Learning and

Behavior
Management

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 Behavioristic Theories
Classical conditioning

 The theory of classical conditioning grew out of the famous

experiments conducted on dogs by the Russian psychologist,
Ivan Pavlov.
 When he gave the dog a piece of meat, it would start salivating.
 The piece of meat was the unconditioned stimulus and the
salivation the unconditioned response.
 Next, he just rang a bell, which naturally did not cause the dog
to salivate.
 In subsequent experiments, he gave the dog a price of meat
when a bell was rung. After this process was repeated several
times, the dog began to associate the ringing of the bell with
meat.
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 Pavlov found that the dog would start salivating at the mere
ringing of the bell, even when it was not given any meat.

 The dog developed a conditioned response (i.e. salivation) to

a conditioned stimulus (i.e. the ringing of a bell), which was
previously a neutral stimulus.

 Classical conditioning, can therefore be defined as a process in

which a formerly neutral stimulus, when paired with an
unconditioned stimulus, becomes a conditioned stimulus
that elicits a conditioned response.

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Operant conditioning

 Operant conditioning or reinforcement theory has been

associated with the work of B. F. Skinner. Skinner designed an
apparatus called the “Operant Chamber” or the “Skinner Box’’ to
understand learned behavior in animals.
 The Skinner Box has a lever, which on pressing, drops a pellet of
food.
 A hungry rat was placed in the Skinner box. Soon, it started
exploring and sniffing around, looking for food.
 It eventually pressed the lever by accident and received a pellet
of food.
 The rat soon learned to associate pressing of the lever with the
reward of food. This reward acted as a reinforcing factor.
 This form of learning, which is based on trial and error, is called
operant conditioning.
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 According to reinforcement theory, behavior is repeated
depending on the reinforcement or lack of reinforcement brought
about as a consequence of a particular behavior.

 Behavior is strengthened and is likely to be repeated if it is

reinforced.

 Skinner argued that the frequency of specific forms of behavior

could be increased if they were followed by pleasant
consequences.

 Positive reinforcement would establish a particular pattern of

behavior. He also argued that the effectiveness of rewards is at
its highest when they are given immediately after the desired
behavior is exhibited. Similarly, when behavior is not rewarded or
punished, the chances of such behavior being repeated are less.
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 Operant conditioning differs from classical conditioning in
many ways. The most important differences between the two are
given below.

 The strength and frequency of classically conditioned behaviors

are determined by the environmental event that precedes
the behavior. In operant conditioning , it is the environmental
event following the behavior that determines the strength
and frequency of the behavior. That is to say, in operant
conditioning, what happens as a consequence of the response
determines the behavior of individuals.

 In the classical conditioning process, the unconditioned

stimulus that serves as a reward is presented every time.
In operant conditioning the reward is given only when the
organism gives the correct response. This requires the
organism to operate on the environment to receive a reward.
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 Examples of Classical and Operant Conditioning

Classical Conditioning
(S) Stimulus (R) Response
watches favorite tennis player Jumps with job
winning a tournament
The individual touches a hot vessel Moves away
hears good music Hums and rocks gently
steps on a nail Jumps and screams in
pain
Operant Conditioning

(R) Response (S) Stimulus

Browses the Internet Obtains desired

information
Uses power carefully Saves money on
electricity bill
The individual Carries a credit card Finds it convenient for
shopping
Pay loan instilments promptly Attracts no penalty for
delayed payment
Achieves sales targets Obtains incentives and
gifts
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Cognitive Theories

 Edward Tolman, a pioneering theorist in the field of cognitive

psychology, stated that cognitive learning consists of a
relationship between cognitive environmental cues and
expectation.
 Rats were allowed to run through a complicated maze in search
of food. The food was placed at certain points in the maze. When
the rats came across the food, they began to associate the
presence of food with certain cognitive cues. As a result, learning
took place.
 This learning of the association between the cue and
expectation is termed S-S (Stimulus-Stimulus) learning.
 Nowadays, cognitive psychology focuses on the structures and
processes of human competence, like the role of memory and
information processing in learning.
 Expectations, attributions, locus of control, and goal setting are
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all cognitive concepts.
Social Learning Theory
 This theory states that there is more to learning than just the
antecedent stimulus and dependent consequences. This theory
assumes that leaning can also take place through vicarious or
modeling processes and self-control processes.

1. Modeling processes
 Observational learning is the essential component of vicarious or
modeling processes. Behavior acquisition through the modeling
process cannot be directly attributed to either classical or operant
conditioning. Learning need not result always from S-R or R-S
connections.
 People could learn from others and that such learning took place
in two steps:
VII.Through observation a person acquires a mental picture of an act
carried out by someone and its consequences.
VIII.Then the person enacts the acquired image. 9
 If the consequences turn to be positive, the behavior is
repeated; otherwise, it is discontinued.

2. Self-efficacy

 People with high self-efficacy, that is, people who think they can
perform a task well, usually do better than people with low self-
efficacy.

 There is a fairly clear relationship between self-efficacy and work

related performance.

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 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING

 The most important principles of learning are reinforcement

and punishment.
 Reinforce means to strengthen, and the term ‘reinforcement’
refers to a stimulus which strengthens the probability of a
particular response being repeated.
 Appreciating the good work of an employee and awarding
promotions or raises are examples of commonly used
reinforcers in organizations.
 Positive reinforcement increases the chances that a particular
behavior would be repeated because it results in a desirable
consequence.
 In negative reinforcement, the individual repeats a behavior
not because he wants to but because he wants to avoid a
negative consequence.
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 Another method of managing behavior involves the use of
punishments. Punishments are sometimes wrongly considered
to be the opposite of reinforcement.

 It usually involves withdrawing a desirable consequence or

applying an undesirable one.

Law of Effect

 Edward L. Thorndike believed that learning involved forming

bonds between stimuli and responses.
 The Law of Effect states that responses followed by pleasant
consequences are more likely to be repeated while
responses following by unpleasant consequences are less
likely to be repeated.
 Some employee do not learn from failures (on the job) as
they have high self-efficacy. 12
Meaning of Reinforcement

 Reinforcement is defined as anything that tends to increase the

intensity of a response and also induces the person to repeat the
behavior which was followed by reinforcement.

 A reward is something which is given or done in recognition of an

individual’s achievements or performance.

 From a functional perspective something is reinforcing only if it

strengthens the response preceding it, thus inducing the
response to be repeated.

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Positive and negative reinforcers and
punishment

 Positive reinforcement strengthens and increases the likelihood

of a particular behavior being repeated because a desirable
consequence is presented.

 Negative reinforcement also strengthens and increases the

probability of a particular behavior being repeated, but by
withdrawing an undesirable consequence.

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 Difference Between Positive and
Negative Reinforcement and Punishment

Behavior Encouraged Behavior Suppressed

POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT PUNISHMENT

Stimulus
Example; good performance Example: suspension of
Presented rating the employee

NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT PUNISHMENT

Stimulus
Example: calling off strike and Example: no access to
Removed or resuming work to avoid being recreation facilities or
dismissed e- mailing system for a
withheld
week.

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 BEHAVIORAL MANAGEMENT

The O. B. Mod process focuses on the following aspects:

 The influence of the environment on employee behavior.
 The antecedent cues or condition that precede a behavior.
 The consequence of a particular behavior.
 The impact of the behavior on performance effectiveness.
Only those behaviors which are tangible, observable,
measurable, and repeatable can be improved by means of the
O. B. Mod process.
This process has been shown to reduce absenteeism,
improve productivity, decrease costs, reduce defective
output and improve safety.

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 Steps in the O. B. Mod Process
The O. B. Mod process uses the reinforcement theory to make
employees behave in the desired manner.

Flowchart of Steps in the O. B. Mod Process

Measure
Identify Analyze
Determine the number of
Identify the critical Determine the antecedent
times a particular behavior
behaviors which have cues responsible for
is exhibited before using
a significant impact on the a particular behavior and
any managerial
individual’s performance, also the consequences that
intervention to modify
and therefore on the maintain the behavior.
that behavior.
organization’s performance

Evaluate
Intervene
Assess the effectiveness
of the intervention (checking
Design an appropriate strategy
whether the intervention really
to encourage desirable
improved performance
behavior and discourage
of the organization)
undesirable behavior
based on various parameters. 17
The steps in the O. B. Mod Process are as
follows:

1. Identifying critical performance behaviors

2. Measuring the Critical performance behaviors
3. Carrying out a functional analysis of the behaviors
4. Developing an effective intervention strategy
5. Evaluation of the intervention strategy to ensure
performance improvement

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1) Only performance behaviors can be measured
through the OB Mod Process-absenteeism,
tardiness, promptness,
2) Base-line measure is obtained by determining
the number of times a particular behavior is
exhibited- frequency of occurrence
3) A-B-C Model
4) a) Positive reinforcement strategy-money,
attention, recognition, feedback,
b) Punishment-positive reinforcement strategy
5) Four levels of evaluation: reaction, learning,
behavioral change, performance improvement-
turnover, absenteeism, customer complaints,
employee grievances, no. of clients served, rate
of ROI,
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 Application of the O.B. Mod Process

 Employee productivity

 Absenteeism and tardiness

 Safety and accident prevention

 Sales performance

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