Browsing by Author "Vaubel, Kent Patrick"

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    Contemporary occupational health and safety efforts: Effects of specific occupational injuries on subsequent accident involvement
    (1994) Vaubel, Kent Patrick; Laughery, Kenneth R., Sr.
    Behavior as related to occupational danger was explored in this research by examining industrial workers' reactions to accidents they had on the job. An observational study was conducted using longitudinal data to investigate relationships between hypothesized antecedent conditions and the occurrence of accidents at a large petrochemical refining and manufacturing complex. Models were developed that indicated the extent to which job-related injuries affected the duration of subsequent accident-free periods prior to another accident. Results indicated that a worker's job category and cumulative accident history as well as characteristics associated with previous accidents reliably influenced accident propensity. The tendency to be involved in accidents was unrelated to seasonal or weekly influences. Results are discussed in terms of the relative magnitude of various system factors on accident liability. It is anticipated that the theoretical and analytical techniques employed will be useful in developing strategies for clarifying the mechanisms through which workers perceive, assess and respond to danger in the workplace and enhancing decisions with regard to the targeting of prevention efforts.
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    Purchase intentions for products as related to preferences for explicitness in warnings
    (1991) Vaubel, Kent Patrick; Laughery, Kenneth R., Sr.
    Four experiments are presented which explore consumer preferences for more detailed, or explicit warning information and the effects of such information on anticipated purchases of products. In Experiments 1 and 2, explicit and nonexplicit warning labels were presented for several common consumer products. Results of these studies indicate that products displaying nonexplicit warnings were preferred to those containing explicit warnings. However, this trend was reversed for one product, and for many products the detail with which a warning described potential consequences had little effect on anticipated purchase decisions. An attempt was made in Experiments 3 and 4 to minimize precursors to hazardousness judgements (e.g., familiarity or experience) by using fictitious products. Results of these latter two experiments indicate that regardless of the perceived benefits of an unfamiliar product or the severity, likelihood and controllability of its injuries, an overwhelming buying preference existed for explicit warnings as well as a need to provide more detailed consequence information in the warnings of such products. Overall these findings suggest that the level of detail with which a warning describes potentially harmful consequences of using a product does influence anticipated purchases when uncertainty exists about product-related danger.