Advanced Topics Why It Works and Behavioral Basics

We have talked about behavior throughout this book, but what are we talking about What is behavior Furthermore, why do people behave the way they do These are two important questions, particularly for those interested in improving safety. 

A basic understanding of the theory that underlies behavioral technology will help you make your efforts successful. Such an understanding will be useful as you (1) develop your implementation plans, (2) problem solve and refine your efforts, and (3) analyze incidents to plan preventive measures. The process is straightforward in theory but often is more difficult in practice. First you specify the desired behavior then you analyze the situational and historical events that support a particular behavior. 

We will start with the first question What is behavior Behavior is simply anything someone does or says. Behavior is any activity that a dead person cannot do, any muscular or glandular action or reaction (Malott et al., 2000). 

Behavior is not personality, attitude, or intelligence. These are labels or abstractions that we often use to describe someone s behavior in some specific way. For purposes of this book, I have used the term behavior only for observable actions, because observable practices are what concern us at work. Accordingly, I have talked about specific observable acts. 

Pinpointing is describing behavior in observable terms, without the use of labels or abstractions. It means simply being specific in describing exactly what someone 

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