Cognitive structure of occupational risks represented by a perceptual map.

Area of Science:

• Occupational Safety and Health
• Risk Management
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Risk management traditionally relies on technical analysis of operational and environmental risks.
• Understanding risk perception is crucial for effective occupational safety strategies.
• Previous research has not fully elucidated how students perceive occupational risks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how occupational safety students perceive various occupational risks.
• To map the perceptual structure of occupational risks using psychometric and multivariate methods.
• To identify the key facets influencing risk perception among students.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the psychometric paradigm and multivariate analysis tools.
• Applied multidimensional scaling and generalized Procrustes analysis.
• Employed facets theory to construct a perceptual map of occupational risks.

Main Results:

• The essential characteristics of risks, initially divided into four facets, were identified in the perceptual map.
• High variability within the student group precluded the revelation of a clear cognitive structure.
• The perceptual map did not reveal significant differences among the analyzed occupational risks.

Conclusions:

• The study successfully mapped perceived risk characteristics but was limited by high inter-student variability.
• Further research with more homogenous groups may be needed to uncover detailed cognitive structures of risk perception.
• The findings highlight the complexity of risk perception in occupational safety education.