Accident Proneness (Unfallneigung): A Classic Case of Simultaneous Discovery/Construction in Psychology.

Germany; United Kingdom

The article suggests that historians of science may still find viable the idea of simultaneous discovery or construction of a scientific idea through the concept of accident proneness. Accident proneness was discovered independently in Germany and in Great Britain during the time period of World War I. In 1926, the idea of accident proneness in applied psychology was independently formulated and named in both countries. Accident proneness can be shown in concrete terms to have emerged directly from widespread social and cultural circumstances.