Chapter 2

MBA – I Semester

Learning Theories

by
Mohammed Abdul Nayeem
IBS Hyderabad
 Learning
Any relatively permanent change in behavior
that occurs as a result of experience
•Learning components:

Is Acquired
Involves Is Relatively
Through
Change Permanent
Experience
 What is Learning?

• It is at the core of human understanding and adjustment.

• It can be defined as any permanent change in behaviour

occurring as a result of practice or experience.

• It plays a central role in the language we speak, our

customs, our attitudes and beliefs, our personal goals, our
personality traits (both adaptive and maladaptive) and even
our perceptions.

• It is a complex behavioural process.

 Significance of Learning
• Learning impacts practically all aspects of OB

• All behaviors of people in an organization are learnt, either directly

or indirectly

• The learned behaviors are:

 The skills of a worker
 Acquiring a new skill
 Coping with stressful situations at the workplace
 Attitude of a manager
 A manager’s style of dressing

• Organizations can mould the behavior of employees through

applying learning principles to enhance their performance
 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.
• Operant Conditioning
• A type of conditioning in which desired voluntary behavior leads
to a reward or prevents a punishment.

• Cognitive Theory (S-S)- Edward Tolman

– Cognitive learning consists of a relationship between cognitive
environmental cues and expectation

• Social-Learning Theory
– People can learn through observation and direct experience.
Classical Conditioning
• Pavlov’s Dog Drool
• Key Concepts:
– Unconditioned stimulus
• A naturally occurring phenomenon.
– Unconditioned response
• The naturally occurring response to a natural stimulus.
– Conditioned stimulus
• An artificial stimulus introduced into the situation.
– Conditioned response
• The response to the artificial stimulus.
This is a passive form of learning. It is reflexive and
not voluntary – not the best theory for OB
learning.
 Operant Conditioning
• B. F. Skinner’s concept of Behaviorism: behavior follows
stimuli in a relatively unthinking manner.
• Key Concepts:
– Conditioned behavior: voluntary behavior that is learned,
not reflexive.
– Reinforcement: the consequences of behavior which can
increase or decrease the likelihood of behavior repetition.
– Pleasing consequences increase likelihood of repetition.
– Rewards are most effective immediately after
performance.
– Unrewarded/punished behavior is unlikely to be repeated.
 B.F. Skinner’s Operant Conditioning
Consequences determine behaviour that results in learning.

Behaviour will be repeated on the basis of reinforcement or lack of reinforcement .

This theory explicitly clarified the concepts of operant and reinforcement.

Operant: responses that operate on the environment affecting the likelihood of these
responses occurring again and again.

Reinforcement: is that event or stimulus that increases or maintains the strength of the
response.

For example a sales man putting in effort and achieving targets - leads to getting a
desired hike.
The hike strengthens the effort-performance relationship resulting into repetition of
such
behaviours.
Examples of Classical and Operant
Conditioning
 Ex-1

Watches favorite tennis player winning a

tournament

AND

Jumps with Joy

Ex-1-Key- Classical Conditioning

Watches favorite tennis player winning a

Tournament (S)

AND

Jumps with Joy (R)

 Ex-2

Touches a hot vessel

AND
moves away
Ex-2-Key- Classical Conditioning

Touches a hot vessel(S)

AND
moves away(R)
 Ex-3

Achieves sales targets

AND
obtains incentives and gifts
Ex-3- Key- Operant Conditioning

Achieves sales targets(R)

AND
obtains incentives and gifts(S)
 Ex-4

Hears a good music

AND
hums and rocks gently
Ex-4-Key- Classical Conditioning

Hears a good music (S)

AND
hums and rocks gently (R)
 Ex-5

Browses the Internet

AND
obtains desired information
Ex-5-Key-Operant Conditioning

Browses the Internet (R)

AND
obtains desired information (S)
 Ex- 6

Uses power carefully

AND
saves money on electricity bills
Ex- 6-Key-Operant Conditioning

Uses power carefully (R)

AND
saves money on electricity bills (S)
 Ex-7

Steps on a nail
AND
jumps and screams in pain
Ex-7-Key- Classical Conditioning

Steps on a nail (S)

AND
jumps and screams in pain (R)
 Ex-8

Carries a credit card

AND
finds it convenient for shopping
Ex-8-Operant Conditioning

Carries a credit card (R)

AND
finds it convenient for shopping (S)
Quadrants of Operant Conditioning
 Shaping: A Managerial Tool
Systematically reinforcing each successive step that
moves an individual closer to the desired response.
•Four Methods of Shaping Behavior:
– Positive reinforcement
• Providing a reward for a desired behavior (learning)
– Negative reinforcement
• Removing an unpleasant consequence when the desired behavior
occurs (learning)
– Punishment
• Applying an undesirable condition to eliminate an undesirable
behavior (“unlearning”)
– Extinction
• Withholding reinforcement of a behavior to cause its cessation
(“unlearning”)
 Cognitive Theory (S-S)- Edward Tolman

• Cognitive learning consists of a relationship between

cognitive environmental cues and expectation

• Learning is a developing pattern of behavior from bits of

knowledge about and the cognition of the environment

• Learning of association between the cue and expectation

is termed as S-S learning

• First, there is a stimulus and then, there is a stimulus

again (S-S)
 Social-Learning Theory – Albert Bandura
• Based on the idea that people can also learn indirectly:
by observation, reading, or just hearing about
someone else’s – a model’s – experiences.
• Key Concepts:
– Attentional processes
• Must recognize and pay attention to critical features to learn.
– Retention processes
• Model’s actions must be remembered to be learned.
– Motor reproduction processes
• Watching the model’s behavior must be converted to doing.
– Reinforcement processes
• Positive incentives motivate learners.
 Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory and its
4 Principles
• This theory posits that people learn from one another through observation,
imitation, and modelling. People learn through observing others’ behaviours,
attitudes and outcomes of the behaviours.

• This theory is also known as observational learning.

Schedules of Reinforcement
 What is OB Modification and Its Significance?
• Is the systematic application of operant conditioning theories to manage workplace
behaviour

• It is a problem solving model that makes use of the following steps:

• It emphasizes on: influence of the environment on employee behavior, antecedents

or conditions that precede a behavior, consequences of a particular behavior and
impact of the behavior on performance effectiveness
Problems with OB Mod and Reinforcement
• OB Mod ignores thoughts and feelings.
• OB Mod may not explain complex behaviors
that involve thinking and feeling.
• Stimuli may not be consciously given as a
means of shaping behavior.

Modern managers and

OB theorists are using
cognitive approaches to
shaping behavior.