accident prevention through personnel selection

7/21/2019 Accident Prevention Through Personnel Selection

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JOURNAL OF BUSINESS AND PSYCHOLOGY

Volume 3 No.2 Winter 1988

A C C I D E N T P R E V E N T I O N T H R O U G H

P E R S O N N E L S E L E C T I O N

J o h n W J o n e s

London House Inc.

Lisa J Wuebker

Georgia Institute of Technology

A B S T R A C T : This article describes how the Personnel Select ion Inventory

Form 3S (PS I -3S ) can be u sed t o supp l em en t more t r ad it i ona l co rpo ra te s a f e ty

p rog rams . V a l i da ti on r e sea r ch shows t ha t t he P S I -3 S subsca le s , e spec i al l y t he

safe ty subsca le , con s is ten t ly predic t a w ide var ie ty o f acc ident - re la ted c r i te r ia .

Two t ime - se r i e s s tud i e s a r e p r e sen t ed t ha t docum en t t he impac t o f t he P SI -3 S

on the red uc t ion of wo rker acc idents , pa id insurance losses, and los t wo rk days .

Imp l ica t ions of these f ind ings a re d i scussed .

A C C I D E N T P R E V E N T I O N T H R O U G H P E R S O N N E L S E L E C T IO N

S a f e t y is a n i m p o r t a n t f a c to r fa c i n g i n d u s t r y t o d a y . W o r k - r e l a t e d

a c c i d e n t s c o s t e m p l o y e r s b i l l io n s o f d o l l a rs e v e r y y e a r . D u r i n g 1 9 84 ,

o v e r 3 , 7 0 0 e m p l o y e e s w e r e k i l l e d i n o n - t h e- jo b a c c i d e n ts , w h i l e n e a r l y

t w o m i l l i o n w o r k e r s w e r e i n j u r e d ( C o t t e r , 1 9 8 6 ) . T h e N a t i o n a l S a f e t y

C o u n c i l ( 19 8 3 ) e s t i m a t e d t h a t o n e m i ll i o n p r o d u c t i v e w o r k e r h o u r s a r e

l o st e a c h y e a r d u e t o e m p l o y e e s ' a c c id e n t s . T y p e s o f a c c i d e n t s i n c l u d e d

b a c k i n j u r i e s , s l i p s a n d f a ll s , l a c e r a t i o n s , a n d m o t o r v e h i c l e a c c id e n t s .

G e n s ( 1 98 5 ) r e v i e w e d U . S . D e p a r t m e n t o f L a b o r S t a t i s ti c s f o r r e t a i l

s t o r e s a n d c o n c l u d e d t h a t 1 0 .2 o f a l l r e t a i l e m p l o y e e s a r e i n j u r e d a n -

n u a l l y a n d 7 0 .1 d a y s a r e l o s t p e r 1 0 0 w o r k e r s d u e t o t h e s e m i s h a p s . A c -

c i d e n t s t h r e a t e n t h e p r o f i t a b i l it y o f a c o m p a n y d u e t o l o st p r o d u c t i o n

t im e , d i s a b i l i ty p a y m e n t s , l o w e r e d m o r a l e, d a m a g e d e q u i p m e n t , w a s t e d

m a t e r i a l s , a n d m o s t im p o r t a n t l y , h i g h e r i n s u r a n c e c o s ts ( H u b e r , 1 98 7 ).

T o r e d u c e t h e s e s t a g g e r i n g s t a ti s ti c s , c o m p a n i e s m u s t i n c r e a s e t h e i r e f -

f o r ts t o p r o m o t e s a f e t y i n t h e w o r k p l a c e .

I n d u s t r i a l s a f e t y p r o g r a m s t h a t f oc u s p r i m a r i l y o n t h e a s s e s s m e n t

a n d c o r r e c ti o n o f u n s a f e m e c h a n i c a l a n d e n v i r o n m e n t a l f a c t o rs n e e d t o

Reprints available from Dr. John Jones London House Inc. 1550 Northwest High-

way Park Ridge IL 60068.

187 9 1988 Human Sciences Press


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188 JOURNAL OF BUSINESS AND PSYCHOLOGY

be redirected since studies indicate that most accidents are caused by

huma n error rat her t han unsafe mechanical or physical conditions

(Jones, DuBois, & Wuebker, 1986). Some safety professionals already

promote the safe design of work stations so that the possibility of hu-

man error is minima l (cf., McKenna, 1983). Others focus on the train ing

of personnel to perform their jobs in a safe, efficient manner (Denton,

1982). Komaki, Barwick and Scott (1978) offered an organizational ap-

proach to safety where they taught management to identify and rein-

force safe work performance. Jones, Barge, Steffy, Fay, Kunz and Wueb-

ker (1988) examined the role of corporate stress manage ment programs

in the reduction of stress-related industrial accidents. This article fo-

cuses on yet another approach to controlling industrial accidents--

personnel selection.

THE PERSONNEL SELECTION APPROACH TO SAFETY

The personnel selection approach allows employers to systemati-

cally screen job applicants for positions where on-the-job injuries are

easily incurred if proper safety rules and precautions are not followed.

High accident risk applicants can be identified and screened out. Appli-

cants identified as high risks for accidents due to individual differences

in a ttit udes and personality can also be placed in less hazardous jobs, or

placed in special safety training programs designed to reduce their sus-

ceptibility for accidents. This article focuses on the assessment of atti-

tudes and personality traits that research has shown are associated

with differential accident susceptibility.

London House, Inc. (1988) has developed the

Personnel Selection

Inventory Form 3S to screen in employment applicants who exhibit

high levels of safety consciousness. The PSI-3S has four subscales that

can conceivably reduce industrial accident rates. They are the Honesty,

Non-violence, Drug-avoidance; and Safety Locus of Control subscales.

Parenthetically, the PSI-3S also has a Distortion subscale that mea-

sures job applicants' tendencies to give truthful answers. The PSI-3S

subscales and the ir reliability coefficients are described in Table 1.

The Honesty subscale is traditionally used to assess applicants' po-

tential for stealing in the workplace. However, research shows that hon-

esty correlates with safety attitudes, too (Wuebker, 1987). That is, per-

sons with more tolerant attitudes toward theft and crime also have

lower levels of safety consciousness and are more inclined to break com-

pany rules. The Non-violence subscale assesses applicants' tendencies to

engage in violent, emotionally unstable behavior. This scale has pre-

dicted industria l damage and waste in past research (Moretti, 1983). Re-

search has also linked on-the-job alcohol and drug use to industrial acci-


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J O H N W . J O N E S A N D L I SA J . W U E B K E R 189

T a b l e 1

D e s c r i p t io n a n d R e l i a b il it y o f P S I 3 S S u b s c a l e s

Scales escriptions

H o n e s t y

N o n - v i o l e n c e

D r u g - a v o i d a n c e

S a f e t y - c o n t r o l

M e a s u r e s j o b a p p l ic a n t s a t t i t u d e s t o w a r d t h e f t a n d c r i m e . P e o p l e w h o

s c o re l o w e r o n t h is s c a l e g e n e r a l l y e x h i b i t m o r e r u m i n a t i o n o v e r t h e f t

a c t i v i t i e s , m o r e p r o j e c t i o n o f t h e f t i n o t h e r s , g r e a t e r r a t i o n a l i z a t i o n o f

t h e f t , l es s p u n i t i v e a t t i t u d e s t o w a r d t h i e v e s , a n d m o r e i n t e r - t h i e f lo y -

a l t y . S p l i t - h a l f r e l i a b i l i t y = . 95 . E x a m p l e s o f H o n e s t y s c a l e c o r r e l a t e s

i n c l u d e : t h e f t a p p r e h e n s i o n s ; a d m i s s i o n s ( s e l f - r e p o r t a n d p o l y g r a p h e x -

a m s ) ; d o l l a r v a l u e o f t h e f t s o f c a s h , m e r c h a n d i s e , a n d p r o p e r t y ; n u m b e r

o f c r i m i n a l a c t s c o m m i t t e d ; n u m b e r o f m i n u t e s o f u n a u t h o r i z e d w o r k

b r e a k e x t e n s i o n s ; c o n v i c t e d f e l o n v s . j o b a p p l i c a n t s t a t u s ; p r i o r c r i m i -

n a l a r r e s t s ; s u p e r v i s o r r a t i n g s f o r c o u n t e r p r o d u c t i v it y ; c a s h d r a w e r

s h o r t a g e s ; c o m p a n y s h r i n k a g e ; t e r m i n a t i o n s f o r t h e ft ; d y s f u n c ti o n a l

t u r n o v e r ; n u m b e r o f d i s c i p l in a r y a c t io n s { o r c o m p a n y c a s h m i s h a n d l i n g ;

a n d d i s r e g a r d f o r c o m p a n y r u l e s i n g e n e r a l .

M e a s u r e s w o r k a p p l i c a n t s t e n d e n c i e s t o w a r d o n - t h e- jo b v i o l e n t b e -

h a v i o r a n d o t h e r r e l a t e d f o r m s o f c o u n t e r p r o d u c t i v it y , s u c h a s p h y s i c al

a s s a u l t , v a n d a l i s m o f c o m p a n y p r o p e r t y a n d m e r c h a n d i s e , d a m a g e a n d

w a s t e o f c o m p a n y m a t e r i a l s , a n d a r g u m e n t a t i v e n e s s . S p l i t - h a l f r e li -

a b i l i t y = .8 7. E x a m p l e s o f N o n - v i o l e n c e s c a l e c o r r e l a t e s i n c l u d e : n u m -

b e r o f v i o l e n t a c ts c o m m i t t e d ; d o l l a r a m o u n t o f d a m a g e d c o m p a n y

p r o p e r t y a n d m e r c h a n d i s e ; p h y s i c a l a s s a u l t o f c o - w o r k e r s , s u p e r v i s o r s ,

a n d / o r c u s t o m e r s ; o n - th e - jo b w a s t e o f c o m p a n y m a t e r i a l s a n d s u p p l ie s ;

v i o l e n c e a d m i s s i o n s ( p o l y g r a p h e x a m s a n d s e l f - r e p o r ts ) ; a n d p o o r c u s -

t o m e r s e r v i c e .

M e a s u r e s j o b a p p l i ca n t s t e n d e n c i e s t o w a r d i l l i ci t d r u g a b u s e i n t h e

w o r k p l a c e . A s s e s s e s r i s k o f d r u g - r e l a t e d i n d u s t r i a l a c c i d e n t s . S p l i t - h a l f

r e l i a b i l i t y = .9 0. E x a m p l e s o f D r u g - a v o i d a n c e s c a l e c o r r e l a t e s i n c l u d e :

w e e k l y a l co h o l c o n s u m p t i o n r a t e ; n u m b e r o f ti m e s i n t o x ic a t e d ; co m i n g

t o w o r k h u n g o v e r o r i n t o x i c a te d ; n u m b e r o f o n - th e - jo b d r u g / al c o h o l

u s e ; s e l f - r e p o r t e d o n - t h e - j o b a l c o h o l a b u s e ; u s i n g a n d s e l l i n g i l l e g a l

d r u g s ; i n d u s t r i a l a c c i d e n t s ; a n d u n a c c e p t a b l e u r i n a l y s i s r e s u l t s .

M e a s u r e s a s e t o f a t t i t u d e s e n d o r s e d b y a p p l i c a n t s w i t h a h i s to r y o f

s e r i o u s a n d c o s t l y a c c i d e n t s a n d i n j u r i e s . A s s e s s e s i f a p p l i c a n t s f e e l

r e s p o n s i b l e f o r a n d c o m m i t t e d t o a c c i d e n t p r e v e n t i o n . S p l i t - h a l f r e l i -

a b i l i t y = .8 5. E x a m p l e s o f S a f e t y S c a l e c o r r e l a t e s i n c l u d e : I n j u r i e s

( m i n o r , m a j o r ) ; t e r m i n a t i o n s d u e t o u n s a f e b e h a v i o r s ; l e v e l o f s a f e t y

e d u c a t i o n ; u n s a f e w o r k p l a c e ; m e d i c a l c o s t s o f w o r k p l a c e a c c i d e n t s ; s u -

p e r v i s o r s r a t i n g s o f s a f e j o b p e r f o r m a n c e ; a n d d r i v i n g s a f e t y .

den ts Jones, 1980). Hence, it can be posited th at applicants who score

poorer on the Drug-avoidance scale are at greater risk to have drug-

related industrial accidents. Extensive validation research has been

conducted on these three subscales, and they have consistently pre-


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d i c t e d a w i d e r a n g e o f c o u n t e r p r o d u c t i v e w o r k b e h a v i o r s ( cf., T e r r i s ,

1 9 8 5 a , b ). H e n c e , t h e s e t h r e e s u b s c a l e s a r e n o t r e v i e w e d i n d e p t h i n

t h i s a r t i c l e .

T h e P S I - 3 S a l so i n c lu d e s a S a f e t y L o c u s of C o n t r o l S c a le . T h i s

s c a l e w a s s p e c i f i c a ll y d e s i g n e d t o p r e d i c t i n d u s t r i a l a c c i d e n t s ( J o n e s &

W u e b k e r , 1 9 8 5a ). T h e s a f e t y s ca l e is a r e l a t i v e l y n e w a d d i t i o n t o t h e

P S I - 3 S . T h e r e f o r e , v a l i d a t i o n s t u d i e s t h a t s u p p o r t t h e u s e of t h i s m e a -

s u r e f o r p e r s o n n e l s e l e ct io n a r e r e v i e w e d b e lo w .

Safety Scale Development

J o n e s d e v e l o p e d t h e S a f e t y L o c u s o f C o n t r o l s u b s c a l e t o i d e n t i fy

e m p l o y m e n t a p p l i c a n t s a t h i g h - r i s k f o r i n d u s t r i a l a c c id e n t s, i n ju r i es ,

a n d u n s a f e b e h a v i o r s i n t h e w o r k p l a c e ( e .g ., J o n e s & W u e b k e r , 1 9 8 5 a,

1 9 88 ). T h e s u b s c a l e w a s b a s e d o n t h e p e r s o n a l i t y c o n s t r u c t , l o cu s o f

c o n t ro l , w h i c h r e f le c t s t h e d e g r e e to w h i c h i n d i v i d u a l s p e r c e i v e t h a t

t h e c o n s e q u e n c e s o f t h e i r b e h a v i o r a n d o t h e r l i fe e v e n t s a r e c o n t r o ll a b le

b y p e r s o n a l e f f o rt ( cf ., R o t t e r , 1 9 6 6) . I n d i v i d u a l s w i t h i n t e r n a l s a f e t y

l o c u s o f c o n t r o l o r i e n t a t i o n s ( i. e. , h i g h s a f e t y c o n s c i o u s n e s s ) e x p e c t a

c o n t i n g e n t r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n p e r s o n a l a c t i o n s a n d a n y a c c i d e n t s a n d

i n j u r ie s t h e y m a y o r m a y n o t h a v e . P e r s o n s w i t h e x t e r n a l s a f e t y c on -

t r o l o r i e n t a t i o n s ( i. e. , l o w s a f e t y c o n s c i o u s n e s s ) s e e n o c a u s e - a n d - e f f e c t

r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n p e r s o n a l a c t io n s a n d s a f e t y . I n s t e a d , e x t e r n a l l y -

c o n t r o l le d i n d i v i d u a l s t e n d t o p e r ce i v e t h a t a c c i d e n t s a n d i n j u r ie s a r e

d e t e r m i n e d b y f o rc e s o u t s i d e t h e i r c o n t r ol , s u c h a s c h a n c e e v e n t s , b a d

l u c k , o r n e g l i g e n t c o m p a n y p r a c t i ce s .

Criterion Related Validity

A n u m b e r o f s t u d i e s h a v e p r o v i d e d e v i d e n c e o f t h e c r i t e ri o n - r e l a te d

v a l i d it y o f t h e P S I - 3 S s a f e ty s ca le . A n i n i t i a l s t u d y b y J o n e s a n d W u e b -

k e r ( 1 9 85 a ) c o m p a r e d t h e s a f e t y sc o r e s o f 1 5 8 u n i v e r s i t y s t u d e n t s w i t h

s e l f - r e p o r t e d a c c i d e n t h i s t o r i e s . S u b j e c t s w i t h m o r e s e v e r e a c c i d e n t hi s -

t o r i e s ( i . e . , a t l e a s t o n e m a j o r i n j u r y , s u c h a s a b r o k e n b o n e ) w e r e s i g n i f -

i c a n t l y m o r e e x t e r n a l i n t h e i r s a f e t y b e l ie f s t h a n s t u d e n t s w i t h l e ss

s e v e r e o r n o a c c i d e n t h i s t o r i e s ( r p h i = .5 4 ).

O t h e r c r i t e r i o n - r e la t e d v a l i d i t y s tu d i e s h a v e g e n e r a t e d s i m i l a r r e-

s u l ts . A s t u d y o f 2 8 3 h o s p i t a l e m p l o y e e s sh o w e d t h a t w o r k e r s w i t h m o r e

e x t e r n a l s a f e t y c o n tr o l o r i e n t a t io n s r e p o r t e d s i g n i f i c a n t ly m o r e o c c u pa -

t i o n a l a c c i d e n ts , a s w e l l a s m o r e s e v e r e a n d c o s tl y i n j u ri e s , t h a n w o r k -

e r s w i t h m o r e i n t e r n a l s a f e t y a t t i t u d e s ( p < .0 5 in a l l c a s e s ) (J o n e s &

W u e b k e r , 1 9 8 5 b ) .

I n a n i n v e s t i g a t i o n u s i n g s t a t e m o t o r v e h i c le r e p o r t s o f c o m m e r c i a l

b u s d r i v e r s, J o n e s a n d F o r e m a n ( 19 8 4) f o u n d t h a t h i g h r i s k d r i v e r s


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J O H N W J O N E S A N D L IS A J W U E B K E R 1 9 1

( N = 2 1 ) ( i. e. , t h o s e w i t h t w o o r m o r e c o n v i c t i o n s f o r u n s a f e d r i v i n g )

s c o r e d i n a s i g n i f i c a n t ly m o r e e x t e r n a l d i r e c ti o n o n t h e s a f e t y s c a le t h a n

d r i v e r s ( N = 2 5 ) w i t h s a f e r r e c o rd s . T h e r e l a t i o n s h i p w a s m o d e r a t e l y

s t r o n g ( r p h i = .4 4). T h i s s t u d y s u p p o r t s f i n d i n g s b y M o n t a g a n d C o m -

r e y ( 1 9 8 7 ). T h e s e r e s e a r c h e r s f o u n d d r i v i n g l o c u s o f c o n t r o l t e s t s c o re s

s i g n i f i c a n t ly d i s c r i m i n a t e d b e t w e e n d r iv e r s w h o did ( N = 2 0 0 ) a n d did

not

( N = 2 0 0 ) h a v e a f a t a l d r i v i n g a c c i d e n t i n t h e p a s t ( M u l t i p l e R = .3 8).

D r i v e r s i n t h e f a t a l a c c i d e n t g r o u p w e r e m o r e e x t e r n a l l y - o r i e n t e d i n

t h e i r s a f e t y b e l i e fs .

T h e P S I - 3 S s a f e ty s u b s c a le r e li a b l y d is c r im i n a t e d b e t w e e n h o t e l

e m p l o y e e s ( N = 17 ) a t h i g h r i s k f o r o n - th e - j o b a c c i d e n t s ( i. e., t h o s e e m -

p l o y e e s w i t h m a j o r a c c i d e n t a l i n j u r ie s r e p o r t e d i n t h e i r p e r s o n n e l f i le s )

a n d t h o s e e m p l o y e e s ( N = 1 0 3 ) a t l o w r i s k f o r a c c i d e n t s ( i. e. , n o a cc i -

d e n t s o r i n j u r i e s r e p o r t e d ) ( W u e b k e r , J o n e s , & D u B o i s , 1 9 8 5) . A s ig n i f i-

c a n t d i f f e r e n c e i n t h e p r e d i c t e d d i r e c t i o n w a s o b t a i n e d ( t = 2 .6 , p < .0 1 ).

A t a n a g g r e g a t e l e v el , t h i s s t u d y o f t w o l a r g e, m e t r o p o l i t a n h o t e l s f o u n d

t h a t t h e h o t e l w h i c h h a d a h i g h e r a c c i d e n t r a t e a l s o h a d e m p l o y e e s

( N = 5 8) w h o w e r e m u c h m o r e e x t e r n a l l y - o r i e n t e d i n t h e i r s a f e t y b e l ie f s

t h a n e m p l o y e e s ( N = 6 2 ) in t h e l o w a c c i d e n t r a t e h o t e l ( t = 2 .4 , p < .0 2) .

T h i s f i n d i n g s u g g e s t s t h a t a p o o r c l i m a t e o f s a f e t y w i t h i n a c o m p a n y

m a y b e a re f l e c ti o n o f t h e w o r k e r s ' s a f e t y a t t i tu d e s a n d b e h a v i o r . Z o h a r

( 19 8 0 ) h a s p o s t u l a t e d t h e e x i s t e n c e o f a s a f e t y c l i m a t e w h i c h r e f le c t s

w o r k e r s ' p e r c e p t i o n s a b o u t t h e v a l u e o f e m p l o y e e s a f e t y a n d t h e e f fe c-

t i v e n e s s o f o r g a n i z a t i o n a l s a f e t y p r o g r a m s .

J o y a n d F r o s t ( 1 9 8 7) c o n d u c t e d a c ri t e r io n - r e l a t e d v a l i d i t y s t u d y

w i t h a s h o r t f o r m o f t h e s a f e t y s c al e. F i f t y - f o u r b u s d r i v e r s c o m p l e t e d

t h e s c a le a n d t h e n t h e i r s u p e r v i s o r s r a t e d t h e i r o v e r a l l j o b p e r f o r m a n c e .

S t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e s u l t s ( p < .0 1 i n a ll c a s es ) w e r e o b t a i n e d b e -

t w e e n s a f e t y s c o r es a n d m e a s u r e s o f p r o d u c t i v i t y ( r = . 50 ), c u s t o m e r r e -

l a t i o n s ( r = . 5 2) , a n d o v e r a l l j o b p e r f o r m a n c e ( r = . 51 ). S a f e t y w a s a m a -

j o r a s p e c t o f t h e b u s d r i v e r s ' p r o d u c t i v i t y a n d o v e r a l l j o b p e r f o r m a n c e

r a t i n g s ; h e n c e , t h e s e f i n d i n g s w e r e n o t s u r p r i s i n g .

F i n a ll y , J o n e s a n d W u e b k e r ( 19 88 ) a d m i n i s te r e d a n e x p a n d e d a n d

i m p r o v e d v e r s i o n o f t h e P S I - 3 S s a f e t y s c al e t o 1 0 6 g r o c e r y s to r e e m -

p l o y e e s . T h i s n e w s c a l e a s s e s s e d a b r o a d e r r a n g e o f s a f e t y a t t i t u d e s a n d

b e l i e fs . I t c o n t i n u e d t o a s s e s s s a f e t y l o c u s o f c o n t r o l b e l i e fs , y e t i t a l s o

a s s e s s e d i n d i v i d u a l s ' s e l f -r e p o r t ed a b i l it i e s t o b o t h c o n c e n t r a t e a n d r e-

m a i n c a l m a n d a l e r t u n d e r p r e s s u r e . T h e n e w s c a l e a l so a s s e s s e d h o w

m a n y a c c i d e n t s p e o p l e expe ted t o h a v e i n t h e f u t u r e , a l o n g w i t h t h e i r

d e s i r e t o e n g a g e i n d a n g e r o u s , t h r i l l - s e e k i n g b e h a v i o r . T h e c r i t e r i o n

m e a s u r e o f s a f e t y w a s a s u p e r v i s o r ' s g r o u p i n g o f t h e e m p l o y e e s in t o

a h i g h a c c i d e n t r i s k g r o u p ( N = 5 2 ) o r a l o w a c c i d e n t r i s k g r o u p

( N = 5 4 ) b a s e d o n a c c i d e n t h i s t o r i e s r e c o r d e d i n t h e e m p l o y e e s ' p e r s o n -

n e l f il e s. A s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t p o i n t - b i s e r i a l c o r r e l a t i o n ( r = . 50 )


6/12

192 JOURN AL OF BUSINESS AND PSYCHOLOGY

w a s o b t a i n e d . T h e l o w r i s k g r o u p t e n d e d t o e x h i b i t m o r e i n t e r n a l ly -

o r i e n t e d s a f e t y b e l ie f s t h a n t h e h i g h r i s k g r o u p .

onstruct Val idi ty

W u e b k e r ( 1 9 87 ) e x a m i n e d t h e c o n s t r u c t v a l i d i t y o f t h e s a f e t y sc a le .

S h e f o u n d t h a t s a f e t y s c a le s c o r e s o f 1 ,7 3 2 e m p l o y m e n t a p p l i c a n t s s ig -

n i f i c a n t l y c o r r e l a t e d ( p < .0 0 1 i n a l l c as e s ) w i t h p s y c h o l o g i c a l m e a s u r e s

o f d i s h o n e s t y ( r = .3 1 ), v i o l e n c e ( r = . 29 ), a n d d r u g a b u s e p o t e n t i a l

( r = .1 8) . S h e c o n c l u d e d t h a t p o o r s a f e t y s c o r e s s e e m t o b e r e l a t e d t o a

m o r e g e n e r a l c o u n t e r p r o d u c t i v i t y f a c to r . T h a t is , e m p l o y e e s a t r i s k f o r

a c c i d e n t s a p p e a r t o b e a t s l i g h t l y g r e a t e r r i s k t o b r e a k c o m p a n y r u l e s,

d a m a g e a n d w a s t e p r o p e r t y , a n d u s e d r u g s a t w o r k . P a r e n t h e t i c a l l y ,

W u e b k e r f o u n d a n o n - s i g n i f i c an t r e l a t i o n s h i p ( r = .0 7) b e t w e e n s a f e t y

s c a l e s c o r e s a n d d i s t o r t i o n o r l ie s c a l e s c o re s . T h i s f in d i n g s u g g e s t s

t h a t i t i s d i f fi c u lt to f a k e a n s w e r s o n t h e s a f e t y s c al e , p r o b a b l y b e c a u s e

i t s p u r p o s e i s n o t o b v i o u s to a p p l i c a n t s .

I n a n o t h e r c o n s t r u c t v a l i d i t y s t u d y , F a y a n d J o n e s ( 1 9 8 7 ) a t t e m p t e d

t o i d e n t i f y p s y c h o l o g ic a l p r e d i c to r s o f e x e m p l a r y c h i l d ca r e w o r k e r s . A

s m a l l s a m p l e o f a d u l t s ( N = 2 4 ) w a s a d m i n i s t e r e d a p r o je c t iv e d r a w i n g

t e s t a n d t h e s a f e t y s c a l e . S t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e s u l t s ( p < .0 5 in a l l

c a s es ) s h o w e d t h a t s a f e t y s c o r e s w e r e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e q u a l i t y o f p ro -

j e c t i v e d r a w i n g s m a d e b y t h e a d u l t s . T h a t is , e x t e r n a l s co r e rs , w h e n

a s k e d t o d r a w a h o u s e , a tr e e , a n d a p e rs o n , w e r e m o r e l i k e l y t o d r a w

v e r y c l u m s y l o o k i n g h a n d s l a c k i n g o n e o r m o r e fi n g er s . E x t e r n a l s c o r e rs

w e r e a l s o m o r e l i k e l y t o o m i t o n e o r b o t h e y e s f r o m t h e i r d r a w i n g s . C o n -

v e r s e l y , i n t e r n a l s c o r e rs w e r e m o r e l i k e l y t o d r a w w e l l -p r o p o r t io n e d

h a n d s w i t h f iv e f i n g e r s a l o n g w i t h a p a i r o f a l e r t, a p p r o p r i a t e l y p l a c e d

e y e s . T h i s p i l o t s t u d y s u g g e s t s t h a t s a f e t y b e l i ef s m i g h t b e a s s o c i a t e d

w i t h s u b c o n s c i o u s p r o c e ss e s , e s p e c ia l l y p r o c e s se s t h a t r e f le c t h o w a t t e n -

t i v e a n d c o o r d i n a t e d p e o p le f e el w i t h t h e i r s u r r o u n d i n g e n v i r o n m e n t .

J o n e s a n d W u e b k e r ( 1 9 85 a ) c o m p a r e d t h e s a f e t y s co r e s o f 1 5 h i g h l y

e d u c a t e d a n d e x p e r i e n c e d s a f e t y p r o f es s i o n a l s to 4 6 c o ll e ge s t u d e n t s

w i t h l o w a c c i d e n t h i s t o r i e s ( e . g . , t h e y r e p o r t e d o n e v e r y m i n o r i n j u r y ) ,

6 0 s t u d e n t s w i t h a m o d e r a t e a c c i d e n t h i s t o r y ( e .g ., t h e y t y p i c a l l y re -

p o r t e d t w o m i n o r i n j u r i e s s u c h a s c u t s o r s m a l l b r u i s e s ) a n d 1 3 s u b j e c t s

w i t h s e r i o u s a c c i d e n t h i s t o r i e s ( e .g ., t h e y r e p o r t e d t h r e e o r m o r e a c ci -

d e n t s , w i t h a t l e a s t o n e a c c i d e n t b e i n g a m a j o r a c c i d e n t s u c h a s a b r o -

k e n b o n e ). P o i n t - b i s e r i a l c o r r e l a t i o n s r e v e a l e d t h a t t h e s a f e t y p r o fe s -

s i o n a l s w e r e m o r e i n t e r n a l l y - c o n t r o l l e d ( p < . 05 in a l l c a s e s ) i n t h e i r

s a f e t y b e l i e f s t h a n t h e l o w a c c i d e n t g r o u p ( r = .4 5 ), t h e m o d e r a t e a c ci -

d e n t g r o u p ( r - - . 5 1 ) , a n d t h e h i g h a c c i d e n t g r o u p ( r = .8 9) . R e s e a r c h i s

n e e d e d t o e x p lo r e a n y p o t e n t i a l c a u s a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s b e t w e e n l e v e l o f

s a f e t y e d u c a t i o n a n d s a f e t y l o c u s o f c o n t r o l b e l ie f s .


7/12

J O H N W J O N E S A N D L I SA J W U E B K E R 1 93

W u e b k e r ( 1 98 8 ) c o r r e l a t e d 4 0 c o l le g e s t u d e n t s ' s a f e t y s c al e s c o re s

w i t h s c o r e s f ro m R o t t e r ' s g e n e r a l l o c u s o f c o n t r o l s c a l e ( R o t t e r, 1 9 6 6) .

( H i g h e r s c o r e s o n R o t t e r ' s s c al e m e a n m o r e e x t e r n a l it y . ) A si g n i f ic a n t

c o r r e l a t i o n w a s o b t a in e d , y e t o n l y a t t h e - . 4 1 l e v e l ( p < . 0 1 ) . T h i s

m e a n s t h a t i n t e r n a l s c o r e r s o n t h e s a f e t y s c a le f e el m o r e r e s p o n s i b l e

f o r a n d i n c o n t r o l o f a l l a s p e c t s o f t h e i r l if e, w h i l e e x t e r n a l s c o r e r s t y p -

i c a l l y f e e l m o r e p o w e r l e s s . H o w e v e r , t h e f a c t t h a t t h e t w o s c a l e s a r e

o n l y m o d e r a t e l y c o r r e la t e d i n d i c at e s t h a t t h e y a r e m e a s u r i n g o v e rl a p-

p i n g , y e t d i f f e r e n t p s y c h o l o g i c a l c o n s t r u c t s .

Time Series Analysis

T h e P S I - 3 S s a f e t y s u b s c a l e a p p e a r s t o b e a v a l i d p r e d i c t o r o f a

n u m b e r o f d i f f e r e n t s a f e ty c ri t e ri a . T h i s s e c t io n e x a m i n e s t h e i m p a c t o f

t h e e n t i r e P S I - 3 S b a t t e r y , i n c l u d i n g t h e s a f e t y s u b s c a l e , o n t h e r e d u c-

t i o n o f i n d u s t r i a l a c c i d e n t s a n d i n s u r a n c e l o ss e s.

T h e r e s e a r c h r e v i e w e d a b o v e in d i c at e s t h a t t h e e n t ir e P S I - 3 S b a t -

t e r y s h o u l d e f f e c ti v e l y r e d u c e i n d u s t r i a l a c c i d e n ts . T h e r e s e a r c h s e e m s

t o s u p p o r t t h e n o t i o n t h a t r u l e - a b id i n g , n o n - v i o le n t , n o n - d r u g - a b u s i n g ,

a n d p a r t i c u l a r l y s a f e t y c o n s ci o u s j o b a p p l i c a n t s s h o u l d h a v e less i n d u s -

t r i a l a c c i d e n ts t h a n t h e i r m o r e c o u n t e r p r o d u c t i v e c o u n t e r p a r t s . T h e

n e x t r e s e a r c h s t e p is t o d o c u m e n t t h a t c o m p a n i e s t h a t u s e t e s t b a t t e r i e s

l i k e t h e P S I - 3 S a c t u a l l y h a v e a r e d u c t i o n i n a c c i d e n t s .

J o n e s a n d S t e ff y (1 9 86 ) e v a l u a t e d t h e e f fe c t i v e ne s s o f t h e P S I - 3 S

o n a c c i d e n t c r it e r i a i n a la r g e n a t i o n a l t r u c k i n g f ir m . T h e s t u d y w a s a

4 1 m o n t h i n v e s t i g a t io n . I n P h a s e A ( t h e f ir s t 2 3 m o n t h s ) i n t e r v i e w s a n d

r e f e r e n c e c h e c k s w e r e u s e d t o s c r e e n j o b a p p l ic a n t s . I n P h a s e B ( th e l a s t

1 8 m o n t h s ) t h e P S I - 3 S w a s a d d e d t o t h e s c r e e n i n g p r o c e s s a n d a l l a p -

p l i c a n t s ( o v e r 3 0 0 ) w e r e g i v e n t h e i n v e n t o r y .

T h e r e s u l t s s u p p o r t e d t h e u s e o f t h e P S I - 3 S a s a n e ff e c ti v e a c c i d e n t

r e d u c t i o n p r o g r a m . M o n t h l y p a i d i n s u r a n c e l o s se s w e r e s i g n i fi c a n t ly

( p < .0 5 i n a l l c a s e s ) r e d u c e d f r o m a n a v e r a g e o f $ 2 5 , 6 0 0 i n P h a s e A t o

a n a v e r a g e o f $ 5 , 40 0 i n P h a s e B . M o r e o v e r , t h e a v e r a g e n u m b e r o f l o s t

w o r k d a y s d u e t o in j u r i e s w a s s i g n i f i c a n t ly r e d u c e d b y 5 0 % , f r o m 1 61

d a y s p e r m o n t h i n P h a s e A to 7 9 d a y s p e r m o n t h i n P h a s e B . T h e s e r e -

s u l t s a r e s u m m a r i z e d i n F i g u r e 1. T h e y s u g g e s t t h a t a p e r s o n n e l s e le c -

t i o n a p p r o a c h t o s a f e t y is a v i a b l e a d j u n c t t o m o r e t r a d i t i o n a l s a f e t y

p r o g r a m s .

T h e n e x t s t u d y e x a m i n e d t h e i m p a c t o f t h e P S I - 3 S o n t h e r ed u c -

t i o n o f w o r k e r c o m p e n s a t i o n l o s s e s ( e. g. , b a c k i n j u r i e s , s l i p s a n d f a l ls ,

l a c e r a t i o n s , a n d m i s c e l l a n e o u s s t r a i n s ) . T h i s i s a n e w s t u d y . I t w a s s p e-

c i fi c a ll y h y p o t h e s i z e d t h a t c o m p a n i e s w o u l d e x p e r i e n c e a re d u c t i o n i n

w o r k e r c o m p e n s a t io n l o ss e s o n ce t h e y i m p l e m e n t e d t h e P S I - 3 S f or p e r-

s o n n e l s e le c t io n . N o t o n l y w o u l d m o r e s a f e t y c o n s ci o u s e m p l o y e e s b e


8/12

1 9 4

J O U R N A L O F B U S I N E S S A N D P S Y C H O L O G Y

F i g u r e 1

I m p a c t o f P S I 3 S o n P a i d I n s u r a n c e L o s s e s a n d L o s t W o r k D a y s

3o

m

s

._c 10

s

A~rage Mo mM y Pa id nsurance A~ rage Num ber

~ Lost Work Days

[o~ . s D ue t o INu ri es D ue t o tN o r ~

C h ar t^ C l e f t

Pre-PSI-3S PSI-3S P~-PS I-3S PSI-3S

25,60O

5,400

175

150

~ 125

~ 7s

50

2S

1~1

79

1983.1984 1984-1986 1983-1984 1984-1986

(23 Mon ths) (18 Mon ths) (23 Moths1 (18 Months)

hired, but use of the PSI-3S for applicant screening would communi-

cate to all employees tha t management is fully committed to improving

workplace safety. An improved organizational climate of safety could

evolve (cf., Zohar, 1980).

M e t h o d s

the PSI- 3S was implemented in eight milk processing and de-

livery companies beginning in the first quar ter of 1985. The eight firms

were part of the same pa ren t company. Each location employed approxi-

mat ely 35-40 employees. The employees with in each company basically

shared duties when it came to processing, packaging and delivering

milk and dairy products. From March, 1985 through November, 1986,

the eight companies collectively processed over 200 PSI-3S 's. They

hired approximately 80 applicants who passed all of the P SI -3S sub-

scales. Based on PSI-3S scores, these applicants were classified as be-

ing at

l o w r i s k

to have workplace accidents.

A single-factor repeated measures research design was used. The

single factor was the year in which accidents were reported. Four year s

were studied: 1983, 1984, 1985, and 1986. Since the PSI-3S was imple-

mented in the first quarter of 1985, it was predicted that a significant

reduction in accidents would be observed in 1986. The dependent vari-

able was the total frequency of worker compensation accidents recorded

for each company during each of the four years studied. Accident fre-

quency rates were obtained from computer data bases maintained by

the company's insurance agent.


9/12

J O H N W J O N E S A N D L IS A J W U E B K E R 1 95

R e s u l t s a n d o m m e n t s

T h e

average

a c c i d e n t r a t e f o r y e a r s 1 9 8 3 , 19 8 4 , 1 98 5 , a n d 1 9 8 6

equa l ed 17 .13 (S .D . = 11 .04 ) , 12 .25 (S .D . = 9 .22 ) , 13 .75 (S .D . = 4 .86 ) and

6 . 5 ( S .D . = 4 .0 ), r e s p e c t i v e l y . T h e s e b e t w e e n - y e a r d i f f e r e n c e s w e r e s t a -

t i s t ic a l l y s i g n i f ic a n t u s i n g a r e p e a t e d m e a s u r e s a n a l y s i s o f v a r i a n c e

( F [3 / 21 ] = 6 .0 1 , p < .0 0 5) . P o s t - h o c a n a l y s e s , u s i n g t h e D u n c a n m u l t i p l e

r a n g e t e s t, r e v e a l e d t h a t t h e 1 9 8 6 a v e r a g e w a s s i g n i f i c a n tl y l o w e r t h a n

t h e 1 9 8 5 ( p < .0 5), t h e 1 9 8 4 ( P < .0 5) a n d t h e 1 9 8 3 ( p < . 0 1 ) a v e r a g e s . N o

o t h e r a c c i d e n t r e d u c t i o n p r o g r a m s w e r e i n t r o d u c e d d u r i n g t h i s p e r i o d .

T h e r e f o r e , s i n c e t h e r e s u l t s a r e i n t h e p r e d i c t e d d i r e c t i o n , t h e y s u p p o r t

t h e n o t i o n t h a t t h e P S I - 3 S w a s a m a j o r c o n t r i b u t i n g f a c t o r i n t h e r e -

d u c t i o n o f i n d u s t r i a l a c c i d e n ts . T h e s e r e s u l t s a r e s u m m a r i z e d i n F ig -

u r e 2 .

T h e r e s e a r c h d e s i g n i n t h i s s t u d y d i d n o t e m p l o y a c o n t r o l g r o u p .

H o w e v e r , a f te r t h e s t u d y w a s c o m p l e t e d , t w o m i l k p r o d u c i n g c o m p a n i e s

i n t h e s a m e r e g i o n o f t h e c o u n t r y w e r e a p p r o a c h e d t o s e r v e a s a n o n -

e q u i v a l e n t c o n t r o l g r o u p . D u e t o t h e s iz e o f t h i s c o n t r o l g r o u p ( N = 2 ),

n o fo r m a l s t a t i s t i c a l a n a l y s e s w e r e c o m p u t e d . T h e f r e q u e n c y o f w o r k e r

c o m p e n s a t i o n a c c i d e n t s w a s o b t a i n e d f r o m i n s u r a n c e s t a t is t i c s fo r e a c h

c o m p a n y .

F o r t h e c o n t ro l g r o u p , t h e a v e r a g e a c c i d e n t f r e q u e n c y r a t e f o r 1 98 3 ,

1 9 8 4 , 1 9 8 5 , a n d 1 9 8 6 i n o r d e r e q u a l e d 1 2 . 0 ( S .D . - 4 . 2 4 ), 8 .5 (S . D . = 2 .1 2 ) ,

8 . 0 ( S .D . = 0 ), a n 1 0 . 0 ( S .D . = 2 . 83 ) . T h e s e a v e r a g e r a t e s a r e s l i g h t l y

l o w e r t h a n t h o s e o b t a in e d b y th e P S I - 3 S g r ou p . H o w e v e r , w h i l e th e

P S I - 3 S g r o u p e x p e r i e n c e d a s h a r p r e d u c t i o n i n a c c i d e n t s f o r 1 9 8 6 c o m -

p a r e d t o 1 9 8 3 , 1 9 8 4 , a n d 1 9 8 5 , t h e c o n t r o l g r o u p w a s f a i r l y s t a b l e a c r o s s

y e a r s , a n d i t e x p e r i e n c e d a s l igh t inc rease i n a c c i d e n t s f o r 1 9 8 6 c o m -

p a r e d t o 1 9 8 4 a n d 1 9 85 . F u t u r e f ie l d e x p e r i m e n t s n e e d t o u t i li z e m o r e

a p p r o p r i a t e c o n t r o l g r o u p d e s ig n s . U n f o r t u n a t e l y , m o s t c o m p a n i e s a r e

u n w i l l i n g t o p o s t p o n e t h e u s e o f p e r s o n n e l s e l e c ti o n p r o g r a m s i n s o m e o f

t h e i r l o c a t io n s f o r r e s e a r c h p u r p o s e s .

O n e f i n a l n o te . T h e p a r e n t c o m p a n y w a s u n w i l l i n g t o p r o v i d e e x a c t

f i g u r e s o n t h e c o s ts o f t h e w o r k e r c o m p e n s a t i o n c l a im s f or t h e e i g h t

P S I - 3 S c o m p a n i es . H o w e v e r , t h e y p r o v i de d b al l p a r k f ig u r e s su g g e s t in g

t h a t t o t a l a c c i d e n t r e l a t e d l o s se s w e r e a p p r o x i m a t e l y 1 , 3 00 , 0 00 in

1 9 8 3 , 9 0 0 , 0 0 0 i n 1 9 8 4 , 1 , 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 i n 1 9 8 5 , a n d o n l y 3 0 0 , 0 0 0 i n 1 9 8 6 .

T h e s e f i n d i n g s a r e v e r y p r o m i s i n g a n d m i g h t r e f le c t t h e f i n a n c ia l i m -

p a c t O f t h e P S I - 3 S o n t h e r e d u c t i o n o f i n s u r a n c e l os s es . T h e r e s u l t s o b -

t a i n e d i n th i s s e c o n d t i m e - s e r i e s s t u d y s u p p o r t a n d e x t e n d t h e f i n d i n g s

o f J o n e s a n d S t e f f y ( 1 98 6 ).


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11/12

J O H N W . J O N E S A N D L IS A J . W U E B K E R 197

dverse Imp act nalyses

In addition to validity, one of the most important concerns of em-

ployers using any type of personnel selection instrument is that it meets

the standards set by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

(1979). In its 1978 Uniform Guidelines, the EEOC accepts the use of ob-

related selection devices provided tha t there is no adverse impact

against any subgroup (e.g., race or sex groups). Selection procedures

tha t have adverse impact against any subgroup are allowable only if the

procedure has been properly validated. Although the validation of the

safety scale has been documented, studies have also demonstrated that

the scale has no adverse impact against protected groups (e.g., Jones &

Wuebker, 1985a, b). In fact, the PSI-3S battery as a whole has no ad-

verse impact (Terris, 1985a, b). Of course, local validation and adverse

impact studies should always be conducted whenever possible by compa-

nies using any personnel selection system.

CONCLUSION

The studies reviewed in this article suggest that accident reduction

through personnel selection is a promising new approach to corporate

safety. Personnel selection systems like the PSI -3S can supplement the

more traditional corporate safety programs. Companies that use effec-

tive safety programs should be rewarded by society in general since

they are reducing the risk of workplace accidents and fatalities, while

lowering insurance claims. One type of reward is to offer lower insur-

ance premiums to companies that combine the new, personnel-based

safety programs (e.g., personnel selection, rewarding safe work prac-

tices, controlling stress-related accidents, etc.) with the more traditional

safety programs that focus primarily on the improvement of unsafe

equipment and work environments. Research on the contributions of

personnel selection to industrial accident prevention should continue.

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