Errors psychology

These eiTors occur, not in spite of the fact that someone is well-trained but because he or she is well-trained. Routine operations are relegated to the lower levels of the brain and are not continuously monitored by tbe conscious mind. We would never get through the day if everything we did required our full attention. When the normal pattern or program of actions is interrupted for any reason, errors are likely to occur. These slips are very similar to those we make in everyday life. Reason and Mycielska [1] have described the psychology of such slips. 

A study by Kontogiannis and Lucas (1990) has reviewed these approaches and developed a classification of cognitive phenomena which occur under high stress. This is presented in Figure 3.5. The classification was developed by examining a number of incidents from various industrial sectors. The cognitive phenomena illustrate in a practical manner the psychological mechanisms which can precipitate errors under stress. 

In order to establish the psychological causes of errors, data from accidents or near misses which are relevant to the human error tendencies discussed in Chapter 2 should be collected. These include information on the following ... 

Incorporation of psychological models of human error into the investigation process... 

With regard to this issue, it can be argued that a knowledge of the psychological processes imderlying error may not be necessary in order to carry out effective incident analyses. If the direct causes of errors are identified, in the form of the PIFs that were present when the error occurred, then it may appear to be unnecessary to try to evaluate the actual mental processes that occurred. 

Reason, J. T. (1988). The Chernobyl Errors. Bulletin of the British Psychological Society, 40 (June). 

Reason, J. T., Mycielska, K. (1982). Absent Minded The Psychology of Mental Lapses and Everyday Errors. Englewood Cliffs, NJ Prentice Hall. 

Internal Error Mechanism The psychological process (e.g., strong stereotype takeover) that underlies an external error mode. 

I have also chosen the interest domain to illustrate a simple but important methodological principle—the importance of measurement error and specificity. Measurement error and specificity saturate all psychological instruments and failure to take them into account results in theoretically misleading conclusions1. 

Neither the Blau quote nor the White literature review are isolated examples. The entire April 1994 issue of the journal Child Development commits the same error as does the 1995 presidential address of the President of the Division of Developmental Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Houston, Fall 1995). Both sources purport to deal with poverty, but conflate it with ordinary SES differences. 

Schmidt, F. L., Hunter, J. E. (1996). Measurement error in psychological research Lessons from 26 research scenarios. Psychological Methods, I, 199-223. 

Hence, it is necessary to collect near miss data as well as accident data. The much more numerous unsafe situations (both chronic and sudden) and even more abundant human errors not resulting in serious consequences are assumed to have the same psychological root causes as the tiny subset that actually develops into an accident. The same data-base size may thus be reached much sooner, or a certain observation period may yield a much more reliable insight into the causes of (near-) accidents. 

Omission errors, incorrect doses, and prescribing errors were the top three causes of medication errors reported by health systems in 2002. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) tracks sentinel events submitted to it by accredited heathcare facilities. A sentinel event is an unexpected occurrence involving death or serious physical or psychological injury, or the risk thereof. Table 16.3 lisfs fhe roof causes of medication errors reported by JCAHO-accredited organizations. ... 

Standard practices have been developed for conducting sensory panels in order to minimize psychological errors and physical testing conditions that can influence human judgment. By controlhng these factors, reliable sensory results can be achieved. The following sections outhne the most common psychological errors and how they can be minimized. 

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