Why do we sometimes do things we know are a bit risky?
Have you ever quickly had a peek at your mobile while waiting at the traffic lights or balanced on a chair to reach something on a high shelf, rather than grabbing a safer set of steps?
We all engage in risk-taking behaviour in our day-to-day lives.
Often this boils down to our brains weighing up the small perk of saving time. This leads to a job done quicker – against a potential consequence that feels a bit distant or unlikely.
At its core, our decisions about safety are driven by how our brains process risk and reward. Understanding these underlying factors can help us become more aware of our own tendencies and make safer choices, both at work and in our day-to-day.
The Illusion of Control and Familiarity – “I’ve Done This Loads of Times”
Think about carrying a mountain of shopping bags, just to avoid doing a second trip. We often underestimate risks associated with routine activities. We’ve nipped across that slightly busy road without looking properly countless times and been fine, so the perceived risk feels minimal.
This familiarity breeds a false sense of control, making us believe we’re somehow immune to potential mishaps.
The Allure of Immediate Gratification – The “Just This Once, Mate” Mentality
Additionally a common draw of taking a risk is saving a bit of time or effort. Eating leftover food that’s been left out a too long seems okay in the moment because we’re peckish, the same way travelling over the speed limit on an open road feels justifiable because we’re running late.
This immediate, tangible perk often overshadows the potential, but less immediate consequences.
The “It Won’t Happen to Me, Will It?” Mindset (Optimism Bias in Day-to-Day Life)
That feeling of invincibility sneaks into many bits of our lives. We might think, “I don’t need sun cream for just a short time outside,” or “I’m a good driver, a quick text won’t cause a crash for me.”
This optimistic bias, the belief that bad things are less likely to happen to us personally, makes us play down potential harm.
The Influence of Mental Short Cuts and Biases
Our brains use mental short cuts to make quick decisions, but these can sometimes lead us to underestimate risks:
- Exposure Bias: We might be overly cautious about very rare events we’ve seen plastered all over the news (like a shark attack at a beach we hardly ever visit), whilst underestimating the far more common risk of having a tumble on our own cluttered stairs at home.
- Confirmation Bias: If we’ve gone a bit over the limit and not been caught, we might only remember those instances, reinforcing our belief that it’s a low-risk behaviour and ignoring the times we’ve seen other situations have negative outcomes.
- Social Norms: Think about this: if you’re with a group of friends who are all deciding to drive home after having had one too many at the pub, you might still feel a powerful pressure to conform and get behind the wheel yourself, even if a voice inside is telling you it’s a reckless and potentially fatal decision.
The Impact of Stress, Distraction, and Impulsivity
Consider those moments when you’ve hurried down the stairs while trying to answer your mobile phone, perhaps nearly losing your footing. Or when you’ve attempted to stir something on the cooker while simultaneously doom scrolling and having a conversation. In such situations, stress and distractions can overwhelm our cognitive capacity, significantly reducing our awareness of our surroundings and making us far more susceptible to impulsive and unsafe actions.
What Can We Do to Make Safer Choices?
Becoming aware of these psychological drivers in our day-to-day is the first step towards making safer choices:
- Challenge the “It’ll Be Alright” Thought.
- When considering a short cut, have a think if the small convenience is truly worth the potential negative outcome, no matter how unlikely it seems.
- Weigh Up the Potential Loss, Not Just the Gain.
- Instead of just thinking about the time saved by speeding, consider the potential cost of a ticket, a shunt, or getting yourself hurt.
- Be Mindful of Your Mental State
- When you’re feeling rushed, stressed, or distracted, consciously slow down and focus on the job at hand, especially if it involves any potential risk.
- Question What Everyone Else is Doing
- Just because others are doing something a bit dodgy doesn’t make it safe. Have a proper think about the potential consequences for yourself.
- Have a Quick Think About the Worst That Could Happen.
- Before taking a short cut, quickly consider what the absolute worst outcome could be. This can often be a proper deterrent.
At TP Safety Services, we recognise that understanding the human element is crucial for building a truly safe environment, whether it’s at work or in our day-to-day routines. If you’re looking to cultivate a greater safety awareness or want to explore how these psychological principles impact risk management in your specific industry, our expert team can provide tailored training and consultancy. Contact TP Safety Services today and let us help you build a safer future, both on and off the clock.
The tendencies we’ve explored – from underestimating familiar risks due to the availability heuristic (Tversky & Kahneman, 1974) and succumbing to optimism bias (Weinstein, 1980), to prioritising immediate time savings due to present bias (Laibson, 1997) over future safety, and being influenced by social norms (Cialdini & Goldstein, 2004) – are well-documented in psychological research. Understanding these fundamental aspects of human cognition is key to fostering greater awareness and promoting safer choices in our fast-paced lives.