Human Error and Biases

Human Error - Definition

An inappropriate or undesirable human

decision or behavior that reduces, or has the
potential for reducing, effectiveness, safety, or
system performance.

An undesirable effect or potential effect on

systems or people.

An error that is corrected before it can cause

damage is an error nonetheless.
 Error Classification
Discrete Action

Omission - Forgetting to do something, or just

deliberately ignoring it.

Commission - Performing an act incorrectly.

Sequence - Right action, wrong order.

Timing / Rate -Too fast or too slow.

 Error Classification
Information Processing

Specific error categories at each stage of

information processing.
1. Observation of system state
2. Choice of hypothesis
3. Testing of hypothesis
4. Choice of goal
5. Choice of procedure
6. Execution of procedure
 Error Classification
Information Processing - continued

The errors depend on the level of behavior.

1. Skill-based behavior
2. Rule-based behavior
3. Knowledge-based behavior
 Error Reduction
Selection

Selection of personnel with skills and

capabilities (perceptual, intellectual, motor
skills, etc.)

Limitations
1. Not easy to determine skills required.
2. Few reliable tests for measuring skill levels.
3. Limited supply of qualified people.
 Error Reduction
Training

Proper training of personnel reduces errors.

Limitations
Old habits are hard to break.
Training can be expensive.
 Error Reduction
Design

Exclusion
Particular errors made impossible to commit

Prevention
Particular errors made difficult to commit

Fail-safe
Consequences of errors reduced in severity
 Human Biases
People give an undue amount of weight to early
evidence or information.

Humans are generally conservative and do not

extract as much information from sources as
they optimally should.

The subjective odds in favor of one alternative or

the other are not assessed to be as extreme or
given as much confidence as optimally they
should.
 Human Biases - continued
As more information is gathered, people become
more confident in their decisions,
but not necessarily more accurate.

Humans have a tendency to seek far more

information than they can absorb adequately.

People often treat all information as if it were

equally reliable.
Human Biases - continued
People cannot entertain more than a few
(three or four) hypotheses at a time.

People tend to focus on only a few critical

attributes at a time and consider only about
two to four possible choices that are ranked
highest of those few critical attributes.

People tend to seek information that confirms

the chosen course of action and to avoid
information or tests whose outcome could
disconfirm the choice. (Confirmation Bias)
 Human Biases - continued
A potential loss is viewed as having greater
value
than a gain of the same amount. (Risk Aversion)

People believe that mildly positive outcomes are

more likely than either mildly negative or highly
positive outcomes.

People tend to believe that highly negative

outcomes are less likely than mildly negative
outcomes.