lecture 7 (part 1)

Question 1

what is learning?

Answer 1

learning is a relatively permanent change in an employees knowledge, skill, or behaviour that results from experience

Question 2

what two types of knowledge do employees learn?

Answer 2

explicit: easy to communicate and teach
(tacit knowledge it’s employees accumulate may be the single most important strategic asset a company possesses)

tacit: more difficult to explain; gained through idiosyncratic experiences

Question 3

how do employees learn?

Answer 3

reinforcement, observation and experience

Question 4

what is classical conditioning?

Answer 4

The process of modifying behaviour by pairing a conditioned stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus to elicit a particular response.

Question 5

what are some limitations of classical conditioning?

Answer 5

1. Humans are more complex than dogs and rarely amenable to simple cause-and-effect conditioning.
2. Behavioural environments in organizations are complex and not very amenable to single stimulus–response manipulations.
3. Human capacity for decision making can override simple conditioning.

Question 6

what is operant conditioning (or reinforcement theory)?

Answer 6

focuses on modifying behaviour through the use of consequences following specific behaviours

Question 7

note*

Answer 7

you know this but;

positive reinforcement: bestowing positive consequences (ice cream for completing homework)

negative reinforcement: withholding negative consequences

positive punishment: bestowing negative consequences

negative punishment: withholding positive consequences

extinction: withholding consequences

Question 8

note*

Answer 8

look at the reward schedule lecture 7 slide 18

ACTUALLY LOOK AT IT

write down and review rather than flashcard

Question 9

what is the social learning theory?

Answer 9

we observe others to learn skills or behaviour

Question 10

what four processes facilitate social learning?

Answer 10

1. attention
   - attentional processes: learner focuses attention on the critical behaviours exhibited by the model
2. memory
   - retention processes: learner must remember the behaviours of the model once the model is no longer present
3. motor control
   - production processes: learner must have the appropriate skill set and be able to reproduce the behaviour
4. motivation
   - reinforcement: the learner must view the model receiving reinforcement for the behaviour and then receive it himself or herself

Question 11

note:

Answer 11

some people learn differently, as a function of the goals and activities that they prioritize

Question 12

what is goal orientation?

Answer 12

influences when, and how, an individual will be motivated to learn

origins in developmental psychology

Question 13

what is “learning approach GO”?

Answer 13

Concerned with developing ability; focused on learning as much as possible; hold intrapersonal standards of competence; believe that ability is malleable
(e.g., may maintain motivation in the face of failure)

Question 14

what is “learning avoid GO”?

Answer 14

Concerned with developing ability and failing to learn all that they have the opportunity to learn; hold intrapersonal standards of competence; believe that ability is malleable
(e.g., may seek out additional challenges)

Question 15

what is “performance approach GO”?

Answer 15

Concerned with demonstrating ability; focused on outperforming others; hold interpersonal standards of competence; believe that ability is fixed
(e.g., may focus effort on impeding the performance of others)

Question 16

what is “performance avoid GO”?

Answer 16

Concerned with demonstrating ability; focused on avoiding displays of incompetence relative to others; hold interpersonal standards of competence; believe that ability is fixed
(e.g., may be unwilling to adopt unproven task strategies)

Question 17

learning has a _____ positive effect on performance

Answer 17

moderate positive (.30)

Question 18

learning has a _____ positive effect on commitment

Answer 18

weak positive (.10)

Question 19

what is decision making?

Answer 19

the process of generating and choosing from a set of alternatives to solve a problem

learning has a significant impact on decision making

Question 20

what is the rational model (in decision making)?

Answer 20

Step-by-step approach to making decisions that is designed to maximize outcomes by examining all available alternatives

Non-programmed decisions (if this doesn’t make sense- look at lecture 7 slide 32)

Question 21

what are the 6 steps in the rational model of decision making?

Answer 21

1. determine criteria for making decision
2. generate a list of alternatives
3. evaluate the alternatives against the criteria
4. choose the solution that maximizes value
5. implement the solution
6. evaluate the solution

Question 22

what are some common reasons for making bad decisions?

Answer 22

limited information
faulty perceptions
faulty attributions
escalation of commitment

(we will dig deeper into each of these 4 things)

Question 23

what is bounded rationality?

Answer 23

the notion that people do not have the ability or resources to process all available information and alternative when making a decision

We are likely to condense the problem to something easily understood, come up with a few familiar solutions, pick the first acceptable alternative, etc.

(this is in the problem #1. limited information)

Question 24

what is the bounded-rationality model?

Answer 24

a theory that suggests that there are limits upon how rational a decision maker can actually be

1. People often select the first satisfactory alternative.
   Satisfice: To select an alternative that is “good enough”
2. People recognize that the way they see the world is imperfect and simple.
3. People are content making decisions without knowing all the alternatives.
4. People make decisions using rules of thumb or heuristics.
   Heuristic: A mental shortcut for organizing information/making decisions//Simple and efficient rules of thumb that allow one to make decisions more easily

(check lecture 7 slide slide 39 for a chart)

Question 25

what are some of the faulty perceptions? (problem #2)

Answer 25

- projection bias - stereotypes - availability bias - anchoring effect - framing - representativeness bias - contrast effect - recency effect - ratio effect (will go into depth with each of these)

Question 26

what is projection bias?

Answer 26

faulty perception by decision makers that others think, feel, and act as they do (ex; this policy change is such a good idea- my coworkers must think so too")

Question 27

what is a stereotype?

Answer 27

assumptions made about others based on their social group membership (ex: "short people aren't good leaders")

Question 28

what is availability bias?

Answer 28

tendency for people to base judgments on information that is easier to recall (ex: "i can easily call to mind theft in an organization, so it must be pretty common")

Question 29

what is the anchoring effect?

Answer 29

the tendency to rely too heavily or anchor on one piece of information (ex; at the expense of other information, focus heavily on last year's average performance ratings for the organization when evaluating your team this year)

Question 30

what is framing?

Answer 30

the tendency to make different decisions based on how a question or situation is phrased (ex: hearing the message “two-thirds of employees in our organization are satisfied” versus “one-third of employees in our organization are dissatisfied” may lead to different decisions)

Question 31

what is representativeness bias?

Answer 31

the tendency to assess the likelihood of an event by comparing it to a similar event and assuming it will be similar (ex: "Tina is likely a librarian because she is quiet and shy like librarians tend to be")

Question 32

what is the contrast effect?

Answer 32

tendency to judge things erroneously based on a reference that is near to them (ex: In reality, Tom is an average job candidate. However, because Tom was interviewed after Al, who was an excellent candidate, Tom appeared to be a very inferior candidate)

Question 33

what is the recency effect?

Answer 33

the tendency to weigh recent events more than earlier events (ex: Bob may have been a poor performer in the first half of the year, but his manager put more weight on the good work that he accomplished in the second half of the year)

Question 34

what is the ratio effect?

Answer 34

the tendency to judge the same probability of an unlikely event as lower when the probability is presented in the form of a ratio of smaller vs. larger numbers (ex: choosing an office location on a floor with 100 people and 8 photocopiers over a floor with 10 people and 1 photocopier)

Question 35

what is an attribution?

Answer 35

process by which causes or motives are assigned to explain people's behaviour internal attributions: blame individual factors (ability, motivation) external attribution: blame environmental factors (bad traffic) our attributions are not always correct (faulty attributions- problem #3)

Question 36

what are two attribution biases?

Answer 36

fundamental attribution error self-serving bias

Question 37

what is the fundamental attribution error?

Answer 37

the tendency to make attributions to internal causes when focusing on someone else's behaviour

Question 38

what is the self-serving bias?

Answer 38

the tendency to attribute one's own successes to internal causes and one's failures to external causes

Question 39

how to make accurate attributions?

Answer 39

Consensus - Was the same behaviour evident in other people? Yes – external, No – internal Distinctiveness - Was this behaviour different than in other situations? Yes – external, No – internal Consistency - Was the same behaviour repeated over time? Yes – internal, No – external (check lecture 7 slide 58/59)

Question 40

what is the escalation of commitment?

Answer 40

the tendency to continue to commit resources to a failing course of action Why does it occur? Dislike for Inconsistency Optimism Illusions of Control Sunk Costs How to prevent it: Split up responsibility for decisions (e.g., use groups) Monitor decision makers Provide a graceful exit

Question 41

note*

Answer 41

antecedent: condition that precedes behaviour (manager sets specific and difficult goal) behaviour: action performed by employee (employee meets assigned goal) consequence: result that occurs after behaviour (employee receives a bonus)

Question 42

what are schedules of reinforcement?

Answer 42

the timing of when contingencies are applied or removed

Question 43

what are continuous reinforcement?

Answer 43

a schedule of reinforcement in which a specific consequence follows each and every occurrence of a certain behaviour (new learning is acquired most rapidly under a continuous schedule) (once a behaviour has been acquired, some form of intermittent scheduling is more effective)

Question 44

what are fixed-interval schedules?

Answer 44

A schedule whereby reinforcement occurs at fixed time periods (paycheque)

Question 45

what are variable-interval schedules?

Answer 45

a schedule whereby reinforcement occurs at random periods of time (supervisor walking around at different points in time)

Question 46

what is a fixed-ratio schedule?

Answer 46

A schedule whereby reinforcement occurs following a fixed number of desired behaviours (piece-rate pay)

Question 47

what is a variable-ratio schedule?

Answer 47

A schedule whereby behaviours are reinforced after a varying number of them have been exhibited (sales people getting commission)

Question 48

what is behaviour modelling?

Answer 48

Employees observing the actions of others, learning from what they observe, and then repeating the observed behaviour

Question 49

what is learning orientation?

Answer 49

A predisposition or attitude according to which building competence is deemed more important by an employee than demonstrating competence

Question 50

what are programmed decisions?

Answer 50

Decisions that are somewhat automatic because the decision maker’s knowledge allows them to recognize the situation and the course of action to be taken

Question 51

what is a nonprogrammed decision?

Answer 51

Decisions made by employees when a problem is new, complex, or not recognized

Question 52

what is selective perception?

Answer 52

The tendency for people to see their environment only as it affects them and as it is consistent with their expectations

Question 53

what is the social identity theory?

Answer 53

A theory that people identify themselves according to the various groups to which they belong and judge others according to the groups they associate with