Contrasting perceptual, attitudinal and dispositional approaches to accident involvement in the workplace

Three individual-based approaches to accident involvement in the workplace, perceptual, attitudinal and dispositional, were evaluated using meta-analytic techniques. The study showed that whilst none of the approaches offered evidence of a strong relationship with work accidents, employees' safety perceptions emerged as having greater predictive validity than attitudes towards safety, but that one aspect of personality (agreeableness) had greater predictive validity than either safety perceptions or safety attitudes. The study also showed that there is the possibility that safety perceptions are much more predictive in some occupational settings compared to others. Implications of the results for further research are discussed. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.