Chapter 9: Learning and Decision Making

Question 1

decision making: programmed decisions

Answer 1

are things we’ve encountered in the past (often)

intuitions

Question 2

decision making: non-programmed decisions

Answer 2

new decisions that we’ve never encountered

Question 3

decision-making problems (5)

Answer 3

information problems

faulty perceptions

faulty attributions

escalation of commitment

advice discounting

Question 4

decision-making problems: information

Answer 4

bounded rationality (don’t have all information)

satisficing: good enough
maximizing: evaluating options

searching for too little information (satisficer)

information overload: looking for too much info (maximizer)

Question 5

confirmation bias

Answer 5

search for information that confirms decision

Question 6

decision-making problems: faulty perceptions

Answer 6

perception is essentially trying to make sense of our environment

primacy is relying heavily in first impressions

recency is relying on last impressions

Question 7

projection bias

Answer 7

projecting personal thoughts on others

Question 8

stereotyping

Answer 8

assumptions about a perosn

Question 9

contrast effect

Answer 9

compare between interviewers

Question 10

decision-making problems: faulty attributions

Answer 10

how motives are assigned to explain peoples behaviour

two classes:

dispositional: blame the person
situational: something in the situation explains why something is happening the way it is

Question 11

fundamental attribution error

Answer 11

tendency to over rely on dispositional attribution for others

Question 12

self-serving bias

Answer 12

calc prof “being harder than other profs” or “OMG i aced that exam because I’m the greatest”

Question 13

cues used to make attributions: consistency

Answer 13

does the person engage in the behaviour consistently in this situation?

are they late in the morning, certain days, etc.?

Question 14

cues used to make attributions: consensus

Answer 14

do most people engage in that same behaviour or is it unique to that person?

Question 15

positive reinforcement

Answer 15

adding something good after a behaviour

giving a dog a treat for sitting

Question 16

negative reinforcement

Answer 16

taking something bad after a behaviour

best employee doesn’t have to clean store

Question 17

positive punishment

Answer 17

adding something bad after a behaviour

you have to do dishes after bitching about what’s for dinner

Question 18

negative punishment

Answer 18

taking something good after a behaviour

taking iPad away after talking back to parents

Question 19

extinction

Answer 19

removing good outcome that used to follow undesirable behaviour

ignoring the class clown so they stop being a fool

Question 20

schedules of reinforcement

Answer 20

continuous: reward given after every desired behaviour, works well but hard to maintain, ie praise

fixed interval: reward given on fixed time periods, works average, ie pay cheque

variable interval: reward given on variable time periods, works moderately well, ie supervisor walk-by

fixed ratio: reward given on fixed number of desired behaviours, works well, ie price-rate pay

variable ratio: reward given on variable number of desired behaviours, works very well, ie commission pay

Question 21

goal orientation: learning

Answer 21

a predisposition or attitude according to which building competence is deemed more important by an employee than demonstrating competence

Question 22

goal orientation: performance - prove orientation

Answer 22

a predisposition or attitude by which employees focus on demonstrating their competence so that others think favourably of them

Question 23

bounded rationality

Answer 23

dont have all of the information

satisficing: good enough
maximizing: information overload

Question 24

faulty perceptions

Answer 24

trying to make sense of the environment

primacy is relying on first impressions

recency is relying on last impressions

Question 25

faulty attributions

Answer 25

how motives are assigned to explain peoples behaviour

dispositional: blame the person
situational: blame the situation

Question 26

fundamental attribution error

Answer 26

tendency to over rely on dispositional attribution for others

example: late person MUST be lazy

Question 27

cues used to make attributions

Answer 27

consistency: does the person engage in the behaviour consistently in this situation?
consensus: does everyone engage in the behaviour
distinctiveness: does the person engage in the behaviour in many situations or is it distinct to one situation

Question 28

what attributions do you make?

Smith always takes long work breaks, his peers do not, and he took long breaks in his old job

Answer 28

consistency: does it all the time
consensus: his peers do not
distinctiveness: did it at his last job

Question 29

escalation of commitment

Answer 29

a common decision-making error, in which the decision maker continues to follow a failing course of action

Question 30

advice taking

Answer 30

advice taking is ubiquitous to decision-making

trust in advisor promotes advice utilization

advisor is an expert
advisor has good intentions
advisor is explicitly solicited
advice is framed as information

Question 31

what is learning

Answer 31

a relatively permanent change in knowledge, skill, or behaviour that occurs due to practice or experience

Question 32

what do employees learn (4)

Answer 32

practical skills: job specific skills, knowledge

intrapersonal skills: problem solving, critical thinking

interpersonal skills: learning how to work together better, civility training, team or group work

cultural (to organization) skills: focused on all the things to the specific success to the company’s values, goals, etc,

Question 33

what do employees learn (2)

Answer 33

explicit knowledge: books

tacit knowledge: gut feelings, can’t be easily quantified

Question 34

how do employees learn

Answer 34

operant learning: behaviour -> consequences

consequences can be either good OR bad