Behavioral and psychophysiological effects of the physical work environment. Research strategies and measurement methods.

Abstract

logical effects of the physical work environment: research strategies and measurement methods. Scand J Work Environ Health 1990;16(suppl 1):5-16. An international course on the behavioral and psychophysiological effects of the physical work environment was held in Stockho lm, Sweden, in April 1988 by the Nordic Institute of Ad vanced Training in Occupat ional Health and the Swedish National Institute of Occupational Health. It dealt primarily with the behavioral and psychophysiological responses to aspects of the physical work environment and was devoted to neural and behavioral functions. The increasing interest in these functions is mainly motivated by the involvement of the central nervous system in the adver se effects induced by unfavorable environmental conditions of the workpl ace and by the need for more sensitive indica tor s than those based solely on recognized occupational disease and pathology. By describing the main aspects of the research strategies and the measurement methods used in this field of research, this paper pro vides a background for the assessment and evaluation of the early beha vioral and psychoph ysiological indices of potential occupa tional hazard s.Key terms: behavior, psychophysiology.The paper s of this volume deal with the behavioral and psychophysiological effects of un favorable environmental condition s in the workplace. The work environment stresses considered include neurotoxic substances, eg, industrial solvents, metal s, pesticides (1); lighting (2); noise (3); vibra tion (4); heat and cold (5); electric and magnetic fields (6); physical work load (7, 8); workhours (9); and mult iple stresses (10).The pu rpo se of the present paper is to pro vide an introduction to the other paper s of this volume by focu sing on the obje ctives of this field of occupational health resear ch, on the resear ch strategies used, and on the methods adopted to assess exposure-related behavioral and psychophysiological changes.Generally , the term behavior is used to refer to three functional system s. One is related to the capacit y of the nervous system to deal with information. Another is concerned with feelings, emotions, and mot ivation. Th e third is a control fun ction which determines how beha vior will be expressed . Psychophysiolo gy refers to the discipline concerned with the stud y of the physiological correlates of beha vior.

Effects of strap support in a hand-held device on the muscular activity in female workers assessed by electromyography and subjective rating

“…It is especially used to determine the level of strain created in the muscles during task performance (Hagg and Kadefors 1996, Roy and De Luca 1996, Westgaard et al 1996. On the other hand, earlier studies have shown that subjective evaluation (judgement) can also be an effective and feasible method for measuring and reducing workloads (Gamberale et al 1990, Pohjonen et al 1998, Deeb 1999). The category ratio or 'CR-10' scale (developed by Borg 1982a,b) is most commonly used as a rating scale technique in the field of ergonomics.…”

A Meta-Analysis of the Neuropsychological Effects of Occupational Exposure to Manganese

“…The rationale for studying neurologically normal participants is to develop early detection methods or measures of ''subclinical '' or ''preclinical'' phenomena. This is based on the assumptions that (a) neuropsychological tests offer a bellwether assessment because they tend to be more sensitive than neurological procedures, and (b) subtle deficits detected by neuropsychological testing are precursors of more serious, progressive parkinsonism (or features thereof) or neuropsychological pathology (Chia, Foo, Gan, Jeyaratnam, & Tian, 1993;Eamberale, Kjellberg, & Akerstedt, 1990;Hartman, 1995;Iregren, 1994;.…”

The Changing Face of Office Ergonomics

“…Also visual disturbance, where eyes are quickly drawn to anybody passing by may be disruptive to concentration and focus [39]. Dealing with confidential information and the need for privacy may limit usability of the office landscape for certain professionals.…”