Unit-III

Dr. Anshika Sharma

Learning and Perception
Assistant
Course Professor
Code: 2HS401
OB-HRM Area
Department of Humanities & Social Science
Institute of Technology
Nirma University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.
 Unit III
Learning & Perception:
 Fundamentals of learning
 Learning theories –
1. Classical conditioning theory
2. Operant conditioning theory,
3. Social learning theory,
 Behaviour modification,

 Definition of perception
 Perceptual process
 Common perceptual errors.
Definitions of Learning by Different Authors

 Stephen P. Robbins: – Learning is any

thing which brings relatively permanent  Steers and Porter: – Learning can be defined
change in behavior that occurs as a as relatively permanent change in behavior
result of experience.
potentially that results from reinforced

practice or experience.

Ironically we can say that changes in behavior

indicate that learning has taken place and that
learning is a change in behavior.
 Factors affecting learning in organizational behavior

 Learning is based on a few key factors that decide what changes will happen due to this
experience. The major elements or major factors influencing learning are motivation,
practice, environment and mental group.

1. Motivation:
The encouragement, support that is given to
complete a task, is known as motivation to achieve
the goal. This is a very important aspect of learning
as it gives us positive energy to complete the task.
Example – The coach motivates the players to
win the match.
2. Practice:
We all know that “practice makes us perfect”. To
be a perfectionist or at least complete the task, it is
very important to practice what we have learned.
Example – We can become a programmer only if
we execute the codes we have written.
3. Environment:
We learn from our surroundings; we learn from the people
around us. They are of two types of environments – ​
Internal and External. Example – A child when at home
learns from the family which is an internal environment,
but when he is sent to school it is an external
environment.
4. Mental Group
This describes our thinking by the group of people we have
chosen to hang out with. In simple words, we make a group of
people with whom we connect. This may be for a social cause
where people with similar mindsets work in the same
direction. Example – group of readers, travellers etc.
 Different types of Learning

1. Skill Learning: The child acquires skills from birth. 3.Conceptual Learning: – Just as concrete
His body parts learn to handle things. He moves his thinking leads to abstract thinking; conceptual
legs and starts crawling. In the source of time, he learns learning is followed by conceptual learning. A
other motor skills, such as walking, speaking, concept is a general idea, universal in character. A
drawing, writing, reading, playing music, cycling child sees a particular cow, and forms some idea

and swimming, etc. of ​a cow with certain characteristics. The idea

here is based on a particular cow. This is a special
2.Perceptual Learning: The child receives
notion but when the child sees a number of cows
sensation through his senses, and he gives
with some common characteristics, he
meaning to each sensation. The initial sensations
discovers some common qualities in all the
of the baby do not differentiate to such an extent
cows, and on the basis of these he forms the
that he is unable to distinguish between one object
concept of ‘cow’. It is based on the assumption
and another. Over time, he recognizes specific
that has been generalised.
objects, and perceives them separately.
4. Associative learning: Associative learning helps 6. Attitudinal Learning: Attitudes are
conceptual learning to gather a wealth of generalized dispositions to certain concepts,
knowledge. New concepts are tagged as things, persons, or activities. A child develops
knowledge through association with previous a sense of affection towards his mother, a
concepts and as such. sense of respect for the teacher and an
attitude of belonging towards the family. His
attitude towards the game is the most
favourable. All this he gradually learns and
5. Appreciation Learning: Whereas conceptual adopts.
learning is on the affective side. A child, from the
very beginning, makes use of his innate quality of
aesthetic sensitivity, and acquires chromatic

concepts from appreciation.

Theories of Learning in organizational Behavior
 1. Classical Conditioning Theory
Classical conditioning is a psychological theory of learning
that was developed by Ivan Pavlov in the late 19th century
physiologist. It is a process by which an organism learns to
associate a neutral stimulus with a meaningful stimulus in
order to produce a specific behavioral response.

Classical Conditioning: https://youtu.be/PKdAFIRRK3k?si=xTkiJKcl-SjQpuia

 Stimulus
Something that excites an response or action
The basic components of classical conditioning are:

Unconditioned Stimulus (US): This is a Unconditioned Response (UR): This

stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers is the innate response that occurs in
a specific response without any prior learning. response to the unconditioned
stimulus. In Pavlov's experiment, the
For example, in Pavlov's famous experiment,
unconditioned response was the dogs'
food was the unconditioned stimulus because it
salivation triggered by the
naturally led to salivation in dogs. presentation of food.
Conditioned Stimulus (CS): This is initially a Conditioned Response (CR): This is
neutral stimulus that, through association with the the learned response that occurs in
unconditioned stimulus, comes to evoke a
reaction to the conditioned stimulus. In
response similar to the unconditioned response.
Pavlov's experiment, the conditioned
For example, in Pavlov's experiment, a bell was
initially a neutral stimulus, but when paired with response was the dogs' salivation when
food, it became a conditioned stimulus capable of they heard the bell ring, even in the
eliciting salivation. absence of food.
  Classical conditioning is a type of conditioning in which a person reacts to certain stimuli that would

not normally produce a response.

 Classical conditioning is acquiring a new response (the conditioned response (CR) to a previously

neutral stimulus (the conditioned stimulus (CS) that reliably signals the arrival of an unconditioned

stimulus (US).

It is a learning process to add a particular thing to our environment to predict what will happen next.

1. Classical conditioning occurs when a conditioned stimulus (CS) is combined with an unconditioned
stimulus (US).
2. Unconditioned stimulus (US) is biologically dominant like the taste of food and the unconditioned
response (UR) to an unconditioned stimulus is an unintentional one
3. After this pairing process is repeated (for example, learning may have already occurred after a pairing), an
individual shows a conditioned response (CR) to the conditioned stimulus (CS), when the conditioned stimulus
is presented alone.
4. The conditioned response is mostly similar to the unconditioned response, but unlike the unconditioned
response, it must be acquired through experience and is almost temporary.

Classical Conditioning theory: https://youtu.be/jd7Jdug5SRc?si=qVWyj0dOOYPI1t1L

 1. Neutral 2. Unconditional 3. Conditional
Stimulus Stimulus Stimulus
Generates no response Generates natural and automatic response Generates conditioned response
In Summary: Classical conditioning theory:

 In organization behavior this theory will be applied to explain how certain behaviors
can be learned and associated with specific stimuli.
 Through classical conditioning theory can help understand how employees attitudes
and behavior might be influenced by their experiences in the workplace.
Positive experiences associated with particular Negative experiences leads to aversions or
experiences task or work environment can lead to resistance.
increased motivation and engagement in
employees.

By understanding these conditioning processes, organizations can design strategies to shape employee
behavior and create a more conducive work environment.
 2. Operant Conditioning Theory / Instrumental Conditioning Theory

 This theory is given by Harvard psychologist B.F. Skinner

 The second type of conditioning is called operant conditioning. Here, we learn that a particular behavior

usually has a reward or punishment.

1. Situation: Operant conditioning argues that one’s behaviour will depend on a variety of situations.
2. Repetition in Behaviour: People will repeatedly behave in a specific way from which they will benefit.
3. Avoid Behaviour with no outcome: On the other hand, they will try to avoid behaviour where they will
get nothing.
4. Create Pleasant Consequences: Skinner argued that creating pleasant consequences for specific
forms of behaviour would increase the frequency of that particular behaviour.

A child can learn to open a box to get candy inside, or

learn to avoid touching a hot stove.
3. Social learning theory
 Social Learning theory is also called observational learning
theory developed by Psychologist Albert Bandura. This theory
emphasizes on learning through observation of other’s. The main
assumptions of social learning theory are as follows: –
1. Learning is not actually behavioral, rather it is a cognitive
process that takes place in a social context.
2. Learning can occur by observing a behavior and observing
the consequences of the behavior (known as vicarious
reinforcement (observing the Positive + or Negative –
consequences of behavior).
3. Learning involves observation, extracting information from
those observations, and making decisions about behavior
performance (known as observational learning or modelling).
Thus, learning may go beyond an observable change in
behavior.
4. Reinforcement plays an important role in learning but is not
solely responsible for learning.
The learner is not a passive recipient of information. Understanding,
environment and behavior all mutually influence each other.
 4. Cognitive Learning Theory
 Cognition defines a person’s thoughts, ideas, knowledge,

interpretation, understanding of about himself and about the

environment.

 This theory expresses the belief that learning involves gaining

knowledge and understanding it by absorbing information in the

form of principles, concepts and facts and then internalizing it.

 It assumes that a person learns the meaning of various objects and

events and also learns to respond based on the meaning given to

stimuli.

 Cognitive theory has been used to explain mental processes as

they are influenced by both internal and external factors, which

ultimately bring about learning in an individual.

PERCEPTION
Read out loud the text inside the triangle below
What do you see?
Now, what do you see?
What do you see here?
What do you see?
Perception
Perception id different from reality

Perception is the way how

person understand something

Reality is the truth and actual

existence of something
Eye opening visuals change your thinking
Count every ' F ' in the following text:
FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC STUDY
COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS...

• HOW MANY ?

• Anyone who counts all _________?_______'F's' on the first go is a genius.

Last exercise.

Olny srmat poelpe can raed tihs.

I cdnuol't blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg.
The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch
at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a
wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in
the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it
wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed
ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? And I
awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!
Sensory Cognitive

 Understanding
 Vision – See
 Attention
 Touch – Feel
 Language
 Mouth – Taste
 Learning
 Ears – Hearing
 Memory
 Nose – Smell
 Thought

What is Perception?

 The ability to see, hear, or become aware of

something through the senses.

 Perception is a process by which individuals organize

and interpret sensory impressions in order to give
meaning to their environment. It involves organizing,
integrating and giving meaning to sensory stimuli we
encounter.

 Perception also involves cognitive processes that are

influenced by our past experiences, beliefs,
expectations and our cultural background.

 What we perceive can be substantially different from

objective reality.

 Perception is important to OB because people’s

behavior is based on their perception of what reality is,
not on reality itself.
• Key aspects of perception include

WORLD
Cognitive Process
Famous quote of Kabir Das Ji.
We want to see, what we believe, not what is reality!

Perception Vs Reality

Reality Perception

Biases

Our Perceptions are different from reality

Our perception is our reality
Our perception becomes the reality from which we act
Types of unconscious bias

• Gender bias

• Ageism

• Name bias

• Beauty bias – Give rise to lookism

• Halo effect: The halo effect, a term coined by psychologist Edward Thorndike in the 1920s, occurs
when we develop an overall positive impression of someone because of one of their qualities or traits.

• Horns effect

• Confirmation bias : Cherry picking information

• Affinity bias: Similarity Bias

• Contrast effect: Making Comparisons

• Status quo bias: Resistance to change

Types of unconscious bias

• Anchor bias: Anchor bias occurs when we overly rely on the first piece of information we receive as an anchor to
base our decision-making upon. This causes us to see things from a narrow perspective.

• Overconfidence bias: Overconfidence bias is the tendency for people to think they are better at certain abilities
and skills than they actually are.

• Perception bias: Perception bias occurs when we judge or treat others based on often inaccurate, overly simplistic
stereotypes and assumptions about the group they belong in. It may involve other biases such as gender, age, and
appearance.

• Illusory correlation: Uncorrelated questions for job

• Affect heuristic: Heuristics are mental shortcuts that help us make decisions more efficiently. The affect heuristic
occurs when we rely on our emotions to make decisions. This may help us reach a conclusion more quickly,
though it may not always be accurate or fair.

• Idiosyncratic rater bias affects the way we evaluate the performance of others. We often rate others based on our
subjective interpretations of the assessment criteria and our own definition of what “success” looks like.
Factors Affecting / influencing Perception

• Factors in the perceiver –

• Factors in the situation –

• Factors in the Target –

• A number of factors shape and

sometimes distort perception. These
factors can reside in the perceiver; in
the object, or target, being perceived;
or in the situation in which the
perception is made.
1. Factors in the perceiver

When you look at a target, your

interpretation of what you see is
influenced by your personal
characteristics — attitudes,
personality, motives, interests, past
experiences, and expectations. For
instance, if you expect police officers to
be authoritative, you may perceive them
as such, regardless of their actual traits.
 2. Factors in the Target

Characteristics of the target also affect what we

perceive.

 Loud people are more likely to be noticed than

quiet ones. We often perceive women, men, Whites, African
 Because we don’t look at targets in isolation, the Americans, Asians, or members of any other group
relationship of a target to its background that has clearly distinguishable characteristics as
influences perception, as does our tendency to alike in other, unrelated ways as well.
group close things and similar things
together.
3. Factors in the Situation

Context matters too. The time at which

we see an object or event can influence
our attention, as can location, light,
heat, or situational factors. For instance,
at a club on Saturday night you may not
notice someone “decked out.” Yet that
same person so attired for your Monday
morning management class would
certainly catch your attention. Neither the
perceiver nor the target has changed
between Saturday night and Monday
morning, but the situation is different.
How can I improve my perception?

We can improve our perceptions of others by:

• Developing empathetic listening skills,

• Becoming aware of stereotypes and prejudice, and

• Engaging in self-reflection.

Perception checking is a strategy that allows us to monitor our perceptions

of and reactions to others and communication.
 Person Perception: Making Judgement About Others

Now we turn to the application of perception concepts most relevant to OB— person
perception, or the perceptions people form about each other.

Attribution Theory
Attribution suggests that when we observe an individual’s behaviour, we attempt to determine whether it
was internally or externally caused.
That determination depends largely on three factors:
(1) Distinctiveness,
(2) Consensus, and
(3) Consistency.
Attribution Theory
 Attribution Theory
An attempt to determine whether an individual’s behaviour is internally or externally caused.
1. Distinctiveness

Distinctiveness refers to whether an individual displays different behaviours in different

situations. Is the employee who arrives late today also one who regularly “blows off”
commitments?

What we want to know is whether this behaviour is unusual?????

If it is, we are likely to give it an external attribution.

If it’s not, we will probably judge the behaviour to be internal.

2. Consensus

If everyone who faces a similar situation responds in the

same way, we can say the behavior shows consensus.

The behavior of our tardy employee meets this criterion if

all employees who took the same route were also late.

From an attribution perspective, if consensus is high, you

would probably give an external attribution to the
employee’s tardiness, whereas if other employees who
took the same route made it to work on time, you would
attribute his lateness to an internal cause.
3. Consistency

Finally, an observer looks for consistency in a

person’s actions. Does the person respond the same

way over time?

Coming in 10 minutes late for work is not perceived

in the same way for an employee who hasn’t been

late for several months as it is for an employee

who is late three times a week.

 The more consistent the behavior, the more we

are inclined to attribute it to internal causes.

Attribution Person towards others Character
Do we make errors when we make judgements about our behaviours and the behaviours of others?

Fundamental attribution error: Self-serving bias: The tendency for individuals to attribute
their own successes to internal factors (ability/ efforts) and
One of the findings from attribution
put the blame for failures on external factors (bad luck,
theory research is that errors or biases
difficult colleagues, boss).
distort attributions. When we make
judgments about the behaviour of other For Others: Attribute their success to external factors and put
the blame on internal factors.
people, we tend to underestimate the
Overestimate the influence of external factors and
influence of external factors and underestimate the influence of internal factors
overestimate the influence of internal
 I am successful because of my hard work
or personal factors. Geeta is successful because of luck.

 I failed because of bad luck.

Geeta failed because She is not hard working.
 Underestimate the influence of external factors and overestimate the influence of internal factors

I am successful because I am I loose because of

 Hardworking
my employees, my
 Intelligent
competitors or my
 Deterministic
whole team was
 Optimistic
impotent to work.

 Geeta wins because of a

 Geeta is successful because
good team, supportive
of her luck and fortune.
boss, and potential
employees.
Attribute our own successes to internal factors Attribute others successes to external factors (luck)
(ability/ efforts) and put the blame for failures on and put the blame for failures on internal factors (lazy
external factors or incapable).
Fundamental Attribution Error
Perceptual Selectivity and Perceptual Organization
Perceptual selectivity is a process of multitude
of objects that vie for attention are first selected or
screened by individuals. Certain of these objects
catch our attention, while others do not.
Perceptual Organization: Once individuals
notice a particular object, they then attempt
to make sense out of it by organizing or
categorizing it according to their unique
frame of reference and their needs.
When meaning has been attached to an
object, individuals are in a position to
determine an appropriate response or
reaction to it. Hence, if we clearly recognize
and understand we are in danger from a
falling rock or a car, we can quickly move out
of the way.
Common perceptual errors / Shortcuts or Perceptual distortions

Our common shortcuts in judging others which results in significant distortions.

Types of Cognitive Biases (Unconscious Bias)

 Selective Perception
 Halo effect & Horn Effect
 We all are susceptible to these biases.
 Contrast effect
 Our Biases impact our perceptions
 Stereotyping
 1. Selective perception
Women are natural  The tendency to choose to interpret what one sees based on one’s interests,
nurturers; men are natural background, experience, and attitudes is known as selective perception.
leaders
 It is the process by which one only perceives what he or she feels is right completely
 Men are too
impersonal and not ignoring the opposing viewpoints.
emotionally apt to take  We focus on information that is in line with our beliefs and tend to overlook or forget
on tasks "better done
by women" information that contradicts our beliefs or expectations.

What to focus on and what to filter based on your beliefs and past
experiences

 If you smoke, you are likely to disregard all the information that suggests that
smoking is bad for health.

 if an HR manager in charge of hiring has negative beliefs and stereotypes of a

certain gender or race, they likely aren't going to hire them.

 You vote for a political party, only because it caters to your beliefs, irrespective
of whether it contributes to any valuable changes in society
????????????
 In Silicon Valley, discussing the future of artificial intelligence (AI) and how India
can take advantage of this technology to become a leader in the 21st century.
 India should become more optimistic about AI – Rahul Gandhi
 AI has the potential to transform our lives in many ways. It can be used to solve
some of the world's biggest problems, such as poverty, climate change, and
disease. It can also be used to create new jobs and opportunities.
 However, AI also poses some risks. It can be used for harmful purposes, such as
surveillance and discrimination. It is important to be aware of these risks and to
put in place safeguards to protect our privacy and security.

Peoples perception after watching discussion with Rahul Gandhi in Silicon Valley:
 Proud moment for Indians ... Really need
for an educated PM to lead our beloved
country.
 Indians are proud of having world class leader Rahul Gandhi is worst leader if he would
of vision for the people . ever got chance……….
 From laughing on this guy to seeing him as a
saviour of democracy ... This person really
changed my perspective  Virat Kohli is worst-behaved player,
 Calm, composed, honest, transparent and you disregard all his past performance
balanced individual. A breath of freshness in and just focus on his recent
our political system behaviour/ performance……..
 2. Halo Effect Vs Horn Effect
 It is a cognitive bias that causes you to draw positive or negative impression about a person
based on one trait, either good (halo) or bad (horns).
 Halo effect: A positive first impression that leads us to treat someone more favourably.
 Horn effect: A negative first impression that leads us to treat someone less favourably.

Halo effect: Girls are more dedicated towards Horn effect: Overweight people are lazy and
their studies if compared with boys because of incompetent.
their temperament.

One single prejudice can make you believe a person has a One single prejudice can make you believe a person has a
whole set of additional positive qualities. whole set of additional negative qualities.
 3. Contrast Effect
 Evaluation of a person’s characteristics that is affected by comparisons with other people recently encountered
who rank higher or lower on the same characteristics.

An old adage “Never follow an act that has kids or animals in it.” Why?
Audiences love children and animals so much that you’ll look bad in comparison.
This example demonstrates how a contrast effect can distort perceptions. We
don’t evaluate a person in isolation. Our reaction is influenced by other recent
encounters.
Examples:

 The tendency for a superior to evaluate her/his subordinate relative

to other individuals rather than on-the-job requirements.

 In a group of low performers, a mediocre performer would be rated

as high performer if there is no set performance standards.

 Strong(er) candidates who interview after weak(er) ones may

appear more qualified than they are because of the contrast
between the two.
 4. Stereotyping
 Judging someone on the basis of one’s perception of the group to which that person belongs.

In organizations, we frequently hear comments that represent

stereotypes based on gender, age, race, religion, ethnicity, and even
weight
 “Men aren’t interested in child care,”
 “Older workers can’t learn new skills,”
 “Asian immigrants are hardworking and conscientious.”

Research suggests stereotypes operate emotionally and often below the level of
conscious awareness, making them particularly hard to challenge and change.
Positive Mind Positive Vibes….💡
Thanks Anshika