Learning  from  High  Poten0al  Incidents:  a  cogni0ve-­‐behavioral  

approach  

Dianne  Stober,  PhD  C  Cubed  

IPLOCA  HSE  July  2,  2014  

Why  a  Cogni0ve-­‐Behavioral  Approach  to  High  Poten0al  Incidents?  

High  Poten0al  Incidents  are  a  unique  opportunity  for  learning  “What  were  they  thinking?”  Habits  of  thought  are  a  key  factor  in  how  we  behave  •  Body  of  evidence  demonstrates  we  have  to  change  the  way  we  think  to  sustain  behavioral  change  

High  Poten+al:  near  misses  /  near  hits  /  close  calls  which  could  have  resulted  in  severe  injury  or  fatality  

AQtudes  influence  behavior…  

What’s  Happening  Up  There?  

2  key  brain  tasks  to  understand    

What  we  register   What  meaning  we  assign  

What  We  Register  

Ø Hardwired  for  sor0ng  informa0on  •  “things  to  pay  aXen0on  to”  •  “things  I  can  ignore”  •  Done  via  a  set  of  brain  pathways  &  structures  responsible  for  registering  incoming  data  

Ø Essen0al  for  our  ability  to  focus  on  a  task  at  hand  

Registering  Data  

We  can’t  process  all  available  data  in  any  moment  

Priming  readies  us  for  some  data  more  readily    Salience  helps  some  data  “stand  out”  

Criteria  for  Registering  Data  

Priming  the  DVR  

Ø See  videos  at    hXp://www.theinvisiblegorilla.com/videos.html  Task  focus  can  prime  what  is  processed    

InaXen0onal  Blindness  &  What  We  Register  

Ø Our  expecta'ons  color  what  we  register  •  Previous  experience  &  our  focus  tell    us  what  informa0on  is  worthy  of  processing  

•  How  does  this  apply  to  high  poten0als?  § At  the  0me?  § A^er  inves0ga0on?  

High  Poten0als  &  Hijacked  Focus  

Ø Cake  or  Fruit  Salad  Experiment  •  If  higher  cogni0on  is  taxed,  our  limbic  system  takes  over  

•  “Emo0onal”  brain  is  priming  DVR  

Ø Importance  of  DVR  •  What’s  your  Chocolate  Cake?  •  How  does  this  help  us  understand  high  poten0als  beXer?  

High  Poten0als  &  Habitua0on  The  brain’s  need  for  efficiency  •  1st  0me  opera0ng  a  machine  vs.  1000th  0me  

If  the  task  is  unevenbul  and  repeated,  the  hazard  is  unlikely  to  register  as  Danger    How  many  of  your  recent  high  poten0als  were  during  “rou0ne”  tasks?  

What’s  Happening  Here?  

Habitua0on  &  the  JND  

Habitua+on  can  lead  to  lower  risk  awareness  Changes  can  happen  below  the  just  no+ceable  difference  threshold  Safety  Implica0on?  •  Auto-­‐Pilot  is  natural  •  Example:  Highway  hypnosis  

High  poten0al  implica0on?  

So  What’s  a  Person  Supposed  to  Do?  

The  Bad  News  Ø Limited  capacity  for  conscious  aXen0on  

Ø Subject  to  habitua0on  

What  We  Can  Do  Ø Shi^  our  Frames  to  stay  alert,  learn  from  experience  

Frames  of  Mind  

How  we  interpret  our  experience  leads  us  to  frames  of  mind  for  future  events  AQtudes  are  made  of:  •  Thoughts  •  Feelings  •  Behaviors  

Our  views  of  why  things  happen  the  way  they  do  are  powerful  in  how  our  aQtudes  develop  

Our  Frames  

Thoughts  

Feelings  

Behaviors  

Situa'on  

Can  be  Helpful   Or  Unhelpful  

Frames  for  High  Poten0al  Incidents  

Learn  

Learn  

“Let’s  put  this  behind  us”  

Anxious  

Avoid  discussions  “We  can  get  beXer  if  we  share  what  we  learn”  

Determined  

Ensure  discussions  &  sharing  

What  Frames  Have  You  Heard?  Thoughts  

Thoughts  

Feelings  

Feelings  

Behaviors  

Behaviors  

Making  Learning  Your  Chocolate  Cake  

High  Safety  Performance  

“High  poten0als  are  learning  opportuni0es”  

Mo0vated  

Engaged  discussions  &  follow-­‐up  

High  Poten+al  Incidents  are  stressful,  leading  to  overload  

Leadership  Opportuni0es  

What  Frames  do  Leaders  hold  about  high  poten0als?      Frames  &  experience  prime  what  is    What  are  the  opportuni0es  to  prime  high  poten0als  repor0ng  as  Valued  and/or  Rewarding?  When?  With  whom?  By  whom?  

or  

Summary  

Our  brains  are  hard-­‐wired  in  ways  that  can  contribute  to  missing  risks  or  undervaluing  certain  informa0on  Our  habitual  ways  of  thinking  link  to  our  behavior  Leaders  prime  the  Frames  of  others  in  the  organiza0on  

To  increase  learning  from  high  poten+als,  prac+ce  helpful  Frames  &  

prime  Valued,  Rewarding  

QUESTIONS?  

dstober@ccconcepts.net  

References  Ø  Kahneman,  D.  (2003).  Maps  of  bounded  ra0onality:  Psychology  for  Behavioral  

Economics,  The  American  Economic  Review,  93,  1449-­‐1475.  Ø  Mack,  A.,  &  Rock,  I.  (1998).  InaQen+onal  blindness.  Cambridge,  MA:  MIT  Press.  Ø  Neisser,  U.,  &  Becklen,  R.  (1975).  Selec0ve  looking:  AXending  to  visually  

specified  events.  Cogni+ve  Psychology,  7(4),  480-­‐494.  Ø  Ratey,  John  J.  (2002).  A  User’s  Guide  to  the  Brain:  Percep+on,  AQen+on,  and  the  

Four  Theaters  of  the  Brain.  New  York:  Vintage.  Ø  Shiv,  B.,  &  Fedorihkin,  A.  (1999).    Heart  and  mind  in  conflict:  The  interplay  of  

affect  and  cogni0on  in    consumer  decision  making.  Journal  of  Consumer  Research,  26,  278-­‐292.  

Ø  Simons,  Daniel  J.,  Chabris,  Christopher  F.  (1999).  Gorillas  in  our  midst:  Sustained  inaXen0onal  blindness  for  dynamic  events.  Percep+on,  28,  1059-­‐1074.  

Ø  Stober,  D.  (2009).  Cogni0ve-­‐behavioral  safety:  How  stages  of  change  influence  safety  behaviors.    ASSE  Professional  Development  Conference  and  Exhibi0on,  June  28  -­‐  July  1,  2009,  San  Antonio,  TX.  

Ø  Wickens  C.D.,  &  Alexander,  A.  L.  (2009).  AXen0onal  tunneling  and  task  management  in  synthe0c  vision  displays  Interna+onal  Journal  of  Avia+on  Psychology,  19,  182-­‐199.  

Ques0ons?    dstober@ccconcepts.net