The effect of contextual information on professional judgment: Reliability and biasability of expert workplace safety inspectors |
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Institution: | 1. Netherlands Forensic Institute, PO Box 24044, 2490 AA The Hague, The Netherlands;2. Radboud University Nijmegen, Behavioural Science Institute, PO Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands;3. Leiden University, Institute for Criminal Law and Criminology, PO Box 9520, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands;4. University College London (UCL) and Cognitive Consultants International (CCI-HQ), United Kingdom |
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Abstract: | Introduction: A critical aspect of occupational safety is workplace inspections by experts, in which hazards are identified. Scientific research demonstrates that expectation generated by context (i.e., prior knowledge and experience) can bias the judgments of professionals and that individuals are largely unaware when their judgments are affected by bias. Method: The current research tested the reliability and biasability of expert safety inspectors’ judgments. We used a two-study design (Study 1, N = 83; Study 2, N = 70) to explore the potential of contextual, task-irrelevant, information to bias professionals’ judgments. We examined three main issues: (1) the effect that biasing background information (safe and unsafe company history) had on professional regulatory safety inspectors’ judgments of a worksite; (2) the reliability of those judgments amongst safety inspectors and (3) inspectors’ awareness of bias in their judgments and confidence in their performance. Results: Our findings establish that: (i) inspectors’ judgments were biased by historical contextual information, (ii) they were not only biased, but the impact was implicit: they reported being unaware that it affected their judgments, and (iii) independent of our manipulations, inspectors were inconsistent with one another and the variations were not a product of experience. Conclusion: Our results are a replication of findings from a host of other professional domains, where honest, hardworking professionals underappreciate the biasing effect of context on their decision making. The current paper situates these findings within the relevant research on safety inspection, cognitive bias and decision making, as well as provides suggestions for bias mitigation in workplace safety inspection. Practical Application: Our results have implications for occupational health and safety given that inspection is an integral aspect of an effective safety system. In addition to our findings, this study contributes to the literature by providing recommendations regarding how to mitigate the effect of bias in inspection. |
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Keywords: | Bias Safety inspection Prevention inspection Contextual effects Workplace investigation |
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