Foundations of Individual Behavior and Learning

Biographical Characteristics
Biographical Characteristics
Personal characteristicssuch as age, gender, and marital statusthat are objective and easily obtained from personnel records.

Ability, Intellect, and Intelligence

Ability An individuals capacity to perform the various tasks in a job.

Intellectual Ability The capacity to do mental activities.

Multiple Intelligences Intelligence contains four subparts: cognitive, social, emotional, and cultural.

Physical Abilities
Physical Abilities
The capacity to do tasks demanding stamina, dexterity, strength, and similar characteristics.

The Ability-Job Fit

Employees Abilities

Ability-Job Fit

Jobs Ability Requirements

Learning
Learning
Any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of experience.

Learning
Involves change Is relatively permanent

Is acquired through experience

Theories of Learning
Classical Conditioning
A type of conditioning in which an individual responds to some stimulus that would not ordinarily produce such a response.

Key Concepts
Unconditioned stimulus Unconditioned response Conditioned stimulus Conditioned response
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Classical Conditioning

Theories of Learning (contd)

Operant Conditioning
A type of conditioning in which desired voluntary behavior leads to a reward or prevents a punishment.

Key Concepts Reflexive (unlearned) behavior Conditioned (learned) behavior Reinforcement

Skinner showed how positive reinforcement worked by placing a hungry rat in his Skinner box. The box contained a lever in the side and as the rat moved about the box it would accidentally knock the lever. Immediately it did so a food pellet would drop into a container next to the lever. The rats quickly learned to go straight to the lever after a few times of being put in the box. The consequence of receiving food if they pressed the lever ensured that they would repeat the action again and again.
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Skinner identified three types of responses or operant that can follow behavior:

Neutral operants: responses from the environment that neither increase nor decrease the probability of a behavior being repeated. Reinforcers: Responses from the environment that increase the probability of a behavior being repeated. Reinforcers can be either positive or negative. Punishers: Response from the environment that decrease the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. Punishment weakens behavior.

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COGNITIVE THEORY

Given by Edward Tolman Cognition refers to an individual thoughts, knowledge, interpretations, understanding or ideas about himself and his environment.

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Theories of Learning (contd)

Social-Learning Theory
People can learn through observation and direct experience.

Attention processes (Attention to critical features) Retention processes (extent to which one focuses on others action Motor reproduction processes (matching behavior with model) Reinforcement processes (extent to which one repeats behavior)

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Types of Reinforcement

Positive reinforcement Providing a reward for a desired behavior. Negative reinforcement Removing an unpleasant consequence when the desired behavior occurs. Punishment Applying an undesirable condition to eliminate an undesirable behavior. Extinction Withholding reinforcement of a behavior to cause its cessation (discontinuance).
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Schedules of Reinforcement
Continuous Reinforcement A desired behavior is reinforced each time it is demonstrated.

Intermittent Reinforcement A desired behavior is reinforced often enough to make the behavior worth repeating but not every time it is demonstrated.

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Schedules of Reinforcement (contd)

Fixed-Interval Schedule Rewards are spaced at uniform time intervals.

Variable-Interval Schedule
Rewards are initiated after a fixed or constant number of responses.

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Schedules of Reinforcement (contd)

Fixed-ratio

E X H I B I T 24

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Intermittent Schedules of Reinforcement

E X H I B I T 25

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Intermittent Schedules of Reinforcement (contd)

E X H I B I T 25 (contd)

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Behavior Modification
OB Mod
The application of reinforcement concepts to individuals in the work setting. Five Step Problem-Solving Model 1. Identify critical behaviors 2. Develop baseline data 3. Identify behavioral consequences 4. Develop and apply intervention 5. Evaluate performance improvement

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OB MOD Organizational Applications

Well Pay versus Sick Pay

Reduces absenteeism by rewarding attendance, not absence. The use of punishment can be counter-productive. OB MOD methods improve training effectiveness. Reduces the need for external management control.
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Employee Discipline

Developing Training Programs

Self-management