Behaviour Modification Flashcards
Operant conditioning
is a process that attempts to modify behaviour by using positive and
negative reinforcement.
Operant Conditioning contains…
‘Positive’ means adding something
‘Negative’ means taking away something
‘Reinforcement’ is about increasing a behaviour
‘Punishment’ is about decreasing a behaviour
What types of rewards are used by orgs to
reinforce behaviours?
Financial Pay: shares, profit-sharing, company car
J
ob-related: Job with more responsibility, Flexible working hours,
Home-working, Job rotation, Access to a mentor
Social context: Private office, Desk near a window, Company
parties, Membership of ‘high potential’ group
Personal: Formal recognition of achievement (letter, in-house
journal), Saying ‘thank you’, Compliments on work in
progress, Non-verbal recognition (smile)
what does the behaviourist approach focus on?
The behaviourist approach focusses on observable
behaviour only NOT thoughts and feelings
Organisational Behaviour Modification (OBM)
(Luthans & Kreitner, 1985)
Systematic approach to influence behaviour
at work based on principles of conditioning
Encourages desired behaviour (e.g. safe)
Discourages undesired behaviour
Focus on observable critical behaviours
(e.g. safety)
Provides objective analysis and measurement
of critical behaviours
5 Stages of OBM
- Identify critical behaviours
- Measure them
- Analysis of behaviour (antecedents & consequences)
- Develop intervention strategy
- Evaluate intervention strategy
Examples: Reducing employee lateness,
Improving safety
Evaluation of Behaviour Modification,
Operant Conditioning, & OBM
Specific, objective & countable behaviours…
Often used in areas such as Health & Safety – when target
behaviour is completely clear
incentives can work to improve behaviour
May lead to a decrease in other behaviours that you want
as workers concentrate their efforts on behaviours that get
rewarded
Expensive to maintain – target behaviour could stop if the
reward / punishment disappears.
Neglects cognitive processes
Neglects individual differences. Hence, everyone to be
treated the same way
Evaluation of rewards at workplace
Financial incentives improve work performance, creative
performance, and smoking cessation
May lead to a decrease in other behaviours that you want
as workers concentrate their efforts on behaviours that get
rewarded
Expensive to maintain – target behaviour could stop if the
reward disappears.
(Shaw & Gupta, 2015)
Do rewards undermine intrinsic motivation?
Incentives & intrinsic motivation jointly improve performance
Social learning theory (Bandura, 1971, 1986)
People are social, proactive, & thinking; not passive objects
* Observational learning from others
* Self-efficacy important for learning
example is bobo doll experiment
Processes in observational learning
(Bandura, 1971,1986)
Attention: Observing a model’s (trainer, etc.) behaviour
Retention: Encoding behaviour into memory
Production: Rehearsing and practicing of behaviour
Motivation: Reinforcement of behaviour
how do behaviourism and social cognitive theories compare?
behaviourism
Skinner (1938); Luthans & Kreitner
(1986)
* Learning as response to stimuli
* Excludes any thoughts and feelings
* Behaviour will remain as long as
the stimuli remain, i.e., relies on
positive and negative reinforcement
coginitive
Bandura (1986)
* Learning as a cognitive process
(thinking, discovering,
understanding)
* Observational learning possible
* Reframing, re-coding of previously
learned concepts and principles
Theory of planned behaviour (Ajzen & Madden, 1986)
this is a theory that establishes how behaviours are influenced via:
attitudes toward act or behaviour: positive (or negative) evaluations of performing a particular behaviour
subjective norms: Perceptions of social pressure to perform (or not)
behaviour and motivation to comply with them
perceived behavioural control: Believe of a person that they can perform
the behaviour required in a situation
here is a work place example of theory of planned behaviour…
attitude: Work ethic of working hard, and I think working long hours reflects that
subjective norm: Other, established colleagues work long hours
perceived social control: I don’t need to be home at a certain time, I can stay long
all these lead to an intention to working longer hours and inturn a behaviour or working longer hours
Evaluation of TPB (Conner & Armitage, 2001)
Good overview of factors influencing intention and
behaviour
Meta-analytic results found
a) Intentions predict behaviour to a moderate degree
b) TBP variables predict intentions moderately well
Practical application is widespread (e.g. health
behaviour)
Assumes humans are rational and consider options;
Neglects impulsive behaviour
Perhaps perceived behavioural control (and/or selfefficacy) has a greater influence than intention?
Subjective norm often a weak predictor (poor measures?)
