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LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
DEFINITION
Learning is any relatively permanent change in knowledge or skill which occurs as a result of
practice or experience.
THEORIES OF LEARNING
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Classical Conditioning
Operant conditioning
Cognitive Learning
Social Learning
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
A procedure for studying the development of associations between stimuli and reactions that are
not themselves under the control of the individual
Example
BASIC PROCEDURE
It begins with an unconditioned stimulus (US) that is, known, a priori, to elicit certain action or
unconditioned response (UR)
A neutral stimulus is introduced and paired its presentation with the unconditioned stimulus.
Eventually, given the appropriate time interval and sequence of events, this neutral , conditioned
stimulus (CS) elicits a conditioned response (CR) similar to the original UR.
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STAGES OF PAVLOVIAN CONDITIONING
US UR
CS Orienting Response
Stage 2 : Acquisition
CS (then) US UR
CS CR
EXTINCTION: The ability of the CS to elicit CR would gradually diminish and disappear if the
CS were presented without the US for a number of trials.
Customer preferences for certain products can be explained through classical conditioning
LAW OF EFFECT
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E. L. THORNDIKE
Of several responses made to the same situation, those which are accompanied or closely
followed by satisfaction (reinforcement) will be more likely to recur, those which are
accompanied or closely followed by discomfort will be less likely to occur
OPERANT CONDITIONING
Operant conditioning argues that behaviour is a function of its consequences. Learning occurs as
a consequence of behaviour.
REINFORCEMENT
Reinforcer in operant conditioning is any stimulus or event which when produced by a response,
makes that response more likely to occur in future and increases the strength of response.
Reward- A reward is something that the person who presents it deems to be desirable.
Punishment- Anything that weakens behaviour and tends to decrease its subsequent frequency.
Punishment usually consists of the application of an undesirable or noxious consequence or
withdrawal of a desirable consequence.
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DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CLASSICAL AND OPERANT CONDITIONING
Classical Conditioning: The unnconditioned simulus, serving as a reward, is presented every time
Operant Conditioning: The reward is presented if the organisms gives the correct response
COGNITIVE LEARNING
Cognitive learning situations are those in which without explicit reinforcement, there is a change
in the ways in which information is processed as a result of some experience a person has had
Reward is unnecessary for learning and the key result of learning is the knowledge about the
correlation between events
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INSIGHT LEARNING
A type of Cognitive Learning. In a typical insight situation, a problem is posed, a period follows
during which no apparent progress is made, and then the solution comes suddenly.
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SOCIAL LEARNING
Learning through observation & direct experience. The influence of model is central to the social
learning process
Learning is largely an information processing activity in which information about the structure of
behaviour and about environmental events is transformed into symbolic representations that serve
as guides of behaviour (Bandura, 1986)
Attention Process- People learn from a model only when they recognize and pay attention to its
critical features
Retention process: A models influence will depend on how well the individual remembers the
models action after the model is np longer readily available.
Reinforcement Process- Reward motivates the individual exhibit the learned behaviour
Positive Reinforcement
Negative Reinforcement
Punishment
Exinction
PUNISHMENT
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Punishment is causing an unpleasant condition in an attempt to eliminate an undesirable
behaviour
EFFECTS OF PUNISHMENT
Punished behaviour tends to be only temporarily suppressed rather than permanently changed
It is a lose-lose approach
EFFECTIVE PUNISHMENT
It must be
fairly intense
Specific
SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT
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Intermittent:Each reinforcement is not reinforced, but reinforcement is given often enough to
make the behaviour worth repeating
INTERMITTENT SCHEDULES
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SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT & BEHAVIOUR
Continuous: Helps to direct behaviour towards desired goals quickly; Likely to weaken very
rapidly when RF is stopped; Important for learning new responses
Fixed Interval : Reduce motivation for hard work; behaviour vary in rate during interval;
necessary to reduce anxiety
Variable Interval: Moderate and steady rate of response; desired behaviour s are sustained over
time
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ORGANISATION BEHAVIOUR MODIFICATION
Step1: Identification of Critical Behaviours that play key role in job performance
Step 4: Design of the Intervention Strategy- Identification of positive reinforcers and arranging
conditions so that these are contingent upon performance of the desired behaviour
Step 5: Systematic Evaluation- Final behaviour is compared with the initial behaviour to assess
changes produced by OB
Employee Discipline
Self-management
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