LEARNING

Learning is another variable of human behavior. Simply told,

learning is understood as the modification of behavior through
practice, training and experience. A generally accepted definition
of learning is “any relatively permanent change in behavior that
occurs as a result of experience”.

Dr. Archana Singh, IMS

From the definition it is clear that:

 Firstly: Learning involves change.

 Secondly: The change must be relatively permanent in nature.
Temporary changes may only be reflexive and they fail to represent
any learning.
 Thirdly: The definition is concerned with change in behavior. A
change in individual’s thought process if accompanied by no change
in behavior would not be learning.
 Finally: Some form of experience is necessary for learning.

Dr. Archana Singh, IMS

 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING

• Learning is based on certain principle. These principles

help, particularly the training manager to gain
maximum efficiency in learning situation.

Dr. Archana Singh, IMS

 Important Principles Of Learning:

• PRINCIPLE OF MOTIVATION: the concept of motivation is basic

without motivation learning does not take place or at least is
discernible.

• PRINCIPLE OF KNOWLEDGE OF RESULTS: it is generally conceded

that knowledge regarding one’s own performance is a necessary
condition for learning.

Dr. Archana Singh, IMS

• PRINCIPLE OF REINFORCEMENT:

It is the single most important principle of learning. Reinforcement

maybe understood as anything that increases the strength of response
and tends to induce repetition of behavior that preceded that
reinforcement. Behavior that is positively reinforced will be given more
attention, performed more often and learned better.

Dr. Archana Singh, IMS

• PRINCIPLE OF SCHEDULES OF LEARNING:

One of the most well-established and well documented learning

principles is that distributed or spaced practice is superior to
continuous or massed practice. Schedules of learning can be
interpreted in three different ways:

 Duration of practice sessions

 Duration of rest sessions
 Positioning of rest sessions

Research seems to support he motion of short practice sessions and

moderate rest periods.

Dr. Archana Singh, IMS

• PRINCIPLES OF WHOLE VS PART LEARNING:

A great deal of work has been done in the psychology of learning to

decide whether learning a whole job is superior to breaking the job
into parts and learning the parts.

Dr. Archana Singh, IMS

• PRINCIPLE OF LEARNING CURVES:

These measure a person’s rate of progress through a learning session

or course or entire program.

Certain characteristics are common to all learning curves. One such

feature is the initial spurt, since the subject is highly motivated and
seems to exhibit a significant surge of efforts in learning situation.
Another feature of the learning curve is the learning plateau, which
results from loss of motivation, from trainees being overloaded with
information for which they need time to digest, rest and relax.

Dr. Archana Singh, IMS

Dr. Archana Singh, IMS
• PRINCIPLE OF MEANINGFULNESS OF MATERIAL

A definite relationship has been established between learning and

meaningfulness of material/subject. More meaningful the
subject/material, better the learning proceeds.

Dr. Archana Singh, IMS

Dr. Archana Singh, IMS
According to Udai Pareek, Learning is defined as:

“A process of acquiring ,assimilating and internalizing cognitive, motor

or behavioral inputs for their varied and effective use when required,
leading to an enhanced capacity for future self monitored learning.”

This definition has many implications for making learning more

effective and also helping in understanding the process of Learning.

Dr. Archana Singh, IMS

Learning process comprises of Six steps namely:

• ACQUISITION: The first step in learning is acquiring new inputs in

terms of knowledge, behavior, attitude and understanding.

• ASSIMILATION: The second step is the assimilation of new inputs in

the existing framework of thinking and its retention for a length of
time.

Dr. Archana Singh, IMS

• INTERNALISATION: This means the new inputs acquired and
assimilated should become an integral part of individuals
personality, lifestyle and psychological world.

• EFFECTIVE USE: The fourth step in learning is readiness or

availability of internalized input for effective use when required.

• CREATIVITY: Creativity is all about using the learned input in various

fields.

• FURTHER LEARNING: The last step in learning is further learning

which means that initial learning in one field enables a person to
organize further learning on his own in other fields.

Dr. Archana Singh, IMS

 THEORIES OF LEARNING
How do we learn?

This statement is addressed by the different theories of Learning.

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING THEORY: A Russian psychologist and a Nobel

laureate propounded this theory. He tried to build an association
between one event with another desired event resulting in a desired
behavior or learning.

Dr. Archana Singh, IMS

He conducted an experiment on a dog to study the relation between
the dog’s salivation and ringing of a bell. When Pavlov presented a
piece of meat to the dog, he noticed a great deal of salivation.

He termed the food as unconditioned stimulus and the salivation as

unconditioned response. When the dog saw the meat it salivated.
During the second stage, Pavlov merely rang a bell, (neutral Stimulus)
the dog did not salivate. Pavlov subsequently introduced the sound of
bell each time the meat was given to the dog. Thus meat and the
ringing of the bell were linked together.

The dog eventually learnt to salivate in response to the ringing of the

bell even when there was no meat. Pavlov conditioned the dog to
respond to a learned stimulus.

Dr. Archana Singh, IMS

Dr. Archana Singh, IMS
OPERANT CONDITIONING THEORY:

Operant conditioning theory is base on the work of B.F. Skinner who

advocated that individuals emit responses that are rewarded and will
not emit responses that are either not rewarded or are punished.

Operant conditioning is voluntary or learned behavior and it is

determined, maintained and controlled by its consequence. Operant
conditioning is based on the premise that behavior is a function of its
consequences. Reinforcement strengthens a behavior and increases
the likelihood that it will be repeated and will be learned. Operant
conditioning is a powerful tool for managing people in organizations.

Most behaviors in organizations are learned, controlled and altered by

the consequences i.e. operant behavior.

Dr. Archana Singh, IMS

SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY:

• Social learning theory is a behavioral theory and emphasizes that

people learn through observation and direct experience. The influence
of models is central to the social learning viewpoint. The following
processes determine the influence that a model will have on an
individual:

Dr. Archana Singh, IMS

 Attentional Process: People only learn from a model when they
recognize and pay attention to its critical features. We tend to be
most influenced by models that are attractive, repeatedly
appearing, which we think are important and are relatable.
 Retention Process: A model’s influence will depend on how well the
individual remembers the model’s action, even after the model is
no longer readily available.
 Motor Production Process: After a person has seen a new behavior
by observing the model, the model must be converted into doing.
This process demonstrates that the individual can perform the
modeled behavior.
 Reinforcement Process: Individuals will be motivated to exhibit the
modeled behavior if positive incentives or rewards are provided.
Behaviors that are reinforced will be given more attention, learned
better and performed more often.

Dr. Archana Singh, IMS

References:

• Aswathappa, K. Organisational Behaviour. Himalaya, 2017.

• Pareek, Udai. Understanding Organizational Behaviour. Oxford

University Press, 2008.

• Robbins, Stephen P., and Timothy A. Judge. Essentials of

Organizational Behavior. Pearson Education Limited, 2018.

Dr. Archana Singh, IMS