evaluation of cognitive mapping and way-finding abilities. An evaluation of relationships between age, personality and driving style revealed that driver age and type A personality characteristics were significant predictors of vehicle speed and following distance, P < 0.05. However, contrary to the earlier research, which relies heavily on a self-reported driving criterion, no significant gender differences were obtained. A factor analysis of several at-risk driving behaviors identified a cluster of correlated driving behaviors that appeared to share a common characteristic identified as aggressive/impatient driving. It is suggested that the correlated cluster of driving behavior provide objective support for the assumptions of response generalization and problem behavior theory. Results are discussed with regard to implications for safe driving interventions and a problem behavior syndrome.

Assigned Versus Participative Goal Setting and Response Generalization : Managing Injury Control Among Professional Pizza Deliverers

Safety belt use, turn signal use, and intersection stopping were observed at 3 pizza delivery locations per drivers license plate numbers. After baseline observations, employees at 1 store participated in goal setting targeting complete stops. Employees at the other store were assigned a goal. Over 4 weeks, the groups percentages of complete intersection stopping were posted. Both intervention groups significantly increased their complete intersection stops during the intervention phase. The participative goal-setting group also showed significant increases in turn signal and safety belt use (nontargeted behaviors) concurrent with their increases in intersection stopping (targeted behaviors). Drivers decreased their turn signal and safety belt use concurrent with the assigned goal condition targeting complete stops.

Measuring road rage: development of the Propensity for Angry Driving Scale

Abstract Problem: Recent reports indicate incidents of aggressive driving have risen 51% since 1990 (Vest, Cohen, & Tharp, 1997) , and they continue to rise about 7% per year (Pepper, 1977). Current estimates attribute more than 218 deaths and 12,610 injuries to aggressive driving since 1990 (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 1997) . Method: College students as well as safety professionals were used in a four phase investigation to develop a Propensity for Angry Driving Scale (PADS). The PADS was designed to identify individuals with the greatest propensity to become angry while driving and subsequently engage in hostile driving behaviors or acts of “road rage.” Results: Results of the investigation reveal the PADS to be a unidimensional measure with acceptable alpha levels (.88–.89) and adequate test–retest reliability (.91). In addition, the PADS demonstrated significant and positive correlations with the Buss–Durkee Hostility Index (BDHI; r =.40) and the trait subscale of the State–Trait Anger Scale (STAS; r =.40). The PADS had a modest but significant correlation with Eysencks impulsivity scale ( r =.28) and was uncorrelated with Eysencks venturesomeness scale, ( r =.00). Summary: With the ability to identify anger prone drivers, research can begin addressing the underlying emotional mechanisms or thought processes that trigger angry and hostile reactions while driving. Given the win/lose hostile climate present on our highways, the PADS is a timely instrument that could be used to identify, study, and intervene on angry drivers prone to experience road rage.

Behavior-Based Intervention for Occupational Safety: Critical Impact of Social Comparison Feedback

The relative impact of global, specific, and social comparison feedback on safety behaviors was assessed at a large soft-drink bottling Co. A 2 Feedback Level (Specific vs. Global) X 2 Feedback Type (Social Comparison Present vs. Not Present) analysis of covariance was used to test the hypothesis that specific, social comparison feedback would lead to the greatest improvement in percentage of safe behavior. Employees (n = 97) received behavioral safety training and then developed a critical behavior checklist (CBC) for their work areas. Researchers used the CBC to: (a) systematically categorize work behaviors throughout the plant as safe or at-risk, and (b) give employees written behavioral feedback each week. Social comparison feedback (SCF) led to significantly higher percent safe scores than did the No-SCF conditions (mean percent safe was 78% vs. 68%, respectively). Follow-up chi-square analyses and practical considerations suggest global/SCF is optimal for improving safety performance. Limitations of the study and future implications for safety feedback research are discussed.

Behavior-based safety in industry: Realizing the large-scale potential of psychology to promote human welfare

Abstract In the spirit of giving psychology away in this “Decade of Behavior,” this article reviews the behavioral science approach to preventing workplace injuries, which is currently being applied successfully in numerous companies worldwide. Unlike the traditional command-and-control approach to occupational safety, behavior-based safety (BBS) provides tools and methods employees can use to take control of their own safety performance. The author offers strategies he and his colleagues have been using for more than a decade to teach BBS to safety leaders and line workers. In addition, two conceptual models are explained. One model suggests ways to match the awareness and behavior of an individual with a particular BBS intervention technique. The second model proposes that five psychological states or “establishing conditions” increase the probability a person will use the BBS tools and procedures to actively care for the safety and health of others.

An experimental test of risk compensation: Between-subject versus within-subject analyses

This study examined parameters under which risk compensation in driving can occur following the use of safety belts. Risk compensation theories hypothesize that if individuals use safety belts, they will drive in a more risky manner than if they do not use safety belts due to an increased perception of safety. Although the existence of risk compensation in driving has been debated in the literature for many years, the current study was the first experimental analysis of this theory that permitted a controlled examination of both between-subject and within-subject effects. This study required subjects to drive a 5-hp. go-kart around an oval track either buckled or unbuckled in the first of two phases of 15 driving trials. After the first phase the safety condition was switched for half the subjects (i.e., the safety belt was removed from subjects using it or was used by subjects who previously did not use it). Dependent measures included latency for each lap, deviations from the prescribed lane, and perceived safety while driving. The amount of time it took for subjects to travel to the go-kart track and their safety belt use during that trip was also measured. Risk compensation theory was not supported in the between-subject analyses of the research data; however, some within-subject comparisons did demonstrate risk compensation. Subjects who switched from not using the safety belt to using it increased driving speed during the second phase significantly more than subjects who used the safety belt during both driving phases. The study suggested that the occurrence of risk compensation is dependent upon individuals being able to compare the sensations using a safety belt with those of not using a safety belt. Risk compensation did not manifest itself in between-subject studies because this comparison could not take place. The implications of this study to driving automobiles on multi-user roadways is discussed. Suggestions for research to further expand the knowledge about how and when risk compensation occurs are also provided.

Behavior-based safety and occupational risk management

The behavior-based approach to managing occupational risk and preventing workplace injuries is reviewed. Unlike the typical top-down control approach to industrial safety, behavior-based safety (BBS) provides tools and procedures workers can use to take personal control of occupational risks. Strategies the author and his colleagues have been using for more than a decade to teach BBS to safety leaders and line workers are presented. In addition, a conceptual model is proposed for matching the awareness and behavior of an individual with a particular BBS intervention technique.