Understanding construction workers’ cognitive processes under risky scenarios through electroencephalography

Abstract

The application of the Electroencephalogram (EEG) technology shows promises in uncovering workers’ cognitive processes affecting safety performance in construction. Despite the increasing interest in research, it is yet challenging to ensure coherence and mitigate biases when interpreting safety cognition from EEG data. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the applications of EEG in construction safety research, categorising the aims, methodologies, experiment design, data processing methods and evaluation approaches. Furthermore, the review identifies several critical avenues for future research, including deeper exploration of cognitive dynamics in safety-critical environments, technology integration for real-time monitoring, longitudinal analysis of cognitive safety factors, cultural and gender influences on safety practices, and addressing special psychological conditions. This paper emphasises the importance of considering ethical implications, user acceptability, and practical deployment challenges. Overall, the paper makes effort towards guiding effective EEG integration in construction safety research for safer practices.