Workplace Safety Orientation : The Construct Validation of a New Measure

Type of content
Theses / Dissertations
Publisher's DOI/URI
Thesis discipline
Psychology
Degree name
Master of Science
Publisher
University of Canterbury. Psychology
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Language
Date
2013
Authors
Hill, Anna
Abstract

This study investigated the ability of a new measure to accurately measure the safety orientation of employees, where safety orientation refers to an appreciation of the importance of safety and knowing how to work in a safe manner. The new measure, designed in the format of a set of ten “spot the difference” puzzles, was created as an objective method of assessing safety orientation in job applicants. Currently safety measures used have the potential for bias. Therefore this study attempts to validate an objective measure to eliminate these biases. To create a hypothetical unsafe environment, subconscious goal setting was used to preserve the safety of the participants while “priming” them for safety. By using this paradigm, the study aimed to determine whether the objective method of assessing safety orientation provided by the safety puzzles is construct valid. The study was conducted in two phases: the first uses an experimental design to allow participants to react to the proposed new measure in a situation which would hypothetically influence their performance, and the second uses a self-report questionnaire to allow for a comparison of the potential new measure to already validated measures. 60 undergraduate students from the University of Canterbury participated in the study, with 58 used for data analysis. The results show that one hypothesis is supported, with participants in the safety-primed environment finding more safety-related differences before neutral differences, in comparison to a control group. This suggests that the measure is not a valid measure as it stands currently, but could be with more research into the variables, sample population, and the actual images themselves. The study provides useful insight into solving a current issue within workplace safety literature. Implications, limitations, and future research are discussed.

Description
Citation
Keywords
Ngā upoko tukutuku/Māori subject headings
ANZSRC fields of research
Rights
Copyright Anna Hill