ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR-B21BH2060-UNIT 2 NOTES

Syllabus
• Definition - Determinants of personality - Theories of
personality – Erickson’s personality - Freudian theory and Trait
theory - Meaning of learning – Learning process – Learning
theory of Organizational Behavior – Classical - Operant
conditioning- Cognitive- Observation Theory
“Success is mainly the result of hard
work.”
― Eraldo Banovac
Personality
• All our behaviour is somewhat shaped by our personalities.
• Personality is a dynamic concept describing the growth and
development of a person’s whole psychological system.
• It is the sum total of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts
with others. Some aggregate whole that is greater than the sum of its
parts.
• “The dynamic organisation within an individual of those psychological
systems that determine his unique adjustments to his environment.” -
Gordon Allport
Personality
• Personality, according to Fred Luthans, will mean how people affect
others and how they understand and view themselves, as well as their
pattern of inner and outer measurable traits and the person-situation
interaction.
• How people affect others depends on external appearance (height,
weight, facial features, colour, and other physical aspects) and traits.
• The word personality is derived from a Greek word “persona” which
means “to speak through.”
Personality
• Personality is the combination of characteristics or qualities that forms
a person’s unique identity.
• It signifies the role which a person plays in public. Every individual has
a unique, personal and major determinant of his behavior that defines
his/her personality.
• Personality trait is basically influenced by two major features −
• Inherited characteristics
• Learned characteristics
Personality
• Inherited Characteristics - The features an individual acquires from their
parents or forefathers, in other words the gifted features an individual
possesses by birth is considered as inherited characteristics. It consists of
the following features − Colour of a person’s eye, Religion/Race of a
person, Shape of the nose, Shape of earlobes etc.
• Learned Characteristics - Nobody learns everything by birth. First, our
school is our home, then our society, followed by educational institutes.
The characteristics an individual acquires by observing, practicing, and
learning from others and the surroundings is known as learned
characteristics. Learned characteristics includes the following features −
Perception, Values, Personality, Attitude etc.
Determinants of Personality
• An adult’s personality is generally considered to be made up of both
hereditary and environmental factors, moderated by situational
conditions.
• The major determinants are :
• Heredity
• Environment
• Situation
Heredity
• Factors that were determined at conception physical stature, facial
attractiveness, gender, temperament, muscle composition and reflexes,
energy level, and biological rhythms – biological, physiological and
inherent psychological make up of parents.
• The heredity approach says that the ultimate explanation of an
individual’s personality is the molecular structure of the genes, located in
the chromosomes.
• Research among children support the hereditary theory – shyness, fear,
and distress, height, hair colour.
• If personality were completely dictated by birth, no experience could
change it. But personality factors are not completely dictated by
heredity.
Heredity
• According to a report by the American Psychological Association.
• “Studies over the past 20 years on twins and adopted children have
firmly established that there is a genetic component to just about every
human trait and behaviour, including personality, general intelligence
and behaviour disorders.”
• “Many genes are responsible for various aspects of people’s
temperament, and those genes appear to interact with each other in
complicated ways that influence several traits at once- and then likely
only in very subtle ways, with any one gene likely accounting for only 1
or 2% of the variance in trait.”
Environment
• Culture in which one is raised, early conditioning, the norms among our
family, friends, social groups, and other influences we experience.
• Both heredity and environment are important.
• Heredity sets the parameters or outer limits, but an individual’s full
potential will be determined by how well he or she adjusts tot eh
demands and requirements of the environment.
Situation
• Influences the effects of environment on personality, which changes in
different situations.
• Certain situations are more significant than others.
Major Personality Attributes
• Locus of Control
• Locus of control is the centre of control of an individual’s code of
conduct. People can be grouped into two categories i.e., internals and
externals respectively.
• People who consider themselves as the masters of their own fates are
known as internals, while, those who affirm that their lives are controlled
by outside forces known as externals.
• Before making any decision, internals actively search for information,
they are achievement driven, and want to command their environment.
Thus, internals do well on jobs that craves complex information
processing, taking initiative and independent action.
• Externals, on the other hand, are more compliant, more willing to follow
instructions, so, they do well in structured, routine jobs.
Major Personality Attributes
• Machiavellianism
• Machiavellianism is being practical, emotionally distant, and believing
that ends justify means.
• Machiavellians are always wanting to win and are great persuaders. Here
are the significant features of a high-mach individuals −
• High-Machs prefer precise interactions rather than beating about the
bush.
• High-Machs tend to improvise; they do not necessarily abide by rules
and regulations all the time.
• High-Machs don’t get distracted by emotional details that are irrelevant
to the outcome of a project.
Major Personality Attributes
• Self-esteem
• It is the extent up to which people either like or dislike themselves. SelfEsteem is directly
related to the expectations of success and on-the-job
satisfaction.
• Individuals with high self-esteem think that they have what it takes to
succeed. So, they take more challenges while selecting a job.
• On the other hand, individuals with low self-esteem are more
susceptible to external distractions. So, they are more likely to seek the
approval of others and to adapt the beliefs and behaviors of those they
respect.
Major Personality Attributes
• Self-monitoring
• Self-monitoring is the capability of regulating one’s behaviour according
to social situations.
• Individuals with high self-monitoring skill easily adjust their behaviour
according to external, situational factors.
• Their impulsive talents allow them to present public personae which are
completely different from their private personalities.
• However, people with low self-monitoring skills cannot cover
themselves.
• Regardless of any situation, they are always themselves. They have an
attitude of, “what you see is what you get.”
Major Personality Attributes
• Risk taking
• Generally, managers are reluctant on taking risks.
• However, individual risk-taking inclination affects the bulk of information
required by the managers and how long it takes them to make decisions.
• Thus, it is very important to recognize these differences and align risktaking propensity with
precise job demands that can make sense.
Major Personality Attributes
• Type A Personality
• The theory describes Type A individuals as ambitious, rigidly organized,
highly status conscious, sensitive, impatient, take on more than they can
handle, want other people to get to the point, anxious, proactive, and
concerned with time management.
• People with Type A personalities are often high achieving "workaholics",
push themselves with deadlines, and hate both delays and ambivalence.
Major Personality Attributes
• Type B Personality
• They typically work steadily, and may enjoy achievement, although they
have a greater tendency to disregard physical or mental stress when they
do not achieve.
• When faced with competition, they may focus less on winning or losing
than their Type A counterparts, and more on enjoying the game
regardless of winning or losing.
• Unlike the Type A personality's rhythm of multitasked careers, Type B
individuals are sometimes attracted to careers of creativity: writer,
counsellor, therapist, actor or actress.
Theories of Personality
• Biological Theories - Biological approaches suggest that genetics are
responsible for personality.
• Behavioural Theories - Behavioural theories suggest that personality is a
result of interaction between the individual and the environment.
• Psychodynamic Theories - Psychodynamic theories of personality
emphasize the influence of the unconscious mind and childhood
experiences on personality.
• Humanist Theories - Humanist theories emphasize the importance of free
will and individual experience in the development of personality.
• Trait Theories - The trait theory approach believes that personality is
made up of a number of broad traits. It is essentially the psychological
"blueprint" that informs behavioural patterns.
Theories of Personality
• A theory is a simple model of reality that helps us understand, explain,
predict and deal with reality.
• We have some important theories that explain an individual’s personality:
• Traits Theory of Personality:
• 3 Trait Theory, 16 Personality Factor Theory, Universal Trait Theory & Big 5
Model
• Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory
• Erikson’s Theory
• Sheldon’s Physiognomy Theory
Three Trait Theory
• In 1936, psychologist Gordon Allport found that one English language
dictionary alone contained more than 4,000 words describing different
personality traits.
• He categorized these traits into three levels.
• Cardinal Traits: Traits that dominate an individual’s whole life, often to the
point that the person becomes known specifically for these traits.
• Central Traits: These are the general characteristics that form the basic
foundations of personality.
• Secondary Traits: These are the traits that are sometimes related to attitudes
or preferences and often appear only in certain situations or under specific
circumstances.
16 Personality Factor Theory
• Trait theorist Raymond Cattell reduced the number of main personality
traits from Allport’s initial list of over 4,000 down to 16 by means of a
statistical technique called factor analysis.
• Emotional, easily upset vs. calm,
stable
• Intelligent vs. unintelligent
• Suspicious vs. trusting
• Reserved, unfriendly vs. outgoing,
friendly
• Assertive, dominant vs. not
assertive, humble
• Sober, serious vs. happy-go-lucky
• Conscientious vs. expedient
• Shy, timid vs. venturesome
• Tender-minded vs. tough-minded
• Practical vs. imaginative
• Shrewd vs. forthright
• Self-assured, placid vs.
apprehensive
• Conservative vs. experimenting
• Group oriented vs. self-sufficient
• Undisciplined vs. self-disciplined
• Relaxed vs. tense, driven
Universal Trait Theory
• Introversion/Extraversion: Introversion involves directing attention on inner
experiences, while extraversion relates to focusing attention outward on other
people and the environment. So, a person high in introversion might be quiet
and reserved, while an individual high in extraversion might be sociable and
outgoing.
• Neuroticism/Emotional Stability: This dimension of Eysenck’s trait theory is
related to moodiness versus even-temperedness. Neuroticism refers to an
individual’s tendency to become upset or emotional, while stability refers to
the tendency to remain emotionally constant.
• Psychoticism: Later, after studying individuals suffering from mental illness,
Eysenck added a personality dimension he called psychoticism to his trait
theory. Individuals who are high on this trait tend to have difficulty dealing
with reality and may be antisocial, hostile, non-empathetic and manipulative.
Big 5 Model:
Traits Theory of Personality
• Personality traits are the enduring features that define an individual’s
behaviour.
• A personality trait is a unique feature in an individual.
• Psychologists resolved that there are five major personality traits and
every individual can be categorized into at least one of them.
• These five personality traits are −
• Extroversion
• Neuroticism
• Open to Experiences
• Agreeable
• Conscientiousness
Big 5 Model:
Traits Theory of Personality
• Extroversion
• Sociable, gregarious, and assertive
• A personality dimension describing someone who is sociable, gregarious,
and assertive.
• One’s comfort level with relationships. Introverts tend to be reserved,
timid, and quiet.
• Neurotic
• Emotional Stability, Calm, Self-confident, Secure (positive).
• Tests a person’s ability to withstand stress.
• Calm, self confident, cool, and secure (positive) versus nervous, anxious,
depressed, and insecure (negative) .
Big 5 Model:
Traits Theory of Personality
• Open to Experiences
• Imaginativeness, artistic, sensitivity, and intellectualism.
• Range of interests and fascination with novelty, imagination, artistic
sensitivity, cultured, curiosity, and creativity.
• Those at the other end are conventional and find comfort in the familiar.
• Agreeable
• Good-natured, cooperative, and trusting
• Describes someone who is good natured, cooperative, warm and
trusting.
• People who score low on agreeableness are cold, disagreeable, and
antagonistic.
Big 5 Model:
Traits Theory of Personality
• Conscientiousness
• Responsible, dependable, persistent, and organized.
• Responsible, hardworking, dependable, persistent, and organised.
• Those who score low on this dimension are easily distracted, lazy,
disorganised, and unreliable.
Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic
Theory
• Based on the work of Sigmund Freud, this theory
emphasises the determinants of behaviour.
• Sigmund Freud(1856-1939) was an Austrian neurologist
and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for
treating psychopathology through dialogue between a
patient and a psychoanalyst.
• This theory is based on the belief that man is encouraged
more by unforeseen forces than the conscious and logical
thought.
• Freud believed that most of the things in life are not
present at the conscious level but they are present at an
unconscious level.
Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic
Theory
• Freud saw personality as the interaction between 3 elements of
personality, viz., the id, ego, and superego.
• The id is the most primitive element, the source of drives and impulses
that operates in an uncensored manner.
• The superego , similar to our conscience, contains values and the ‘should
and should-nots’ of the personality – ongoing conflict between the id
and the superego.
• The ego manages the conflict between the Id and the superego
Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic
Theory: Layers of Mind
• Conscious Mind: Includes everything we’re aware of. Awareness
of our own mental process (Thoughts and Feelings). Rational.
• Preconscious Mind: Represent Ordinary Memory. Fact Stored
are available for future use. E.g. (Phone No, Address) etc.
• Unconscious Mind: Contains feelings, thoughts and memories
beyond our Awareness. Continuous Influence on our Behaviour
and Action. (Dreams and wishes)
Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic
Theory: Layers of Mind
Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic
Theory: ID
• The id is the primitive and instinctive component of personality.
• It consists of all the inherited (i.e., biological) components of personality
present at birth – Eros (which contains the libido), and the aggressive
(death) instinct.
• The id is the impulsive (and unconscious) part of our psyche which
responds directly and immediately to basic urges, needs, and desires.
• The personality of the new-born child is all id and only later does it
develop an ego and super-ego.
• The id is not affected by reality, logic or the everyday world, as it
operates within the unconscious part of the mind.
Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic
Theory: EGO
• The ego is 'that part of the id which has been modified by the direct
influence of the external world.’
• The ego develops to mediate between the unrealistic id and the external
real world.
• It is the decision-making component of personality.
• Ideally, the ego works by reason.
• The ego operates according to the reality principle, working out realistic
ways of satisfying the id’s demands, often compromising or postponing
satisfaction to avoid negative consequences of society.
• The ego considers social realities and norms, etiquette and rules in
deciding how to behave.
Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic
Theory: SUPER EGO
• The superego incorporates the values and morals of society which are
learned from one's parents and others.
• The superego's function is to control the id's impulses, especially those
which society forbids, such as aggression.
• It also has the function of persuading the ego to turn to moralistic goals
rather than simply realistic ones and to strive for perfection.
• The superego consists of two systems: The conscience and the ideal self.
• The conscience can punish the ego through causing feelings of guilt.
• The ideal self (or ego-ideal) is an imaginary picture of how you ought to
be, and represents career aspirations, how to treat other people, and
how to behave as a member of society.
The ID, The Ego & The Super Ego
The ID, The Ego & The Super Ego
Erikson’s Theory
• Erik Erikson (1902–1994) was a stage theorist who took Freud’s
controversial psychosexual theory and modified it into an eight-stage
psychosocial theory of development.
• Erikson maintained that personality develops in a predetermined order
through eight stages of psychosocial development, from infancy to
adulthood.
• During each stage, the person experiences a psychosocial crisis which
could have a positive or negative outcome for personality development.
• These crises are of a psychosocial nature because they involve
psychological needs of the individual (i.e., psycho) conflicting with the
needs of society (i.e., social).
Erikson’s Theory
• Erikson emphasized that the ego makes positive contributions to
development by mastering attitudes, ideas, and skills at each stage of
development.
• This mastery helps children grow into successful, contributing members
of society.
• During each of Erikson’s eight stages, there is a psychological conflict that
must be successfully overcome in order for a child to develop into a
healthy, well-adjusted adult.
• Erikson expanded upon Freud’s stages by discussing the cultural
implications of development; certain cultures may need to resolve the
stages in different ways based upon their cultural and survival needs.
Erikson’s Theory:
Stages of Psychosocial Development
Psychosocial Stage 1 –
Trust vs. Mistrust
• Infancy
• This stage begins at birth continues to approximately 18 months of age.
• During this stage, the infant is uncertain about the world in which they
live, and looks towards their primary caregiver for stability and
consistency of care.
• In this stage, children learn the ability to trust others depending on their
caregivers.
• Unsuccessful completion in this stage results in anxiety and insecurity.
• Example − Children of this age are more comfortable with those faces
they see more often and not with strangers.
Psychosocial Stage 2 –
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
• Early Childhood
• Autonomy versus shame and doubt is the second stage of Erik Erikson's
stages of psychosocial development.
• This stage occurs between the ages of 18 months to approximately 3
years.
• Children at this stage are focused on developing a sense of personal
control over physical skills and a sense of independence as well as learn
to be independent.
• If given support, they become more confident else they become
dependent over others.
• Example − Children in this age are taught how to walk, how to talk etc.
Psychosocial Stage 3 –
Initiative vs. Guilt
• Play Age
• Initiative versus guilt is the third stage of Erik Erikson's theory of
psychosocial development.
• It is the period between 3-6 years of age.
• During the initiative versus guilt stage, children assert themselves more
frequently.
• In this stage, children assert themselves frequently.
• The failure leads to development of a sense of guilt among them.
• Example − Children in this age group, need to be taught how to behave
and should be taught to be focused.
Psychosocial Stage 4 –
Industry vs. Inferiority
• School Age
• Erikson's fourth psychosocial crisis, involving industry (competence) vs.
inferiority occurs during childhood between the ages of 6 and 12 years.
• In this stage, children become more innovative.
• They feel confident and want to achieve their goals.
• If not encouraged they may feel inferior.
• Example − Teenagers should be protected and parents need to
understand them and should handle them patiently.
Psychosocial Stage 5 –
Identity vs. Role Confusion
• Adolescence
• This stage occurs during adolescence, from about 12-18 years.
• During this stage, adolescents search for a sense of self and personal
identity, through an intense exploration of personal values, beliefs, and
goals.
• This stage is a transformation from childhood to adulthood.
• Here children find their own identity and should be guided and
supported in order to help them choose the right direction.
• Example − Decision such as which stream to choose science or
commerce etc. happens during this stage.
Psychosocial Stage 6 –
Intimacy vs. Isolation
• Early Adulthood
• This stage takes place during young adulthood between the ages of
approximately 18 to 40 yrs.
• During this period, the major conflict centres on forming intimate, loving
relationships with other people.
• During this period, we begin to share ourselves more intimately with
others.
• We explore relationships leading toward longer-term commitments with
someone other than a family member.
• Example − Making close / lifelong friends.
Psychosocial Stage 7 –
Generativity vs. Stagnation
• Adulthood
• This stage takes place during middle adulthood (ages 40 to 65 years).
• In this stage, they focus on establishing career and settling down with
relationships that are important
• People experience a need to create or nurture things that will outlast
them, often having mentees or creating positive changes that will benefit
other people.
• We give back to society through raising our children, being productive at
work, and becoming involved in community activities and organizations.
• Example − Settling down in life, Having kids, Mentoring others.
Psychosocial Stage 8 –
Integrity vs. Despair
• Mature Adulthood
• This stage begins at approximately age 65 and ends at death.
• It is during this time that we contemplate our accomplishments and can
develop integrity if we see ourselves as leading a successful life.
• People in late adulthood reflect on their lives and feel either a sense of
satisfaction or a sense of failure.
• People who feel proud of their accomplishments feel a sense of integrity,
and they can look back on their lives with few regrets.
• However, people who are not successful at this stage may feel as if their
life has been wasted.
• Example − Taking care of the family.
Sheldon’s Physiognomy Theory
• In the 1940's, William Herbert Sheldon associated body types with
human temperament types.
• He claimed that a body type could be linked with the personality of that
person.
• He says that a fat person with a large bone structure tends to have an
outgoing and more relaxed personality while a more muscular bodytyped person is more active
and aggressive.
• A slim or scrawny person with thin muscles is usually characterized as
quiet or fragile.
• He split up these body/personality types into three categories called
somatotypes.
Sheldon’s Physiognomy Theory
• He presents personalities by classifying individuals into convenient
categories based on their body shapes.
• They are −
• Endomorphs
• Mesomorphs
• Ectomorphs
Sheldon’s Physiognomy Theory:
Endomorphs
• An Endomorphic somatotype is also known as a viscerotronic.
• The characteristic traits of this somatotype usually includes being
relaxed, tolerant, comfortable, and sociable.
• Psychologically, they are also fun-loving, good humoured, eventempered, and they love food
and affection.
• The Endomorph is physically "round".
• They have wide hips and narrow shoulders that give a pear-shape.
• They tend to have a lot of extra fat on their body and on their arms and
thighs.
• They have skinny ankles and wrists that make the rest of their body look
even bigger.
Sheldon’s Physiognomy Theory:
Ectomorphs
• An ectomorph is the complete opposite of the Endomorph.
• The Ectomorph is also known as cerebrotonic.
• Physically, they have narrow shoulders, thin legs and arms, little fat on
the body, a narrow face and a narrow chest.
• They may eat just as much as the endomorph but never seem to gain any
weight.
• They always stay skinny.
• Personality wise, they tend to be self- conscious, socially anxious, artistic,
thoughtful, quiet, and private.
• They always keep to themselves and are a afraid to branch out.
Sheldon’s Physiognomy Theory:
Mesomorphs
• The mesomorph is in between the endomorph and thin ectomorph.
• They have an attractive and desirable body.
• The Ectomorph is also known as somatotonic.
• They have a strong muscular body and strong arms and legs and little fat
on the body.
• They work for the body they have so that they could have an attractive
body.
• Psychologically, the mesomorph is adventurous and courageous.
• They are not afraid to break out and do new things with new people.
• They are assertive.
Sheldon’s Physiognomy Theory
Sheldon's Somatotype Character Shape
Endomorph
[Viscerotonic]
Relaxed, Sociable,
Tolerant, ComfortLoving, Peaceful
Plump, Buxom,
Developed Visceral
Structure
Mesomorph
[Somatotonic]
Active, Assertive,
Vigorous, Combative Muscular
Ectomorph
[Cerebrotonic]
Quiet, Fragile,
Restrained, NonAssertive, Sensitive
Lean, Delicate, Poor
Muscles
Learning
• Learning can be defined as the permanent change in behaviour due to
direct and indirect experience.
• It means change in behaviour, attitude due to education and training,
practice and experience.
• It is completed by acquisition of knowledge and skills, which are relatively
permanent.
• Learning covers every modification in behaviour to meet environmental
requirements.
• Any activity can be called learning so far as it develops the individual (in
any respect, good or bad) and makes his later behaviour and experiences
different from what they would otherwise have been.
Learning is…
• Learning is the acquisition of habits, knowledge and attitudes.
• It involves new way of doing things and it operates on an individual’s
attempt to overcome the obstacles or to adjust the new situations.
• It represent progressive changes in behaviour.
• It enable him to satisfy interests to attain goal.
• The term learning covers every modification in behavior to meet
environmental requirements.
Learning: Nature & Characteristics
• Learning is the change in behaviour.
• Learning is a continuous life long process.
• Learning is a universal process.
• Learning is purposive and goal directed.
• Learning involves reconstruction of experiences.
• Learning is the product of activity and environment.
Learning: Nature & Characteristics
• Learning is transferable from one situation to another.
• Learning helps in attainment of teaching – learning objectives.
• Learning helps in the proper growth and development.
• Learning helps in the balanced development of the personality.
• Learning helps in proper adjustment.
• Learning helps in the realization of goals of life.
• Learning does not necessarily imply improvement.
Factors Affecting Learning
• Motivation − The encouragement, the support one gets to complete a
task, to achieve a goal is known as motivation. It is a very important
aspect of learning as it acts gives us a positive energy to complete a task.
Example − The coach motivated the players to win the match.
• Practice − We all know that ”Practice makes us perfect”. In order to be a
perfectionist or at least complete the task, it is very important to practice
what we have learnt. Example − We can be a programmer only when we
execute the codes we have written.
Factors Affecting Learning
• Environment − We learn from our surroundings, we learn from the people
around us. They are of two types of environment – internal and external.
Example − A child when at home learns from the family which is an
internal environment, but when sent to school it is an external
environment.
• Mental Group − It describes our thinking by the group of people we chose
to hang out with. In simple words, we make a group of those people with
whom we connect. It can be for a social cause where people with the
same mentality work in the same direction. Example − A group of readers,
travellers, etc.
How Learning Occurs?
• Learning can be understood clearly with the help of some theories that
will explain our behaviour.
• Some of the remarkable theories are −
• Classical Conditioning Theory
• Operant Conditioning Theory
• Social Learning Theory
• Cognitive Learning Theory
Classical Conditioning Theory
• The classical conditioning occurs when a conditioned stimulus is coupled
with an unconditioned stimulus.
• Usually, the conditioned stimulus (CS) is an impartial stimulus like the
sound of a tuning fork, the unconditioned stimulus (US) is biologically
effective like the taste of food and the unconditioned response (UR) to the
unconditioned stimulus is an unlearned reflex response like salivation or
sweating.
Classical Conditioning Theory
• After this coupling process is repeated (for example, some learning may
already occur after a single coupling), an individual shows a conditioned
response (CR) to the conditioned stimulus, when the conditioned stimulus
is presented alone.
• The conditioned response is mostly similar to the unconditioned response,
but unlike the unconditioned response, it must be acquired through
experience and is nearly impermanent.
Classical Conditioning Theory:
Implication
• Fear, love towards a particular subject is created through
conditioning.
• A teacher, method of teaching or harsh treatment of his students,
create strong dislike among them towards subject.
• The theory of classical conditioning emphasizes that the students
should be exposed to positive stimuli in order to develop desirable
habits, interest and attitudes in them.
Operant Conditioning Theory
• Operant conditioning theory is also known as instrumental conditioning.
• This theory is a learning process in which behaviour is sensitive to, or
controlled by its outcomes.
• Let’s take an example of a child.
• A child may learn to open a box to get the candy inside, or learn to avoid
touching a hot stove.
• In comparison, the classical conditioning develops a relationship
between a stimulus and a behaviour.
Operant Conditioning Theory
• The example can be further elaborated as the child may learn to salivate
at the sight of candy, or to tremble at the sight of an angry parent.
• In the 20th century, the study of animal learning was commanded by
the analysis of these two sorts of learning, and they are still at the core
of behaviour analysis.
Operant Conditioning Theory
Operant Conditioning Theory
• Through operant conditioning, an association is made between a
behaviour and a consequence for that behaviour.
• For example, when a lab rat presses a blue button, he receives a food
pellet as a reward, but when he presses the red button he receives a mild
electric shock.
• As a result, he learns to press the blue button but avoid the red button.
• Reinforcement and punishment take place almost every day in natural
settings as well as in more structured settings such as the classroom or
therapy sessions.
Operant Conditioning Theory
Social Learning / Observation Theory
• Learning is not exactly behavioural, instead it is a cognitive process that
takes place in a social context.
• Learning can occur by observing a behaviour and by observing the
outcomes of the behaviour (known as vicarious reinforcement).
• Learning includes observation, extraction of information from those
observations, and making decisions regarding the performance of the
behaviour (known as observational learning or modelling). Thus, learning
can occur beyond an observable change in behaviour.
• Reinforcement plays an important role in learning but is not completely
responsible for learning.
• The learner is not a passive receiver of information. Understanding,
environment, and behaviour all mutually influence each other.
Social Learning / Observation
Theory
• Social Learning Theory, theorized by Albert Bandura, posits that people
learn from one another, via observation, imitation, and modelling.
• People learn through observing others’ behaviour, attitudes, and
outcomes of those behaviours.
• “Most human behaviour is learned observationally through modelling:
from observing others, one forms an idea of how new behaviours are
performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a
guide for action.”
• Social learning theory explains human behaviour in terms of continuous
reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioural, and environmental
influences.
Social Learning / Observation
Theory
Cognitive Learning Theory
• Cognition defines a person’s ideas, thoughts, knowledge, interpretation,
understanding about himself and environment.
• This theory considers learning as the outcome of deliberate thinking on a
problem or situation based upon known facts and responding in an
objective and more oriented manner.
• It perceives that a person learns the meaning of various objects and
events and also learns the response depending upon the meaning
assigned to the stimuli.
• This theory debates that the learner forms a cognitive structure in
memory which stores organized information about the various events
that occurs.
Cognitive Learning Theory
• These cognitive processes are: observing, categorizing, and forming
generalizations about our environment.
• A disruption in these natural cognitive processes can cause behavioural
problems in individuals and the key to treating these problems lies in
changing the disrupted process.
• For example, a person with an eating disorder genuinely believes that they
are extremely overweight.
• Some of this is due to a cognitive disruption in which their perception of
their own weight is skewed.
• A therapist will try to change their constant pattern of thinking that they
are overweight in order to decrease the unhealthy behaviours that are a
result of it.