Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
automated. So the induction of a certain risk can only be regarded as
finished when the newcomer can do the task automatically in a safe way.
7.5 THE SAFETY BUDDY AND HIS INFLUENCE
ON SELF-IMAGE
Before we discuss the role of the safety buddy regarding this topic, first
an introduction is required to the function of self-image in our life. In
Chapter 4, it is stated that all perception is the result of a learning process.
This makes perception personal: Each person perceives something
unique, which can differ from others
experiences. We usually are good at
estimating more objective concepts like speed, location, and size, but as
soon as emotions are involved, the differences between people
'
s percep-
tions grow. We do moderately well in judging certain behaviors of others,
but in general we are able to judge whether or not others are acting safely.
Our mirror system, which will be discussed in the next chapter, helps us
do this. With respect to evolution, judging each other
'
s safety behavior
was very useful when we were hunting together. Compared to our moder-
ately good perception of others
'
behavior, we are unfortunately very poor
in estimating our own behavior. Most of us overestimate our own perfor-
mance in many areas. This also extends to our ability to estimate the
quality of our safety performance. If we ask people to rank themselves
among teammates (
'
When ranked on safety behavior, do you belong to
the top 50 percent with the safest behavior?
“
), 80 percent of respondents
say yes and rank themselves in the top 50 percent of their own team. We
call this an attribution failure (Shaver, 1970; DeJoy, 1994; Gilbert, 1995)
because one falsely attributes a property (in this case, safety behavior) to
oneself. This distorted self-image develops due to selective storage of
information. If we behave safely, we notice it and store it as an attribute
of ourselves. If we behave unsafely, we think about the reason why we do
so in that particular situation and see it as an occasional deviation, not as
a structural one, so we don
”
t store it as something personal, but as situa-
tional. By this selective principle, we create a more positive image of our
own behavior compared to the image others have of us. Probably the
others
'
'
view is more realistic (Dobelli, 2011).
Of all our perception, the self-image is mostly liable to attribution failures.
A too positive self-image can lead to too risky behavior without our
really noticing it. It is a source of possible incidents and accidents. The
