Foundations
of Individual Behavior
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Learning Objectives
• Define key biographical characteristics
• Identify two types of ability
• Shape the behavior of others
• Examine four schedules of reinforcement
• Clarify the role of punishment in learning
• Practice self-management
• Exhibit effective discipline skills
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Dependent Variables
•
•
•
•
Productivity
Absenteeism
Turnover
Job Satisfaction
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Biographical
Characteristics
Age
Gender
Tenure
Marital
Status
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Age
• Perception of older worker
– experience, judgement, commitment
– lack of flexibility, resistant to change
• Age and absenteeism (-)
– avoidable vs unavoidable absence
• Age and productivity (+)
• Age and job satisfaction
– professionals (+)
– Nonprofessionals (-)
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Gender
• No significant differences in productivity
and job satisfaction between men and
women
• Mixed results in turnover
• Women have higher rates of absenteeism
– traditional home and family responsibilities
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Marital Status
• No conclusive results
on productivity
• married employees
have fewer absences,
less turnover, and are
more satisfied.
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Tenure
performance
+
absenteeism
Seniority
+
turnover
satisfaction
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Intellectual Abilities
• Number aptitude
• Verbal comprehension
• Perceptual speed
• Inductive reasoning
• Deductive reasoning
• Spatial visualization
• Memory ability
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Basic Physical Abilities
Strength
Factors
Other
Factors
Chapter 2
Flexibility
Factors
10
The Ability-Job Fit
• Abilities of the
employee
• Requirements of the job
• Consequence of mis-fit
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What Is Learning?
Any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as
a result of experience
Social
Learning
Classical
Conditioning
Operant
Conditioning
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Classical conditioning
A type of conditioning in which an individual responds
to some stimulus that would not ordinarily produce
such a response
Unconditional stimulus
response
A
Conditional
response
B
C
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Operant Conditioning
Behavior is a function of consequences
Behavior
rewards
+
Behavior
punishment
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Social Learning
• People learn from observation and direct
experience
–
–
–
–
attentional process
retention processes
motor reproduction processes
reinforcement processes
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Strengthen a response
Increase the probability of repetition
Positive
Reinforcement
Negative
Reinforcement
Methods of
Shaping Behavior
Punishment
Extinction
Weaken behavior
decrease subsequent frequency
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Variable
Timing: Schedules of Reinforcement
Interval
Ratio
FixedInterval
FixedRatio
VariableInterval
VariableRatio
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Behavior Modification:
OB Mod
• Critical behaviors
• Baseline data
• Behavioral consequences
• Intervention strategy
• Performance improvement
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Organizational Applications
• Lotteries to reduce absenteeism
• Well pay versus sick pay
• Employee discipline
• Training programs
• Mentoring programs
• Self-management
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Effective disciplining
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Respond immediately
Provide a warning
State the problem specifically
allow the employee to explain his/her position
keep discussion impersonal
be consistent
take progressive action
obtain agreement on change
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Debate Topic
• Point: “You can not teach old dog new
tricks!”
• Counterpoint: “You can teach old dog new
tricks!”
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Assignments
• Find three organizations that have been
involved in discrimination suits. What were
the specific issues involved? If resolved,
what was the outcome?
• Case Incident: Predicting Performance (p.
55)
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