Browsing by Author "Geller, E. Scott"
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- The A.R.K. Project: A Grassroots, Student-Led, Multiple-Component Intervention to Increase Driver Safety-Belt Use on a University CampusFarrell, Leah (Virginia Tech, 2006-02-27)This study represents a collaborative effort among university academics and community stakeholders. Virginia Tech's (VT) Center for Applied Behavior Systems (CABS) teamed up with student groups following the death of a fellow student to create The A.R.K. Project. This multiple-component intervention study specifically targeted students on the VT campus, in an attempt to increase driver safety-belt use. Observations on VT students' safety-belt use and other safety-related behaviors (i.e., turn-signal use and cell-phone use) were made during pre-intervention, intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up study phases and compared with observations made on drivers in two non-equivalent control groups (VT faculty/staff and Radford University (RU) students). Evaluation of the project revealed no meaningful changes in daily percentages of VT student safety-belt use, when compared to that of non-equivalent control groups. Percentages by phase did vary in the hypothesized direction for VT students. Percentages by phase varied in similar ways for VT faculty/staff, suggesting the student-targeted intervention, over-all, was not responsible for the observed changes. However, one inter-personal intervention component, the Buckle-Up Flashcards prompt was associated with a particularly successful rate of compliance. Thirty percent of un-buckled drivers complied with this inter-personal response. Because VT student safety-belt use did not change as a function of the intervention, it was irrelevant to investigate response generalization to other safety-related behaviors. Instead, the author focused on covariation between safety-belt use, turn-signal use, and cell-phone use. Buckled drivers were significantly more likely to indicate turns with a turn signal and were significantly less likely to use cell phones. Other additional findings of epidemiologic importance were that safety-belt use was significantly more likely among VT faculty/staff than VT students and safety-belt use was significantly more likely among VT faculty/staff and VT student females than among VT faculty/staff and VT student males. Interpretations of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.
- Alcohol Expectancies and Self-Efficacy as Moderators of Social Anxiety and Alcohol Use Among College StudentsEhrhart, Ian James (Virginia Tech, 2005-11-14)Social anxiety is widely thought to be positively associated with alcohol use. However, these studies rely primarily on self-report of drinking behavior. This research aimed to further explore this research by assessing blood alcohol concentration (BAC), a physiological measure of alcohol intoxication, as the dependent measure in naturalistic settings (i.e., fraternity parties). Results from Study 1 suggest a weak relationship between self-reported anxiety levels and BAC. Study 2 was based on Burke and Stephen's (1999) proposed social cognitive model in which alcohol expectancies and drink-refusal self-efficacy act as moderators of the relationship between dispositional social anxiety and alcohol consumption. Analyses (n=86) did not support a relationship between social anxiety and alcohol use, nor the moderating effects of alcohol expectancies and drink-refusal self-efficacy. Implications for this type of research and possible future directions are discussed.
- Application of Social Influence Strategies to Convert Concern into Relevant Action: The Case of Global WarmingLehman, Philip Kent (Virginia Tech, 2008-02-04)This research studied the efficacy of enhancing information-based appeals with social influence strategies in order to encourage environmental activism and efficiency behaviors in response to global warming. A secondary goal was to study the relationship between pro-environment attitudes as measured by the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) and the activism/efficiency behaviors. After hearing a 15-minute presentation about the threat of global warming, 270 participants were encouraged to take relevant action by (a) signing web-based petitions asking automakers to build more environmentally friendly cars, (b) sending web-based letters to their state senators asking them to pass legislation to curb global warming, and (c) replacing their own inefficient incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). The primary independent variable was the intervention technique used to encourage the three behaviors. The Information Only condition received a standard informational presentation, and a Social Influence condition received a presentation enhanced by the social psychological principles of authority, social validation, and consistency. A third group—Social Influence and Commitment—received the social influence manipulations and also signed a commitment statement. Overall compliance was relatively low, with 30.7% of participants across all conditions completing one or more activism/efficiency behavior. Statistical comparisons of the compliance rates of the three groups were insignificant, and thus failed to support the efficacy of the social influence approach. Participants who held stronger pro-environment attitudes were more likely to complete the tasks. Those who completed at least one of the environmental actions scored significantly higher on a pre-presentation NEP (m = 54.9) than those who completed none (m = 50.3). In addition, political conservatism was negatively related to the NEP and task compliance. Finally, individuals who completed at least one of the requested behaviors showed a significant increase in pro-environment attitude on a second (post intervention) NEP, while the NEP scores of non-compliers remained unchanged.
- Assessing levels of intoxication through behavioral observationGlindemann, Kent E. (Virginia Tech, 1990-04-20)The primary goals of this research were: 1) to develop an alcohol intoxication detection aid (IDA) that can be used to estimate reliably and accurately another person's level of alcohol impairment; 2) to evaluate the effect of alcohol on a computer-controlled critical tracking task (CTT), which assesses skills important to driving a vehicle; and 3) to examine the relationships between these two instruments and measured blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Teplin and Lutz (1985) developed an alcohol intoxication checklist for use in a hospital emergency room. Their results indicated a high correlation (.85) between actual BAC and intoxication estimates obtained by applying their checklist. This thesis refined and extended this prior checklist procedure for use with college populations, and included procedures to measure its validity and reliability. The CTT is a computer task which requires a subject to make a response to a brief digital display. Dependent measures include subjects' response time and error rate. Subjects' performance was consequently correlated with their BAC. The subjects were university students (n = 232) consuming alcoholic beverages at three regularly scheduled weekend fraternity parties. Subjects were recruited for testing from among those in attendance at these parties. Subjects were of legal drinking age. Results for both instruments were instructive and encouraging. Although reliability and validity coefficients for use of the IDA during the first party were unacceptably low. the changes made in the experimental methodology after this testing proved beneficial. Results of IDA use at the third party showed substantial increases in both interrater reliability and correlation with actual BAC. These results, however, were found to vary across individual judges. With CTT performance, mean response time and mean error rate were both reliable indicators of intoxication, and results stood up fairly well under a signal detection approach to the data analysis. Implications for use of both instruments in real-world settings are discussed.
- Assessing the Impact of Coaching Feedback Strategies on the Motivation and Performance of Elite AthletesMastrich, Zachary (Virginia Tech, 2019-10)Research has consistently found that the type of feedback coaches provide their players with has a substantial impact on both the motivation and the performance of these athletes. Further, several studies have found that athletes’ motivation predicts sport performance. In order to optimize the performance of their athletes, coaches need to understand how various feedback strategies impact motivation and performance. The present study examined the relationship between coaching feedback, athletes’ motivation, and athletic performance from the perspective of self-determination theory. Feedback style was conceptualized in four categories: behavior-based corrective feedback, behavior-based supportive feedback, person-based corrective feedback, and person-based supportive feedback. Athlete motivation was conceptualized as intrinsic and extrinsic. Participants included 169 NCAA athletes (56.2% male) from Division I and III colleges and universities in the United States. This sample includes 35 golfers, 50 basketball players, and 84 baseball/softball players. All participants completed a survey reporting their perception of their coaches’ feedback style and their motivation. The commonly recorded individual performance statistics were used as the outcome measure. A factor analysis confirmed the four-factor structure of the perceived feedback scale and structural equation modeling was used to test the relationship between feedback, motivation, and performance. The results revealed that athletes perceive a) more supportive than corrective feedback, b) that corrective feedback was more behavior-based than person-based, and c) that supportive feedback was more person-based than behavior-based. Additionally, Supportive person-based (β = -.22) and corrective person-based feedback (β = .18) were linked with intrinsic motivation. Both intrinsic (β = .13) and extrinsic motivation (β = .82) were related to athletic performance. Corrective person-based feedback had a significant indirect effect on performance through the mediation of intrinsic motivation (β = -.10). The findings from this study can inform coaches to use more supportive and less corrective person-based feedback to increase motivation and performance.
- A behavior analysis of alcohol consumption and impairment at university partiesKalsher, Michael J. (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1988)Four field experiments were conducted to examine situational determinants of alcohol consumption at university fraternity parties. Certain manipulated variables were relevant to the development of environmental strategies for predicting and decreasing excessive alcohol consumption and deterring alcohol impaired driving. When entering university-sanctioned parties, students were asked a few questions and then they received a drink container and a stick-on badge, each with an ID number. During these parties, individual drinking rates of beer and mixed drinks or beer only were monitored under varying environmental conditions. When exiting the party, students' blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) were obtained with a breathalizer. In Experiment 1, three types of beer (Budweiser, Bud Light, and LA) were available in kegs labeled "A", "B", and "C". At a second party the kegs were labeled according to beer content (i.e., Budweiser, Bud Light, and LA). Results showed significant differences in drink choice across parties, with Budweiser most preferred by males and females when kegs did not indicate beer content and Bud Light most preferred by males and females when the kegs were labeled according to brand. The low alcohol (LA) choice was only selected substantially when the kegs did not reflect beer content. In Experiment 2, students of legal—drinking age at each of two weekend fraternity parties chose one of two types of alcoholic beverages (beer or mixed drinks) to consume throughout the night. Unbeknownst to the partiers, at the first of these two parties the beer drinkers were served regular beer, whereas at the second party low alcohol beer was served. Drinking rates were similar for beer and mixed-drink consumption at both parties; at the party with LA beer, students‘ mean BAC when leaving the party was significantly lower for the beer drinkers (i.e., .026 for LA consumers vs. .063 for mixed-drink consumers) For Experiment 3, students of legal drinking age at a weekend fraternity party chose one of two types of alcoholic beverages (beer or mixed drinks) to drink throughout the night. Unbeknownst to the partiers, drinkers were randomly assigned to either a regular alcohol content or low alcohol content version of their preferred beverage type. The drinking rates were greater for beer drinkers than for partiers consuming mixed drinks. Drinking rates were similar for both the low and regular alcohol alternatives. However, exit BAC was significantly greater for those in the regular-alcohol conditions. In Experiment 4, the alcoholic beverages available to students of legal—drinking age at one party (i.e., mixed drinks and beer) were served either by bartenders or served by themselves. A test of the theory of reasoned action was conducted by attempting to predict the number of drinks consumed and exit BAC from measures of general and specific intentions obtained two weeks before the party and at the start of the party. Specific drinking intentions obtained at the start of the party predicted a significant amount of variance in exit BAC (R = .59). The manipulation of situational variables also accounted for a portion of the variance in the number of drinks consumed and exit BAC. One environmental determinant at this party was the nature of drink delivery (i.e., self-serve vs. bartender). Male and female beer drinkers assigned to the Self-Serve condition drank at a higher rate and consumed more of their preferred beverage type than did those drinkers served by a bartender, or by those consuming mixed drinks in the self-serve condition. This increase was highest for male partiers. Male and female mixed drink consumers assigned to the Self·Serve condition drank at the lowest rate and consumed the least amount of their preferred beverage type.
- A Behavioral Evaluation of the Transition to Electronic Prescribing in a Hospital SettingCunningham, Thomas R. (Virginia Tech, 2006-04-18)The impact of Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) on the dependent variables of medication-order compliance and time to first dose of antibiotic was investigated in this quasi-experimental study of a naturally-occurring CPOE intervention. The impact of CPOE on compliance and time to first dose was assessed by comparing measures of these variables from the intervention site and a non-equivalent control before and during intervention phases. Medication orders placed using CPOE were significantly more compliant than paper-based medication orders (p<.001), and first doses of antibiotic ordered using CPOE were delivered significantly faster than antibiotic orders placed using the paper-based system (p<.001). Findings support previous research indicating the positive impact of CPOE on patient safety as well as justify and enable future interventions to increase CPOE adoption and use among physicians. Additionally, data collected in this study will be used to provide behavior-based feedback to physicians as part of CPOE adoption and use intervention strategies to be explored in the forthcoming research.
- Comparing the Development of Intragroup Trust and Performance Feedback Influence in Interdisciplinary and Homogeneous TeamsThompson, Nicole J. (Virginia Tech, 2011-03-02)The present study seeks to advance understanding of intragroup trust and team diversity. The dynamic interrelationships between intragroup trust, information sharing, and performance were examined over feedback cycles in interdisciplinary and homogeneous teams. In a three-hour lab session, participants completed a management simulation task in teams of four. Performance feedback was administered and process variables were measured periodically throughout the task. Several hypotheses were posed predicting differences between team type as well as the dynamic influence of performance feedback on the nature of trust. Findings both add to knowledge about the development of trust as well as point to future research directions. Although trust displayed an overall positive linear trend independent of team type, Cycle 1 performance feedback contributed to the trust trajectory. Additionally, considerations for operationalizations of information sharing and team performance are discussed in light of findings.
- A Comparison of Feedforward versus Feedback Interventions for Safety Self-Management in Mining OperationsHickman, Jeffrey S. (Virginia Tech, 2002-04-12)This quasi-experimental field study examined the efficacy of a safety self-management intervention to increase safety-related work practices in mining operations. A total of 15 male miners participated in the study while engaging in their normal work practices at the Virginia Tech Quarry, located in Blacksburg, Virginia. The study had two groups, Feedforward (n=8)--participants self-recorded their intentions to engage in specific percentages of safety-related work behaviors before starting their shift for the day, and Feedback (n=7)--participants self-recorded their percentages of safety-related work behaviors after their shift for the day. After a seven-week Baseline, miners participated in a safety training presentation. Immediately following this training, participants from each group were instructed to complete one self-monitoring form each day on their self-intentions (Feedforward) or actual (Feedback) safety performance for four weeks. Participants were paid $1.00 for each completed self-monitoring form. All completed forms were entered into a raffle for a cash prize of $50.00 at the end of the Intervention phase. During Withdrawal (four weeks) miners did not complete any self-monitoring forms. Trained research assistants made a total of 10, 905 obtrusive behavioral observations on three target behaviors (ear plugs, dust mask, and safety glasses) and five non-target behaviors (gloves, hard hat, boots, knee position during lifts, body position during lifts) across phases. Results showed the safety self-management intervention significantly increased safety performance across both target and non-target behaviors during the Intervention phase.
- A comparison of three subsidiary tasks used as driver drowsiness countermeasuresHardee, Helen Lenora (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1985)Two previous studies performed at Virginia Tech have shown that it is feasible to detect drowsy drivers using driving performance and physiological measures. Therefore, assuming that drowsiness can be detected, it becomes important to develop methods (countermeasures) by which drivers can regain and maintain alertness. The current study was thus undertaken in an attempt to evaluate three subsidiary tasks which differed only in regard to input modality (auditory, tactual, or visual) in terms of: 1) the degree to which they aided the driver by maintaining or restoring alertness; and 2) the degree to which the responses to these tasks could be used to detect drowsiness. Subjective measures of drowsiness were also obtained to provide an additional source of verification of level of drowsiness. To accomplish these objectives, a total of 12 male and female driver-subjects drove a moving-base simulator continuously from 12:30 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. During this time, the subjects performed each of the subsidiary tasks for a 30-minute period; they also drove for a 30-minute period during which no subsidiary task was performed. During the simulated, nighttime, highway driving scenario, 20 driving performance, behavioral, and physiological measures were collected for each 3-minute driving interval, along with 5 subsidiary task measures and subjective alertness ratings. The experimental results indicated that none of the three subsidiary tasks provided an effective means of maintaining driver alertness. However, the results of a second series of discriminant analyses did indicate that driver impairment due to drowsiness could be reliably detected with linear combinations of subsidiary task and driving measures. In fact, promising discriminant models for the auditory and visual tasks were identified which employed a subsidiary task response measure of the number of correct responses to the subsidiary task during each 6-minute driving interval as well as a physiological measure of the subject's heart rate variance; these models showed overall classification error percentages as low as 3% and 8%. Finally, the analyses of the subjective alertness ratings indicated that subjects' ratings were not significantly affected by either the type of subsidiary task performed or time-on-task.
- A comprehensive approach to preventing errors in a hospital setting: Organizational behavior management and patient safetyCunningham, Thomas Raymond (Virginia Tech, 2009-02-05)Estimates of the number of U.S. deaths each year resulting from medical errors range from 44,000 (Institute of Medicine, 1999) to 195,000 (HealthGrades, 2004). Additionally, instances of medical harm are estimated to occur at a rate of approximately 15 million per year in the U.S., or about 40,000 per day (Institute for Healthcare Improvement, 2007). Although several organizational behavior management (OBM) intervention techniques have been used to improve particular behaviors related to patient safety, there remains a lack of patient-safety-focused behavioral interventions among healthcare workers. OBM interventions are often applied to needs already identified within an organization, and the means by which these needs are determined vary across applications. The current research addresses gaps in the literature by applying a broad needs-assessment methodology to identify patient-safety intervention targets in a hospital and then translating OBM intervention techniques to identify and improve the prevention potential of responses to reported medical errors. A content analysis of 17 months of descriptions of follow-up actions to error reports for nine types of the most-frequently-occurring errors was conducted. Follow-up actions were coded according to a taxonomy of behavioral intervention components, with accompanying prevention scores based on criteria developed by Geller et al. (1990). Two error types were selected for intervention; based on the highest frequency of reporting and lowest average follow-up prevention score. Over a three-month intervention period, managers were instructed to respond to these two error types with active communication, group feedback, and positive reinforcement strategies. Results indicate improved prevention potential as a consequence of improved corrective action for targeted errors. Future implications for identifying and classifying responses to medical error are discussed.
- Construct Deficiency in Avoidance Motivation: Development and Validation of a Scale Measuring VigilanceBateman, Tanner Alan (Virginia Tech, 2017-01-06)Two concerns dominate speculation about the lack of progress in motivational disposition research. First, truly unique dispositional constructs have not been identified since wide acceptance of the approach / avoidance distinction. Second, research has largely neglected to account for context in models of motivated behavior. Effective avoidance has systematically been unassessed in motivation research. Social cognitive theory was used to define an effective avoidance motivational trait, vigilance, as an antecedent to effective regulatory behaviors that are avoidant in nature and/or strategy. Two studies were conducted: First, development and psychometric evaluation of a scale measuring vigilance within the existing motivational trait framework (Heggestad and Kanfer, 2000). Exploratory and confirmatory analyses provided initial validity evidence for the vigilance construct; composed of diligence and error-detection facets. Convergent – discriminant analysis revealed that vigilance is significantly related to approach and avoidance motivational constructs identifying two possible sources of contamination in self-report measures of motivational traits. Measurement items may be contaminated with implied outcomes and measurement items may be contaminated with generalized self-efficacy. In the second study, a within-subjects experiment tested the predictive validity of the vigilance measurement scale for task-specific self-efficacy and performance on a task that rewards avoidance-oriented strategies. Vigilance predicted prevention task-specific self-efficacy ( = .29) in one of two experimental conditions. The validation study also offered construct validity evidence for the vigilance construct. Implications and future directions are discussed.
- Corporate recycling: interventions and person variables associated with participationNeedleman, Lawrence D. (Virginia Tech, 1991)The efficacy of five different types of interventions for increasing the number of participants and the quantity of recyclables collected in a corporate-based recycling program were compared. Employees at a corporate research center (N=443) associated with a large state university were asked to bring aluminum cans, glass, and newspaper from home to bins located at work. In addition, in order to track individual employee's recycling behavior, they were asked to write identifying information on each bag of recyclables (i.e., last 4 digits of social security number or a computer identification name). Interventions included appeal messages, two kinds of reciprocity interventions, goals plus feedback, and raffles. A quasi-experimental, modified multiple baseline design was used. More specifically, interventions were given to one building first, and then after a delay, they were administered to the other three buildings simultaneously. Program and intervention information were disseminated by either traditional office memos, electronic mail, or phone mail. Results indicated that only a small percentage of employees participated in the program, and raffles were the only interventions that reliably increased the number of participants and quantity of recyclables. In the hope of being able to predict which employees would participate in the recycling program, prior to the interventions, employees were asked to complete a questionnaire assessing attitudes towards recycling and person variables. More specifically, employees' optimism, environmental concern, beliefs regarding their ability to control environmental outcomes (i.e., “environmental locus of control"), and psychological reactance were assessed. Mean scores on the environmental concern and environmental locus of control scales indicated that employees were quite concerned about the environment and believed that their behavior could have a positive impact on it. Although psychological reactance scores reliably depended on employees’ recycling status (i.e., whether they were non-participants in the recycling program, infrequent participants, or frequent participants), neither it nor any of the other variables could accurately differentiate participants from non-participants in the program. Reasons for the low participation rates and the discrepancy between person variables and participation were discussed, and suggestions for improving future research in this area were made.
- Curbside collection of recyclable materials: fifteen cases studies in the United StatesWaterman, Donna Ruth (Virginia Tech, 1988-03-01)Fifteen curbside recycling programs in the United States, from communities representing a variety of economic, geographic and political situations, were reviewed in this study. Case studies were analyzed and discussed with respect to four areas of interest to program planners: administration, operations, promotion and evaluation. No objective rating of the programs was attempted, but approaches were reviewed with respect to their ability to satisfy the goals of the programs. Comparisons of participation rates, waste diversion rates, and costs were used cautiously because of the inconsistencies in how the data were developed from program to program. Administrative approaches found in the case studies included: (a) complete ownership of the collection and processing system by municipalities; (b) contracted service by private waste management firms; (c) contracted or subsidized service by non-profit organizations; and (d) combinations of municipal, private, and non-profit services. Operational systems were examined with respect to the effectiveness of the service in stimulating participation, given the practical, political, and budgetary constraints. Variables of operation are closely related and include: (a) which materials are collected; (b) the degree of materials separation required; (c) the type of collection vehicle(s) used; (d) collection frequency and coincidence with garbage collection; (e) the provision of in home containers; and (t) the extent of post-collection materials processing. Four categories of promotional techniques used in curbside recycling programs were discussed: (a) publicity and education; (b) personal contact; (c) economic incentives; and (d) ordinances mandating source-separation. The impacts of these techniques on participation in the case study programs were discussed. Techniques for evaluating the efficacy of curbside recycling programs were also discussed. Participation rates, waste diversion rates, and cost were reviewed with respect to current usage and recommendations were made for increasing their usefulness as indicators of the success of programs or program elements.
- Determinants of alcohol intoxication and social responsibility for DUI-risk at university partiesGlindemann, Kent E. (Virginia Tech, 1995-11-05)Alcohol abuse among youth and young adults and accompanying undesirable behaviors (e.g., physical aggressiveness, vandalism, date rape, DUI) is a significant public health problem. This field research examined various intervention techniques for reducing excessive alcohol consumption in party settings. Prior to four fraternity parties, students' drinking intentions, lifestyles, and person characteristics (i.e., self-esteem, optimism, personal control, group cohesion, sensation seeking) were measured. Before and after the fraternity parties, students' blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was objectively assessed with a breathalyzer. During the fraternity parties, students' participation in various intervention techniques was systematically observed. The impact of the intervention process for reducing the risk of DUI was assessed with both within-subject and between-subject comparisons. That is, two fraternities and two sororities participated in two successive parties, one with the intervention process and the other as a control (with a balanced AB vs. BA format). It was hypothesized that the intervention techniques would reduce excessive alcohol consumption and DUI risk from comparisons within the same fraternity / sorority and between two different fraternities/sororities. It was also hypothesized that students' behavioral intentions to consume alcohol would predict their subsequent drinking behavior at a party. The intervention phase of the research was not successful in reducing overall intoxication rates at the fraternity parties studied. Students' intentions to consume alcohol, however, was a significant predictor of intoxication rates, accounting for 28 percent of the variance of exit BAC across all parties. Implications of this research for the design of future interventions aimed at curtailing the excessive use of alcohol among young adults are discussed.
- Developing a Practical Intervention to Prevent Identity Theft: A Behavioral-Science Field StudyDowning, Christopher O'Brien Jr. (Virginia Tech, 2010-03-26)Cashiers' identification-checking behaviors were observed at two grocery stores with the aim to actively involve cashiers in decreasing credit-card fraud. After baseline observations, cashiers at one store received a participative goal-setting and feedback intervention, whereby they collaboratively set a store goal for checking customers' identification. Over 23 days, the cashiers received one-to-one verbal feedback on their store's identification-checking percentages. The percentage of identification-checked purchases at the intervention store increased from 0.2 percent at Baseline to 9.7 percent during the Intervention. Then, it declined to 2.3 percent during Withdrawal, showing functional control of the intervention over the cashiers' target behavior. The cashiers at the other store served as the control group, and their percentage of identification-checked purchases were 0.3 percent, 0.4 percent, and 0.7 percent respectively during each of the A-B-A phases at the intervention store. It was also found the intervention affected male cashiers more than female cashiers. The present study also assessed the social validity of the current intervention by surveying both customers and cashiers from the intervention store. The results showed that customers do not mind getting their ID checked, while cashiers consider it important to check a customer for identification during a credit purchase.
- Developing Guidelines for Designing Child Safety Printed Educational Materials: A User-Centered ApproachStevens, Suzanne L. (Virginia Tech, 2003-04-11)Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 14 and under and of these children who were fatally injured more that 60 % were not using safety restraints at the time of the collision. Children who are too large for child safety seats are often restrained improperly or not at all. In addition, many children are being shifted from child safety seats to adult safety belts prematurely. For proper protection, children who have outgrown child safety seats require booster seats combined with vehicle lap/shoulder belts. A booster seat raises a child up so that the lap and shoulder belts fit properly. The current research went through a systematic approach, from several perspectives, to develop an effective pamphlet to increase behavioral compliance of purchasing a booster seat. The pamphlet developed throughout these studies had a substantial and positive effect on intention and perceived control as well as a meaningful and substantial impact on actual purchase behavior. In addition, the associated guidelines that were developed allow others to produce effective printed educational materials. This research consisted of five studies described below. Study 1 consisted of 43 subject matter experts who were used to determine pertinent information that should be included in a complete booster seat pamphlet. Nine of the 20 items showed significance and were included in the first iteration of the pamphlet. Study 2 consisted of 5 parents of children who should be in booster seats and were not at the time of the study, evaluated the usability of the first iteration pamphlet. A total of 18 items were changed in the pamphlet and a subsequent second iteration of the pamphlet was developed. Study 3 consisted of 30 parents of children who should be in booster seats and were not at the time of the study, were used to assess the comprehensibility (Cloze test), hazard-risk judgments (carefulness ratings), and understandability (questionnaire) of three booster seat pamphlets. Significance was found for the second iteration pamphlet in both comprehensibility and understandability, but no significance was found in risk perception. Study 4 consisted of 8 human factors graduate students who were used to assess the reading level (SMOG test), instructional design and inclusion of learning principles (BIDS-3 test), and readability (RAINS test) of three booster seat pamphlets. The second iteration pamphlet and two existing industry pamphlets were used in Studies 3 and 4 and significance was found for the second iteration pamphlet in both instructional design and learning principles as well as readability and was the only pamphlet to have a reading level under 8th grade. Subsequent to these studies a third iteration of the new pamphlet was developed. Study 5 consisted of 45 parents of children who should be in booster seats and were not at the time of the study. Three booster seat pamphlets, two from the child passenger safety industry and the third iteration pamphlet were used as treatments (15 participants per group). Effectiveness of the intervention was tested by assessing three variables, intent to purchase (revealed that when intent was high purchase was high), perceived control of purchasing (revealed that when perceived control was high purchase was high), and actual purchase behavior (third iteration pamphlet showed a significantly higher purchase rate than the industry pamphlets). Of the 19 participants who purchased a booster seat, there were 12 (63%) in the third iteration pamphlet group, 2 (11%) in the alternate 1 pamphlet group, and 5 (26%) in the alternate 2 pamphlet group, and 100% of those who purchased, reported that they use them each time their child rides in a vehicle. This research increased our understanding of information design and well as generating general design guidelines for pamphlets. In addition, this research produced a pamphlet for credible sources to use as an education tool for parents who have children who should be in booster seats and are not placed in them when riding in a vehicle.
- Development and evaluation of a safety culture survey for occupational safetyRoberts, David Stevens (Virginia Tech, 1995)The present study includes the development, large-scale administration to workers at four industrial plants, and evaluation of the Safety Culture Survey (SCS). The SCS consists of three scales: the Actively Caring Scale (ACS), the Safety Perception Scale (SPS), and the Risk Propensity Scale (RPS). The ACS measures person factors related to one's propensity to actively care for the safety of others. Actively caring (AC) refers to employees caring enough about the safety of their coworkers to act on their behalf. In other words, AC refers to continually looking for environmental hazards and unsafe work practices and implementing appropriate corrective actions when unsafe conditions or behaviors are observed. Included in the ACS is the RAC (reported AC) subscale. The RAC focuses on person, behavior, and environment issues. The RAC also categorizes various levels of AC (i.e., whether employees feel they should, are willing to, or often actively care). The SPS measures employees’ opinions and attitudes about their current safety climate. The scale addresses a variety of safety perceptions, including management concern for safety, peer support for safety, and personal responsibility for safety. The RPS measures person factors hypothesized to relate to an individual's propensity to engage in risky behaviors which increase the likelihood of a "near miss" or an injury. The RPS also includes the injury index subscale (i.e., reports of work-related injuries and illnesses). A stepwise multiple regression found the ACS subscales to predict over 50 percent of the variance in RAC scores. Furthermore, the construct validity of the AC model was supported in a general way. A factor analysis revealed one AC factor and two correlated risk propensity factors. Also, the ACS subscales were more highly correlated with each other than with subscales from the RPS (i.e., variables hypothesized not to predict AC). There were two interesting interactions found among SCS variables. The interaction between focus of AC (behavior, person, environment) and level of AC (should, willing, often) indicated employees were most willing to AC from a behavior-focus, yet least likely to report they often did AC from a behavior-focus. In addition, employees who perceived an unsupportive safety climate (i.e., those with low SPS scores) and who perceived a high level of risk on the job were less likely to AC compared with employees who perceived an unsupportive safety climate and who perceived a low level of risk on the job. This indicated the importance of efforts to increase the visible support of safety efforts as well as assessing safety perceptions before introducing interventions to increase the salience of work-related hazards. Furthermore, a stepwise regression to predict injury rate (i.e., injury index scores) with RPS scores was disappointing, predicting only 5.4 percent of variance in injury index scores. However, when injury index scores were divided into high, medium, and low, significant differences were found among RPS subscale scores. In conclusion, the SCS is presented as a reliable and valid research tool. It can also be used as an applied tool for industry to assess the levels of person factors related to AC behaviors, to assess the perception of management, peer, and personal responsibility for safety efforts, and to help evaluate the effects of interventions designed to bring about a safer workplace.
- Development of the Mental Toughness Situational Judgment Test: A Novel Approach to Assessing Mental ToughnessFlannery, Nicholas M. (Virginia Tech, 2018)Mental toughness (MT) has been shown to predict outcomes across a variety of high-stress contexts such as athletics, the military, and the workplace. Despite this, researchers have struggled to reach consensus regarding how best to conceptualize and measure MT. Specifically, MT assessments have focused on measuring general MT rather than domain-specific MT. The current study proposes a measurement model of MT grounded in social-cognitive theory and introduced an assessment of MT within a situational judgment test framework to assess MT in the workplace. Participants completed a battery consisting of the new measure as well as measures intended to establish construct validity. Factor analyses suggested a three-factor solution fit the data best. Furthermore, cross-structure analyses indicated that the new assessment avoided common-method bias in responding, as evident by weak correlations with measures of other constructs.
- Driving safety and safety engineering: exploring risk compensationStreff, Frederick M. (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1986)This study examined the parameters under which risk compensation in driving can occur due to the use of safety belts. Risk compensation theories hypothesize that if individuals wear safety belts, they will . drive in a more risky manner than if they do not wear safety belts due to the increased perception of safety they provide. Although much of the current literature has debated the existence of risk compensation in driving for many years, until the current study an experimental analysis of the effect has not yet been conducted that permits a controlled examination of both between-subject and within-subject effects. Risk compensation was not found in the between-subject analyses of the present research, however the within-subject analyses demonstrated the risk compensation effect. Subjects drove significantly faster when they switched from not wearing a safety belt to wearing a safety belt than subjects who either did not switch belt use or drivers who switched from safety belt use to safety belt non-use. The study also suggested that the mechanism by which risk compensation occurs is that safety belt use makes drivers feel safer when they can compare the sensations wearing a safety belt vs. those when not wearing a safety belt. The risk compensation effect probably did not manifest itself in the between-subject studies because this comparison did not (and could not) take place. The implications of this study to driving real automobiles on multi-user roadways is discussed. Suggestions and examples of possible research to further expand the knowledge about how and when risk compensation occurs are also provided.