Learning Flashcards
What is the OB definition of learning?
A relatively permanent change in behaviour potential as a result of experience
What is learning prompted by?
Feedback from the environment about the consequences of specific behaviours
How does feedback prompt learning?
Feedback changes the potential/probability that a behaviour will happen again in the future
What types of skills do people need to learn to adjust to performing in line with organizational goals?
- Job skills
- Personal skills
- Interpersonal
- Group/Cultural
What is included in job skills?
Tasks, duties, competencies
What is included in personal skills?
Problem solving, critical thinking
What is included in interpersonal?
Behavioural norms, leadership
What is included in group/cultural
Values, customs, goals/mission
Define operant learning theory
How people learn to operate on the environment based on the feedback they get for their behaviour (not necessarily a conscious process)
What is learned in operant learning theory?
The connection between a certain behaviour and the feedback by the environment is learned (not the behaviour and not the feedback itself)
What are the four learning processes?
- Positive reinforcement
- Punishment
- Extinction
- Negative reinforcement
Describe the law of effect
People repeat behaviours that bring them satisfaction and pleasure and stop those that bring them dissatisfaction and pain
What are the two ways to increase the probability of behaviour?
Positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement
What are the two ways to decrease the probability of behaviour?
Punishment, extinction
What type of learning process occurs when pleasant stimulus is added?
Positive reinforcement
What type of learning process occurs when unpleasant stimulus is added?
Punishment
What type of learning process occurs when pleasant stimulus is taken away?
Extinction
What type of learning process occurs when unpleasant stimulus is removed?
Negative reinforcement
What is a reinforcer?
A stimulus that follows some behaviour and increases or maintains the probability of that behaviour
What is the reinforcer contingent upon?
The occurrence of some desired behaviour
Give an example of positive reinforcement
Giving pleasant stimulus to whoever is nice to you by saying “thank you”
Give an example of negative reinforcement
Removing the unpleasant stimulus when work is completed; the supervisor stops their nagging
What has to happen for reinforcement to work?
The receiver of the reinforcement needs to be aware of what behaviour(s) is (are) connected to the reinforcement. Otherwise they might think the reward is just a gift; they don’t know what behaviour(s) to continue
What are some sources and forms of reinforcement?
Performance feedback, social recognition, promotions and pay increases
When does performance feedback work best?
Conveyed in a positive way, delivered immediately after performance, specific to a concrete behaviour
When does social recognition work best?
Specifies a concrete behaviour, specifies how a person will be recognized, gives a token of recognition
What are two strategies that can reduce the probability of learned behaviour?
Punishment and extinction
Define punishment
Application of an aversive stimulus
Define extinction
The gradual dissipation of behaviour following the termination or removal of positive reinforcement
When does extinction work best?
When coupled with the reinforcement of some desired substitute behaviour
Give an example of punishment
Punish whoever engages in unethical competition behaviours by being find for half a month’s salary
Give an example of extinction
Stop rewarding unethical competitors
When does reinforcement work best and most efficiently?
When applied directly after the desired behaviour and frequently
What does reinforcement last long-term?
When applied some of the time and some time after the behaviour occurs
What is social cognitive theory?
SCT emphasizes the role of cognitive processes in regulating people’s behaviour
How to people learn?
- Observing the behaviour of others
- Considering their own self-efficacy
- Self-regulating their own behaviour
How do you self-regulate your own behaviour?
- Envision the consequences of their actions
- Setting goals, and forming beliefs about attaining them
- Monitoring performance
- Reinforcing own desired behaviours
Define observational learning
The process of imitating the behaviour of others
What is the process of observational learning?
- Examine the behaviour of other
- See the consequences they experience
- Imagine what would happen if we act the same way
- Imitating the behaviour if we expect favourable consequences; withholding behaviour is we expect bad consequence
What traits are we most likely to imitate?
Attractive, credible, competent, high-status people
Define self-efficacy
Beliefs people have about their ability to successfully perform a specific task; they can be changed and modified in response to different sources of information
What does self-efficacy influence?
- The activities people choose to perform
- The amount of effort and persistence devoted to a task
- Affective and stress reactions
- Job performance
How can you influence self-efficacy?
You can influence people to increase their efficacy by showing them that they can do it
