LEARNING

By:
Shweta Gautam
Harpreet Singh
Tanvi Seth
Sneha Joshi
Sonal Sewak
"YOU CANT TEACH ANYONE ANYTHING
YOU CAN JUST MAKE HIM LEARN "
- GALILEO
Nature of Learning
Learning involves change : change can be good or
bad

Change in behaviour must be relative permanent

Change in behaviour should occur as a result of

experience

It’s a life long process

Definition
According to ROBBINS :- “ Learning may be
defined as a relative permanent change in
behaviour brought about as a result of experience
“

In simple words : learning is a change in

behaviour as a result of experience…….
Significance of Learning
It offers significant insights “controlling”
employee behaviour

It has marked effect on training in organizational

settings

It helps in understanding the skill that an

employee is born with.
Theories of Learning
I. Classical conditioning

II. Operant learning

III. Cognitive theory

IV. Social learning theory

Introduction
• Classical condition is learning by
“association”.

• It is sometimes called “reflexive learning” or

“respondent conditioning”.
Pavlov’s Experiment
This experiment was performed by Russian
scientists IAN PAVLOV in order to teach dog to
salivate in response to the ringing of a bell.

a) He presented meat (US) to the dog and

noticed great deal of salivation (UR)

b) But, when only bell was rang no salivation

was found.

c) Then, he linked meat with the ringing of a bell.

He did several times.
d) Now he just rang a bell without presenting a
meat, dog started to salivate merely at the sound
of a bell.

DOG HAS LEARNED TO RESPOND…

before conditioning after conditioning

(bell) CS CR
CS no response (bell) (salivation)
US UR
(bone) (salivation)
during conditioning

(bell)
CS
CS=conditioned stimulus
US=unconditioned stimulus US UR
CR=unconditioned response
UR=unconditioned response (bone) (salivation)
Limitations
Human beings are more complex than dogs

Behavioural environment in organizations is also

complex

The human decision making process being

complex in nature.
Operant Conditioning
This theory was given by BF Skinner.

This theory states that behaviour is a function of

consequences. According to this theory, there is a
relationship between behaviour & the consequences
of the action taken, which is referred to as operant
conditioning.

In very simple words, a particular behavior will be

repeated if it is followed by favourable outcome and
it will be discontinued if it is followed by
unvavourable outcome.
This theory states that behaviour is a function of
consequences
Consequences to behavior can be:
a. nothing happens: extinction
b. something happens
• the “something” can be pleasant
• the “something” can be aversive
Consequences include positive and negative
reinforcement, and punishment. We’ll examine
each of these later.
Cognitive Theory
Cognition refers to the thoughts, beliefs,
knowledge, ideas and understanding of an
individual about himself and his environment.

The cognitive process of leaning implies that an

individual forms a cognitive structure in his
memory which preserves and organises the
information received by him throughout his
lifetime.
Prior learning Behavioural choice Perceived
consequences
Introduction
Social learning theory talks about the ability of
the individual to learn by observing people,
events and objects around him which influence
him in different possible ways.

According to Albert Bandura "Social learning

theory approaches the explanation of human
behavior in terms of a continuous reciprocal
interaction between cognitive, behavioral, and
environmental determinants“
 contd…
Social cognitive theory extends learning by
giving more attention to the self regulatory
mechanisms

The social cognitive derivatives of modelling and

self efficacy provide clarity in understanding
learning and provide base for behavioural
perfromance management
Modelling
Attention:- People learn from their environment
by paying attention to it. The basic condition for
learning is the willingness of the mind to absorb
things.

Retention:- The ability to store information is the

next step of the learning process. The ability to
pull up information later and act on it is vital to
observational learning.
Motor Reproduction:- After a person has
absorbed a particular learning, it is necessary for
him to put that knowledge to practice.

Motivation/ Feedback:- Finally, for observational

learning to be successful, you have to be
motivated to imitate the behavior that has been
modeled.

Reinforcement and punishment are the principles

of learning and play an important role in
motivation.
Key Terms of Operant
Conditioning
• Reinforcement: It is any procedure that
increases the response

• Punishment: It is any procedure that

decreases the response
Reinforcement
The administration of a consequence as a result of
behaviour is known as reinforcement
The idea behind it is to induce repetition of a
particular behaviour.
Reinforcement can change the direction, level and
persistence of an individual’s behaviour
a Reinforcer is any stimulus which, when delivered
to a subject, increases the probability that a subject
will emit a response
Categories of Reinforcers
All reinforcers fall into one of two categories:
Primary Reinforcers – Unconditioned
reinforcers:Based upon the satisfaction of
physiological needs, such as food, water, air, sex,
escape from pain, etc.
Secondary Reinforcers – Learned/conditioned
reinforcers: A secondary reinforcer depends on
the individual and his past reinforcement
history. Thus, these are primarily learned
ones. Eg:- praise, recognition.
Money: a Major secondary reinforcer
 Contingencies of Reinforcement
Stimulus is Added Stimulus is Removed

(best to use)

Pleasant Positive
reinforcement Omission
Event (decreases behavior)
(increases behavior)

Unpleasant Punishment Negative

Event (decreases behavior) reinforcement
(worst to use) (increases behavior)

Positive reinforcement is an increase in the future frequency of a behavior due to the

addition of a stimulus immediately following a response
Negative reinforcement is an increase in the future frequency of a behavior
when the consequence is the removal of an aversive stimulus
MATERIAL REWARDS SUPPLEMENTAL BENEFITS STATUS SYMBOLS
Pay Company automobiles Corner offices
Pay raises Health insurance plans Offices with windows
Stock options Pension contributions Carpeting
Profit sharing Vacation and sick leave Drapes
Deferred compensation Recreation facilities Paintings
Bonuses/bonus plans
Child care support Watches
Incentive plans
Expense accounts Club privileges Rings
Parental leave Private restrooms

SOCIAL/INTER- REWARDS FROM SELF-ADMINISTERED

PERSONAL REWARDS
Praise
Developmental feedback
Smiles, pats on the back, and
other nonverbal signals
Requests for suggestions
Invitations to coffee or lunch
Wall plaques
THE TASK
Sense of achievement
Jobs with more responsibility
Job autonomy/self-direction
Performing important tasks
REWARDS
Self-congratulation
Self-recognition
Self-praise
Self-development through
expanded knowledge/skills
Greater sense of self-worth
Guidelines for Using
Contingencies of Reinforcement
Managers should:
 Not reward all employees the same (i.e., take individual differences
into account to reward employees with consequences that they
personally value)
 Consider consequences of both actions and non-actions
 Make employees aware of what behavior will be reinforced (and
then be sure to reinforce it uniformly)
 Let employees know what they are doing wrong
 Not punish in front of others
 Make their response equal to workers’ behavior
Schedules of Reinforcement
 Definition: The determination of when reinforcers are applied; after every
response or only after some responses
 Two general categories of schedule are:
 Continuous Reinforcement: Every behavior is reinforced; the simplest
schedule
 Intermittent Reinforcement: Only some behaviors are reinforced; four types
are identified in the text:
 Fixed Interval: based on a fixed time interval
 Fixed Ratio: based on a fixed number of responses
 Variable Interval: based on a variable time interval
 Variable Ratio: based on a variable number of responses
 FORM OF INFLUENCE ON EFFECTS ON
SCHEDULE REWARD PERFORMANCE BEHAVIOR

Fixed interval Reward on fixed Leads to average Fast extinction of

time basis and irregular behavior
performance
Fixed ratio Reward tied to Leads quickly to Moderately fast
specific number of very high and extinction of
responses stable behavior
performance

Variable interval Reward given after Leads to Slow extinction of

varying periods of moderately high behavior
time and stable
performance

Variable ratio Reward given for Leads to very high Very slow
some behaviors performance extinction of
behavior
Punishment
Through punishment, managers try to correct
improper behaviour of subordinates by providing
negative consequences.

Punishment is the historic method of reducing or

eliminating undesirable behaviour.

Sometimes, punishment frustrates the punished

and leads to antagonism towards the punishing
agent
Because of the possible dangers of punishment it should
be administered properly.

The following points may be noted in this regard:-

a)The specific undesired behaviour should be punished, not the
person should be punished.
b)Punishment should be administered privately.
c) Punishment must be administered carefully so that it does not
become a reward of undesirable behaviour.
d)Punishment should be enough to extinguish the undesired
behaviour.
e)Punishment should quickly follow the undesirable behaviour.
Applications of Learning
Training
Innovative Reward System
Disclipine
Knowledge Management
Organizational Behaviour Management
Reduce indiscipline and abtenteeism