Psychological Safety Scale

What it measures

Measures the shared belief that a team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking — that members can speak up, ask questions, admit errors, and offer ideas without fear of ridicule or punishment. One of the most important team-level constructs in organisational psychology — Google's Project Aristotle identified psychological safety as the single most important factor distinguishing high-performing teams. In service and consumer research, psychological safety in frontline service teams predicts customer-oriented service climate, willingness to handle failures proactively, and quality of customer interactions.

Response format

Likert (1–7, strongly disagree to strongly agree)

Representative items

• If you make a mistake on this team, it is often held against you. (R)
• Members of this team are able to bring up problems and tough issues.
• People on this team sometimes reject others for being different. (R)
• It is safe to take a risk on this team.
• It is difficult to ask other members of this team for help. (R)

Usage notes & scoring

(R) = reverse-scored. Score = mean. Designed for team-level analysis — aggregate individual responses. Psychological safety is built by inclusive, humble leadership styles. Relevant for healthcare, hospitality, and service operations research.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Edmondson, A. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350–383.

Keywords