Definition of Learning What is learning?

A generally accepted definition is any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of experience. 1 The definition suggests that we shall never see someone learning. We can see changes taking place but not the learning itself. 2. The definition has several components that deserve clarification: First, learning involves change. Second, the change must be relatively permanent. Third, our definition is concerned with behavior. Finally, some form of experience is necessary for learning. I. Theories of Learning There are three theoriesclassical conditioning, operant conditioning, and social learning. Classical Conditioning 1. Classical conditioning grew out of experiments conducted at the turn of the century by a Russian physiologist, Ivan Pavlov, to teach dogs to salivate in response to the ringing of a bell. 2. Key concepts in classical conditioning [Pavlovs experiment] The meat was an unconditioned stimulus; it invariably caused the dog to react in a specific way. The bell was an artificial stimulus, or what we call the conditioned stimulus. The conditioned response. This describes the behavior of the dog; it salivated in reaction to the bell alone. 1. Learning a conditioned response involves building up an association between a conditioned stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus. 2. When the stimuli, one compelling and the other one neutral, are paired, the neutral one becomes a conditioned stimulus and, hence, takes on the properties of the unconditioned stimulus. 3. Classical conditioning is passivesomething happens, and we react in a specific way. It is elicited in response to a specific, identifiable event. It is voluntary rather than reflexive. Operant Conditioning 1. Operant conditioning argues that behavior is a function of its consequences. People learn to behave to get something they want or to avoid something they do not want. 2. 3. 4. The tendency to repeat such behavior is influenced by reinforcement or lack of reinforcement. Harvard psychologist B.F. Skinners research on operant conditioning expanded our knowledge. Tenets of Operant Conditioning are:

Behavior is learned. People are likely to engage in desired behaviors if they are positively reinforced for doing so. Rewards are most effective if they immediately follow the desired response. Any situation in which it is either explicitly stated or implicitly suggested that reinforcements are contingent on some action on your part involves the use of operant learning. Social Learning 1. Individuals can also learn by observing what happens to other people, by being well as by direct experiences.

told about something, as

2. Learning by observing is an extension of operant conditioning; it also acknowledges the existence of observational learning and the importance of perception in learning.

3. The influence of models is central to social learning. 4. Four processes determine the influence that a model will have on an individual.

Attentional processes. People learn from a model only when they recognize and pay attention to its critical features. Retention processes. A models influence will depend on how well the individual remembers the models action after the model is no longer readily available. Motor reproduction processes. After a person has seen a new behavior by observing the model, the watching must be converted to doing. Reinforcement processes. Individuals will be motivated to exhibit the modeled behavior if positive incentives or rewards are provided. SHAPING . When we attempt to mold individuals by guiding their learning in graduated behavior.

steps, we are shaping

2. It is done by systematically reinforcing each successive step that moves the individual closer to the desired response. 3. Methods of Shaping Behavior. Positive reinforcementfollowing a response with something pleasant

Negative reinforcementfollowing a response by the termination or withdrawal of something unpleasant Punishment is causing an unpleasant condition in an attempt to eliminate an undesirable behavior

Extinctioneliminating any reinforcement that is maintaining a behavior. When the behavior is not reinforced, it tends to gradually be extinguished. Both positive and negative reinforcement result in learning. They strengthen a response and increase the probability of repetition. Both punishment and extinction, however, weaken behavior and tend to decrease its subsequent frequency. 5. Reinforcement, whether it is positive or negative, has an impressive record as a shaping tool.

J. Schedules of Reinforcement 1. The two major types of reinforcement schedules are: 1) continuous and 2) intermittent. 2. A continuous reinforcement schedule reinforces the desired behavior each and every time it is demonstrated. 3. In an intermittent schedule, not every instance of the desirable behavior is is given often enough to make the behavior worth repeating. reinforced, but reinforcement

It can be compared to the workings of a slot machine. The intermittent payoffs occur just often enough to reinforce behavior.

1. Evidence indicates that the intermittent, or varied, form of reinforcement tends to promote more resistance to extinction than does the continuous form. 2. An intermittent reinforcement can be of a ratio or interval type.

3. Ratio schedules depend upon how many responses the subject makes; the individual is reinforced after giving a certain number of specific types of behavior. 4. Interval schedules depend upon how much time has passed since the last reinforcement; the individual is reinforced on the first appropriate behavior after a particular time has elapsed.

8. A reinforcement can also be classified as fixed or variable. 9. Intermittent techniques can be placed into four categories, as shown in Exhibit 2-4. 10. Fixed-interval reinforcement schedulerewards are spaced at uniform time intervals; the critical variable is time, and it is held constant. Some examples: This is the predominant schedule for most salaried workers in North Americathe paycheck.

11. Variable-interval reinforcementsrewards are distributed in time so that reinforcements are unpredictable. Pop quizzes A series of randomly timed unannounced visits to a company office by the corporate audit staff

12. In a fixed-ratio schedule, after a fixed or constant number of responses are given, a reward is initiated. A piece-rate incentive plan is a fixed-ratio schedule.

13. When the reward varies relative to the behavior of the individual, he or she is said to be reinforced on a variable-ratio schedule. Salespeople on commission K. Reinforcement Schedules and Behavior 1. Continuous reinforcement schedules can lead to early satiation. Under this schedule, behavior tends to weaken rapidly when reinforcers are withheld. Continuous reinforcers are appropriate for newly emitted, unstable, or low-frequency responses.

2. Intermittent reinforcers preclude early satiation because they do not follow every response. They are appropriate for stable or high-frequency responses.

3. In general, variable schedules tend to lead to higher performance than fixed schedules. (Exhibit 2-5)

4.

Variable-interval schedules generate high rates of response and more stable and consistent behavior because of a high correlation between performance and reward. The employee tends to be more alert since there is a surprise factor.

M. Some Specific Organizational Applications 1. Well pay vs. sick pay

Organizations with paid sick leave programs experience almost twice the absenteeism of organizations without such programs. Starkmark International (Florida marketing firm) pays employees $100 for each unclaimed sick day up to $600 per year for perfect attendance. Forbes magazine cut its medical and dental claims by over 30 percent. 2. Employee discipline Every manager will, at some time, have to deal with problem behaviors. Managers will respond with disciplinary actions such as oral reprimands, written warnings, and temporary suspensions. The use of discipline carries costs. It may provide only a short-term solution and result in serious side effects. Disciplining employees for undesirable behaviors tells them only what not to do. It does not tell them what alternative behaviors are preferred. Discipline does have a place in organizations. In practice, it tends to be popular because of its ability to produce fast results in the short run. 3. Developing training programs Most organizations have some type of systematic training program. In one recent year, U.S. corporations with 100 or more employees spent in excess of $58 billion on formal training for 47.3 million workers. Social-learning theory suggests that training should offer a model to grab the trainees attention; provide motivational properties; help the trainee file away learning for later use; provide opportunities to practice new behaviors; offer positive rewards for accomplishments; provide opportunity to transfer learning to the job (if training is off site). 4. Self-management Organizational applications of learning concepts can also be used to allow individuals to manage their own behavior. The basic processes involve observing ones own behavior, comparing the behavior with a standard, and rewarding oneself if the behavior meets the standard.