We like to think our choices are completely rational. But unconscious shortcuts, known as cognitive biases, can nudge us toward decisions that aren’t always in our best interest.
When it comes to choosing a Lone Worker Protection solution, two biases in particular play a big role: social proof and the halo effect.
Social Proof: “If Others Chose It, It Must Be Good”
Search for lone worker safety solutions online and you’ll often see:
- Vendor websites displaying logos of well-known companies,
- Claims of tens of thousands of users,
- Industry surveys showing lone worker protection as a top priority for EHS managers.
Because Lone Worker Solutions are complex and unfamiliar to many decision-makers, it’s natural to lean on what others appear to be doing. The thinking goes:
- “This must be a good product—look who’s using it and how many users they have.”
- “We should move quickly, since everyone else seems to rank this as a top priority.”
That’s the Social Proof Bias at work.
The Conformity Experiment (Asch, 1951)
A classic U.S. study helps illustrate this. Psychologist Solomon Asch asked students to take a simple vision test: pick which of three lines matched a reference line. Unknown to one participant, the rest of the group were actors intentionally giving wrong answers.
The result? 75% of participants went along with the wrong majority at least once—even when the answer was obviously incorrect.
This shows how powerful the pull of “everyone else is doing it” can be.
Here is Nash’s study.
Why This Can Be Misleading
Relying on social proof in vendor marketing often masks what’s really going on:
- A big company with 50,000 employees may only deploy the solution to a few dozen workers—far from the headline numbers.
- Inflated user counts don’t always match real adoption.
- The more useful question isn’t “What’s on the industry’s priority list?” but “What will we actually implement within the next year?”
In short, social proof distracts decision making from what actually matters when a lone worker is in distress and reliability is paramount.
The Halo Effect: Smartwatches and Artificial Intelligence
Now imagine two product pitches:
- A safety smartwatch designed for lone workers,
- A lone worker device powered by Artificial Intelligence.
We’re wired to quickly link these to familiar ideas:
- Smartwatch = Apple Watch = Apple = cutting-edge innovation from one of the biggest companies
- AI = ChatGPT = the technology of the future
From there, we unconsciously assume: “This must be the perfect solution for our team!.”
That’s the Halo Effect—when one appealing feature skews how we judge everything else.
The Halo Experiment (Nisbett & Wilson, 1977)
In another U.S. study, 118 University of Michigan students evaluated a professor with a heavy foreign accent.
- In one focus group, he acted warm and engaging.
- In the other, he acted cold and distant.
On objective measures—appearance, manners, even the accent—students in the second group rated him far worse than the first. 80% found his accent “irritating,” compared to 50% in the first group.
In other words, one impression shaped their entire judgment.
Here is the study by Nisbett and Wilson.
Why This Can Be Misleading
When looked at logically:
- A smartwatch may work well for elderly care (senior monitoring), but after analyzing 25,000+ lone worker alerts, it’s clear the product isn’t well-suited to safety in the field.
- AI sounds impressive, but in practice, Lone Worker devices rely on limited, second-generation technology. Without real data depth, “AI-powered” is often more marketing than substance.
In both cases, the halo effect distracts us from asking: “Does this actually improve response when a lone worker needs help?” and fail to deliver when it matters most.
How to Avoid These Traps
The first step is recognizing that our decisions aren’t always rational.
The second, and most important step, is clearly defining the decision criteria. This should cover every aspect of a Lone Worker Protection:
- the technology itself,
- the quality of the emergency response,
- the simplicity to user,
- whether your employees will actually use it.
Once you’ve set a clear criterion, you can refine it during market analysis.
Finally, put the “why” at the center of every vendor conversation:
- You highlight these customers on your website—why did they choose you, and what results did they see?
- You claim this many users—why do they continue to use your system? How do you ensure my workers will actually use the technology?
- You mention AI—why? What real difference does it effect when an emergency alert is triggered?
By following these steps you’ll cut through social proof and halo-driven marketing hype and choose a Lone Worker Protection that’s effective, easy to use, and truly fits your business.