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Chapter 3
Learning and Ability
Objective
Concept of Learning.
2. Theories of Learning.
3. Biographical Characteristics.
4. Different types of abilities.
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LEARNING
Learning
• Involves change
• Is relatively permanent
• It is concerned with behaviour
• Is acquired through experience
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THEORIES OF LEARNING
It was conducted by a Russian Physiologist Ivan Pavlov
in the 1927.
Key Concepts
• Unconditioned stimulus
• Unconditioned response
• Conditioned stimulus
Ivan Pavlov
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• Conditioned response
 Thus we can say that a conditioned response involves building up an
association between conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus.
 When the stimuli, one compelling and other neutral, are paired, the
neutral one becomes a conditioned stimulus and so takes on the
properties of unconditioned stimulus.
 Classical conditioning is passive.
 Something happens and we react in a specific way.
 It is elicited in response to a specific and identifiable event.
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It was propounded by a Harvard psychologist B F Skinner.
This is based on the idea that learning is a function of
change in overt behavior.
Key Concepts
• Reflexive (unlearned) behavior
• Voluntary (learned) behavior
B.F.Skinner
• Reinforcement
The tendency to repeat such behaviour is influenced by
the reinforcement or lack of reinforcement brought about
by the consequences of the behaviour.
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Key Concepts
1. Attention processes
2. Retention processes
3. Motor reproduction processes
4. Reinforcement processes
It acknowledges the existence of observational learning and
the importance of perception in learning
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Shaping Behavior
Systematic attempt is made to change
individuals’ behavior by directing their
learning in graduated steps.
Key Concepts
• Reinforcement is required to change behavior.
• Some rewards are more effective than others.
• The timing of reinforcement affects learning
speed and permanence.
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TYPES OF REINFORCEMENT
 Positive reinforcement
 Providing a reward for a desired behavior.
 Negative reinforcement
 Process of having a reward taken away as a consequence of a
undesired behavior.
 Punishment
 Causing an unpleasant condition in an attempt to eliminate an
undesirable behavior.
 Extinction
 An alternative to punishing undesirable behaviour – the attempt to
weaken behavior by attaching no consequences (either positive or
negative) to it. It is equivalent to ignoring the behavior.
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Desirable
Behaviour
Positive Reinforcement
e.g.: you receive bonus
after successfully
completing important
task
Punishment
e.g.: you are threatened
Undesirable
with demotion or
Behaviour discharge after treating
client badly.
Event is
Added
Negative Reinforcement
e.g.: scholarship is
withdraw from the
student who has not
done well in examination
Extinction
e.g.: mischievous
student disturbing the
class, asking for
attention.
Event is
Removed
1. Both Positive and Negative Reinforcement results strengthen
responses and increases the probability of repetition
2. Both Punishment and Extinction weaken the behaviour and
tend to decrease its subsequent frequency.
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Schedules of Reinforcement
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Schedules of Reinforcement
Fixed-ratio
EXHIBIT
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3.3.1
Intermittent Schedules of
Reinforcement
EXHIBIT
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3.3.1
Intermittent Schedules of
Reinforcement (cont’d)
EXHIBIT
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3.3.1
BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION
OB Mod ( Luthans, F. 1975)
A well known system of motivation, is an
attempt to change behavior by manipulating
rewards and punishment.
Problem-solving Model
• Identify critical behaviors
• Develop baseline data
• Identify behavioral consequences
• Developing and implementing an
intervention strategy
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• Evaluate performance improvement
SPECIFIC ORGANIZATIONAL
APPLICATIONS
 Using Lotteries to reduce Absenteeism
 Ex. Continental Airlines
 Credits the lottery with significantly reducing the company’s absent
rate (variable-ratio).
 Well Pay versus Sick Pay
 Ex. Midwest organizations in USA
 Reduce absenteeism by rewarding attendance, not absence.
 Ex. Forbes Magazine.
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CONT…
 Employee Discipline
 The use of punishment can be counter-productive.
 Social-learning theory
 Improve training effectiveness.
 Self-management
 Reduces the need for external management control.
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BIOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Gender, Age, Marital status and
Tenure are the variables that have
an impact on employee
productivity, absence, turnover and
satisfaction
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A. GENDER
 There are few, if any, important differences between men and women that
will affect their job performance, including the areas of:
–Problem-solving
–Motivation
–Analytical skills
–Sociability
–Competitive drive
–Learning ability
 Women are more willing to conform to authority, and men are more
aggressive and more likely than women to have expectations of success.
 There is a difference between men and women in terms of preference for
work schedules.
 Absence and turnover rates
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B. AGE
1.The relationship between Age And Job Performance is
increasing in importance.
2.Employers’ perceptions are mixed.
3.It is tempting to assume that Age is inversely related to
Absenteeism.
4.Belief that Productivity Declines with Age and that individual
skills decay over time.
5.The relationship between Age and Job Satisfaction is mixed.
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C. Marital Status
Research consistently indicates that married employees have
fewer absences, undergo less turnover, and are more satisfied
with their jobs than are their unmarried co-workers (Garrrison
and Muchinsky, 1977)
Besides single or married statuses, there is difference between
divorce, domestic partnering, etc.
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D. Tenure
 The issue of the impact of job seniority on job performance has been
subject to misconceptions and speculations.
 Extensive reviews of the seniority-productivity relationship have been
conducted:
• There is a positive relationship between tenure and job productivity.
• There is a negative relationship between tenure to absence.
• Tenure is also a potent variable in explaining turnover.
• Tenure has consistently been found to be negatively related to turnover
and has been suggested as one of the single best predictors of turnover.
• The evidence indicates that tenure and satisfaction are positively
related.
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ABILITY
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DIMENSIONS OF
INTELLECTUAL ABILITY
• Number aptitude – Ability to do speedy and accurate
arithmetic . Ex. Accountant
• Verbal comprehension – Read write speaking ability.
Ex. Senior Manager
• Perceptual speed – Identify similarities and
differences quickly. Ex. Investigators
• Inductive reasoning – Logical sequence drawing.
Ex. Market Researcher
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EXHIBIT
3.6.2
Cont…
• Deductive reasoning – Ability to use logic and assess
the implications of the argument. Ex. Supervisors
• Spatial visualization – Ability to imagine.
Ex. Interior decorator
• Memory – Ability to retain and recall past experience
Ex. Sale person remembering customer’s name
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EXHIBIT
3.6.2
Multiple Intelligences was developed by
Gardener.
Eight different intelligences:
1. Linguistic intelligence (“word smart”)
2. Logical-mathematical intelligence (“number/reasoning smart”)
3. Spatial intelligence (“picture smart”)
4. Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence (“body smart”)
5. Musical intelligence (“music smart”)
6. Interpersonal intelligence (“people smart”)
7. Intrapersonal intelligence (“self smart”)
8. Naturalist intelligence (“nature smart”)
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PHYSICAL ABILITY
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NINE PHYSICAL ABILITIES
Strength Factors
• Dynamic strength
• Trunk strength
• Static strength
• Explosive strength
Flexibility Factors
• Extent flexibility
• Dynamic flexibility
Other Factors
• Body coordination
• Balance
• Stamina
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EXHIBIT
3.6.2
THE ABILITY - JOB FIT
Employee’s
Abilities
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Ability-Job
Fit
Job’s Ability
Requirements
Thank you