Critical Incident Technique

Origin. John Flanagan (1954); developed for aviation psychology.

Mechanism. Collects specific examples of effective and ineffective behavior in a defined situation. The focus on concrete incidents rather than general impressions yields behavioral specificity that generalizations cannot.

Procedure. Define the activity to be studied. Ask the informant to describe a specific incident where someone performed especially well or especially poorly. For each incident, elicit: the context, the specific actions taken, and the outcome. Aggregate incidents and identify patterns in effective and ineffective behaviors.

Applies to. Job analysis, training design, performance criteria, understanding what distinguishes success from failure in a role.

Limitations. Memory is reconstructive; incidents are recalled through the lens of outcome, and behaviors are attributed that may not have occurred. Recent and vivid incidents are over-represented. The technique captures what people notice and remember, not necessarily what mattered.