L’organizzazione resiliente

L’articolo mostra una caso di applicazione della teoria della Matrice della Resilienza (Bracco, 2013) applicato al mondo ferroviario, descrivendo le ricadute operative specifiche del contesto utilizzando la chiave di lettura data dal modello teorico di riferimento.

 

Trespidi, A., Bracco, F. &  Piccinno, T. (2016). L’organizzazione resiliente. La tecnica Professionale, 9PDF

Imparare dagli errori, la cultura giusta

Ogni attività organizzativa è caratterizzata da una probabilità di errore. Questo può essere dovuto a una scorretta interpretazione di una situazione, a una difficoltosa interazione tra le persone o a un cattivo accoppiamento tra la tecnologia e gli operatori; perfino quando ogni individuo del sistema opera correttamente, non si può escludere l’eventualità di un evento avverso. Dalla continua ricerca dell’efficienza nascono tecniche e metodi che consentono di misurare l’errore, al fine di ottenere processi e prodotti più sicuri. Queste tecniche e metodi sono basate su analisi di eventi “pericolati” (near miss), ovvero di tutte quelle situazioni critiche e potenzialmente dannose che non hanno causato danni, ma erano assolutamente in grado di provocarne e per le quali l’unica differenza con un incidente è solo nelle conseguenze e non nelle dinamiche che l’hanno generato. L’approccio non colpevolizzante, detto Cultura Giusta (Just Culture) si differenzia dagli altri metodi per l’esplicita considerazione dell’ambiente sistemico in cui l’errore avviene, ambiente che include individui, tecnologie, processi e cultura. Partendo da questa visione dell’ambiente, esso mira a non colpevolizzare l’errore, superando una logica di tipo “colpa dell’operatore”, al fine di sviluppare un apprendimento collettivo che porti ad una maggiore consapevo lezza e sicurezza futura. Questo è un approccio organizzativo fondato su una concezione “positiva” dell’errore, visto come un’opportunità di apprendimento; resta inteso comunque che molti tipi di errore rimangono inaccettabili e vengono sanzionati, anche più pesantemente in certi casi, se dovuti ad esempio a violazioni volontarie, negligenza, imprudenza o imperizia, come vedremo di seguito. Questo articolo presenta l’approccio della Cultura Giusta valutandone le possibilità di apprendimento e le caratteristiche organizzative che sono necessarie per la sua adozione, anche alla luce dell’emanazione da parte europea del Regolamento 376/2014 valido per l’aviazione civile ma chiaramente d’indirizzo per tutto il comparto dei trasporti.

Trespidi, A., Genovesi, P., Piccinno, T. & Bracco, F. (2015). Imparare dagli errori, la cultura giusta. La tecnica Professionale, 9. PDF

Improving physicians’ communication skills and reducing cancer patients’ anxiety: a quasi-experimental study

Aims and Background: This study is aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of a physician-centered communication skills training program on cancer patient anxiety levels.
Methods and Study design: In this quasi-experimental study, physicians from 9 units of 5 general hospitals and 1 cancer research institute were recruited. The unit heads chose which physicians would attend the training program (treatment group) and which would not (control group). The effectiveness of the course was evaluated by assessing the evolution of state anxiety in a sample of cancer patients before and after clinical consultations.
Results: Thirty-eight physicians and 339 outpatients were assessed. Patients from the treatment and control groups did not differ in pre-examination anxiety or psychological distress levels. Patients examined by physicians from the treatment group displayed a higher decrease in state-anxiety levels compared with those examined by physicians from the control group. A higher proportion of high anxiety levels was found in women, in less educated patients, and in those with a high distress level.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest the effectiveness of the communication skills training program with reference to patient anxiety levels. Given the potential gap between training and clinical impact, further studies investigating the effect of communication training on patient outcomes are needed.

Morasso, G., Caruso, A., Belbusti, V., Carucci, T., Chiorri, C., Clavarezza, V., De Benedetta, G., D’Ovidio, S., Iuvaro, M. D., Piattelli, A., Romeo, M., Santoni, W., & Di Leo, S. (2015). Improving physicians’ communication skills and reducing cancer patients’ anxiety: a quasi-experimental study. Tumori Journal, doi: 10.5301/tj.5000230.

Psicologia dell’errore umano

Estratto: “Si è trattato di errore umano!”. Dietro questa etichetta si nasconde però un mondo, che la psicologia cognitiva permette di indagare nel dettaglio. La maggior parte degli incidenti nei sistemi sociotecnici complessi dipende da errori involontari, spesso riconducibili a distrazione, carenza nella comunicazione e coordinamento fra colleghi, difficoltà nel capire e gestire la situazione. Molto raramente gli incidenti sono dovuti a palese negligenza, scelte spericolate, incompetenza professionale. Ciò significa che un approccio corretto e preventivo non dovrebbe mirare alla semplice identificazione e punizione del “colpevole”, ma all’interpretazione dell’errore visto come un sintomo di problemi di natura organizzativa e, più in generale, sistemica.

Bracco, F. (2015). Psicologia dell’errore umano. Unigenews, 46, 30 novembre. PDF

Personality traits moderate the effect of workload sources on perceived workload in flying column police officers.

Abstract: Previous research has suggested that personality traits of the Five Factor Model play a role in worker’s response to workload. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of personality traits of first responders with their perceived workload in real-life tasks. A flying column of 269 police officers completed a measure of subjective workload (NASA-Task Load Index) after intervention tasks in a major public event. Officers’ scores on a measure of Five Factor Model personality traits were obtained from archival data. Linear Mixed Modeling was used to test the direct and interaction effects of personality traits on workload scores once controlling for background variables, task type and workload source (mental, temporal and physical demand of the task, perceived effort, dissatisfaction for the performance and frustration due to the task). All personality traits except extraversion significantly interacted at least with one workload source. Perceived workload in flying column police officers appears to be the result of their personality characteristics interacting with the workload source. The implications of these results for the development of support measures aimed at reducing the impact of workload in this category of workers are discussed.

Chiorri, C., Garbarino, S., Bracco, F., & Magnavita, N. (2015). Personality traits moderate the effect of  workload sources on perceived workload in flying column police officers. Frontiers in Psychology – Organizational Psychology, 6. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01835.

Burnout nello sport giovanile: effetti della resilienza, perfezionismo e clima motivazionale determinato dagli allenatori

Questo studio esamina alcuni fattori personali (percezione di competenza, resilienza e perfezionismo) ed un fattore situazionale (clima motivazionale determinato dagli allenatori) in relazione al burnout di giovani atleti liguri praticanti sport individuali e di squadra. Lo studio evidenzia come il perfezionismo auto-orientato mostra una correlazione negativa con le tre dimensioni del burnout (esaurimento psico-fisico, ridotto senso di realizzazione personale e svalorizzazione dello sport), mentre la resilienza sembra essere un fattore protettivo solo del ridotto senso di realizzazione personale. I risultati mostrano come le tre dimensioni del burnout si correlano positivamente con il clima motivazionale orientato sulla prestazione e negativamente con il clima motivazionale orientato sulla competenza. I risultati, dunque, mostrano come gli allenatori dovrebbero creare un clima motivazionale orientato sulla competenza per prevenire il burnout dei propri atleti.

Scimone, V, Chiorri, C., Modafferi, C., Bracco, F., Vitali, F. (2014). Burnout nello sport giovanile: effetti della resilienza, perfezionismo e clima motivazionale determinato dagli allenatori. Giornale Italiano di Psicologia dello Sport, 21, 23-30. Link

Psychometric Properties of a Revised Version of the Ten Item Personality Inventory

Abstract: Gosling, Rentfrow, and Swann (2003) developed the Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) to meet the need of very short measures of the Big Five for time-limited contexts or large survey questionnaires. In this paper we show the inadequacy of the Italian version downloadable from Gosling’s website and we report the results of four studies in which the psychometric properties of a revised version (I-TIPI-R) were investigated in student and general population samples. This new version showed adequate factor structure, test-retest reliability, self-observer agreement and convergent and discriminant validity with the Big Five Inventory (BFI). Moreover, I-TIPI-R and BFI scores did not differ in their correlations with measures of affect, self-esteem, optimism, emotion regulation, and social desirability. Overall, the results suggest that the I-TIPI-R can be considered a valid and reliable alternative to the BFI for the assessment of basic personality traits when very short measures are needed.

Keywords: Five-Factor Model, Ten Item Personality Inventory, personality assessment, short measure, construct validity

Chiorri, C., Bracco, F., Piccinno, T., Modafferi, C., Battini, V. (2014). Psychometric properties of a revised Italian version of the Ten Item Personality Inventory. European Journal of Psychological AssessmentDOI: 10.1027/1015-5759/a000215

Investigating visual discomfort with 3D displays: the stereoscopic discomfort scale

Abstract: Notwithstanding their widespread diffusion, stereoscopic media have important drawbacks in terms of viewers’ visual discomfort. Current assessment methods are mainly based on measures of objective parameters such as eye physiology or media characteristics. On the other hand, subjective methods only evaluate the personal experience related to the physiological symptoms. In this pilot study we developed and validated the Stereoscopic Discomfort Scale (SDS), a self-assessment tool for the subjective evaluation of physiological and psychological symptoms related to stereoscopic viewing. The results show evidence of internal consistency, unidimensionality and construct validity of the scale. Since SDS scores were also strongly correlated with facets of presence, we argue that the SDS could be a useful tool for the investigation of users’ experience related to stereoscopic media.

Bracco, F., Chiorri, C., Glowinski, D., Hosseini Nia, B., & Vercelli, G. (2013). Investigating visual discomfort  with 3D displays: the stereoscopic discomfort scale. CHI ’13 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 307-312. doi: 10.1145/2468356.2468411.

Personality traits of the Five-Factor Model are associated with work-related stress in special force police officers

Purpose: The police work is particularly stressful. The aim of this work was to clarify whether the personality factors are associated with perceived stress levels or reactivity to environmental stressors in a special body of police.
Methods: The police officers in charge of guaranteeing public order at the L’Aquila G8 meeting were subjected to a control of their levels of work-related stress in anticipation of the event. Personality was assessed by the Italian version of the Five-Factor Model questionnaire, while stress was measured three times (during routine work in January 2009, preparation and imminence of the event, in April and July 2009, respectively) with the demand/control/support model of Karasek and the effort/reward imbalance model of Siegrist. A total of 289 of 294 officers took part in the survey.
Results: Some personality traits of the Five-Factor Model were associated with stress levels and stress reactivity. Neuroticism (low emotional stability) showed the strongest associations with job strain (demand/control ratio) (β = 0.115, p < 0.05) and effort/reward imbalance (β = 0.270, p < 0.001) and was associated with most of the stress variables. High agreeableness was associated with low effort/reward imbalance (β = −0.157, p < 0.01).
Conclusions: Personality factors may mitigate or increase the strain induced by environmental stressors.
Keywords: Big Five personality factors Work-related stress Demand Control Job strain Effort/reward imbalance

Garbarino, S., Chiorri, C., & Magnavita, N. (2013). Personality traits of the Five-Factor Model are associated with work-related stress in special force police officers. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 87(3), 295-306. doi: 10.1007/s00420-013-0861-1

Association of work-related stress with mental health problems in a special police force unit

Objectives: Law and order enforcement tasks may expose special force police officers to significant psychosocial risk factors. The aim of this work is to investigate the relationship between job stress and the presence of mental health symptoms while controlling sociodemographical, occupational and personality variables in special force police officers.
Method: At different time points, 292 of 294 members of the ‘VI Reparto Mobile’, a special police force engaged exclusively in the enforcement of law and order, responded to our invitation to complete questionnaires for the assessment of personality traits, work-related stress (using the Demand–Control–Support (DCS) and the Effort–Reward–Imbalance (ERI) models) and mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and burnout.
Results: Regression analyses showed that lower levels of support and reward and higher levels of effort and overcommitment were associated with higher levels of mental health symptoms. Psychological screening revealed 21 (7.3%) likely cases of mild depression (Beck Depression Inventory, BDI≥10). Officers who had experienced a discrepancy between work effort and rewards showed a marked increase in the risk of depression (OR 7.89, 95% CI 2.32 to 26.82) when compared with their counterparts who did not perceive themselves to be in a condition of distress.
Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that work-related stress may play a role in the development of mental health problems in police officers. The prevalence of mental health symptoms in the cohort investigated here was low, but not negligible in the case of depression. Since special forces police officers have to perform sensitive tasks for which a healthy psychological functioning is needed, the results of this study suggest that steps should be taken to prevent distress and improve the mental well-being of these workers.

Garbarino, S., Cuomo, G., Chiorri, C., & Magnavita, N. (2013).  Association of work-related stress with mental health problems in a special police force unit. BMJ Open. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2013-002791