Abstract
While much research has investigated the predictors of operators’ performance such as personality, attitudes and motivation in high-risk industries, its cognitive antecedents and boundary conditions have not been fully investigated. Based on a multilevel investigation of 312 nuclear power plant main control room operators from 50 shift teams, the present study investigated how general mental ability (GMA) at both individual and team level can influence task and safety performance. At the individual level, operators’ GMA was predictive of their task and safety performance and this trend became more significant as they accumulated more experience. At the team level, we found team GMA had positive influences on all three performance criteria. However, we also found a “big-fish-little-pond” effect insofar as team GMA had a relatively smaller effect and inhibited the contribution of individual GMA to workers’ extra-role behaviors (safety participation) compared to its clear beneficial influence on in-role behaviors (task performance and safety compliance). The possible mechanisms related to learning and social comparison processes are discussed.
Highlights
The performance of main control room (MCR) operators is key to the efficiency and safety of high risk process control industries such as nuclear power plants (NPPs) [1]
Compared with workers’ primary task performance, less research has been conducted on the influence of general mental ability (GMA) on safety performance which is highly valued in this industry [9]
Evidence shows that high GMA is related to a reduced involvement in accidents and more organizational participatory behaviors [29,30,31]. These findings can be explained in a job-demand-control framework [11]: as GMA is one of the most important abilities required by MCR operators [12], those with a high level of GMA are more likely to take control of their work given job-demand being equal, which can in turn increase their safety performance [13]
Summary
The performance of main control room (MCR) operators is key to the efficiency and safety of high risk process control industries such as nuclear power plants (NPPs) [1]. Evidence shows that high GMA is related to a reduced involvement in accidents and more organizational participatory behaviors [29,30,31] These findings can be explained in a job-demand-control framework [11]: as GMA is one of the most important abilities required by MCR operators [12], those with a high level of GMA are more likely to take control of their work given job-demand being equal, which can in turn increase their safety performance [13]. Overview of the Current Study To test the hypotheses we have proposed, we conducted a field study by investigating most incumbent control room operators in all running nuclear power plants in China This sample was large enough at both individual (312 operators) and team (50 teams) level to provide important data about the influences of individual GMA, team GMA and work experience on both task and safety performance of process control operators
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