Last modified: 31 May 2022 13:05
The science of Human Factors brings together multiple disciplines, including Biology, Psychology and Engineering to understand and support worker performance and wellbeing.
This course takes an Applied Psychology approach to Human Factors with a focus on understanding human behaviour and the issues that can lead to accidents and errors. Through the course you will learn more about the impact of design on safety and how people work together through interactive lectures and real life case studies.
| Study Type | Undergraduate | Level | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | First Term | Credit Points | 15 credits (7.5 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | Aberdeen | Sustained Study | No |
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In 1989 a British Midland Flight crashed into the M1 motorway near Kegworth. In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded, killing eleven men and causing a massive environmental disaster. At the core of both disasters were Human Factors such as failures in communication, faulty decision-making and poor safety culture. The aim of this course is to explore Human Factors from an Applied Psychology perspective, using Psychological knowledge to understand how people interact with the world around them, what leads to errors and accidents, and how we can work to prevent catastrophes such as Deepwater Horizon from happening again.
The course will cover the following topics:
The course will feature an introduction to Human Factors techniques, including methods of incident assessment. This will be facilitated by the discussion and investigation of real-life critical incidents across a range of high-risk industries (such as the Kegworth disaster, the Tenerife disaster and the Apollo 13 space mission).
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
Alternative Assessment
5x Graded Discussion Boards (10% each)
1x Essay (50%)
Alternative Resit Assessment
100% Coursework
There are no assessments for this course.
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Evaluate | Critically evaluate case studies of adverse events to determine the primary causal factors. |
| Factual | Understand | Understand the key Human Factors that can influence safety at work, and how to minimise or mitigate those factors. |
| Conceptual | Understand | Understand human behaviour at work and the factors that might influence team-based interactions. |
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