Chapter 3

LEARNING, PERCEPTION, AND ATTRIBUTIONS

I. TWO KEY LEARNING PROCESSES AND E-LEARNING

Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior based on practice or experience. Unless learning takes place,
few employees would be able to perform their jobs satisfactorily.

A. Modeling and Shaping

Two important processes that help in learning complicated skills are modeling and shaping. Modeling (or
imitation) occurs when you learn a skill by observing another person perform that skill. The process often
brings forth behaviors that people didn’t previously seem to have in their repertoire. Shaping is learning
through the reinforcement of small steps that build up the final or desired behavior. At each successful step of
the way the learner receives positive reinforcement. As the learner improves, more skill is required to receive
each reward.
Modeling or observational learning, we learn by watching others and then imitating, what they do or
say. The individuals performing the imitated behavior are called models.

Shaping a step-by-step, gradual learning. For example, if you want an animal to walk across a room
then you first start reinforcing or rewarding any behavior that is getting the animal closer to walk.

B. Cognitive Learning
Cognitive learning theory emphasizes that learning takes place in a complicated manner involving much more
than acquiring habits and small skills. Learners also strive to learn, develop hunches, and have flashes of
insight. Another type of cognitive learning is informal learning, planned learning that occurs in a setting
without a formal classroom, lesson plan, instructor, or examination. Informal learning can be spontaneous, or
the company might organize work to encourage informal learning. A Center for Workforce Development study
indicated that up to 70 percent of learning takes place informally, and can be divided into four types: practical
skills; intrapersonal skills; interpersonal skills; and cultural (organizational) awareness.
Practical skills, skills performed by hand

Intrapersonal skills, the internal abilities and behaviors that help you manage emotions, cope with challenges, and learn
new information. These skills, which relate to emotional intelligence, include things like: self-confidence. resilience. self-
discipline.

Interpersonal skills we use every day to communicate and interact with others, including listening, speaking and
questioning skills.

Organizational culture awareness address diversity, creating a culture of respect and support, awareness and
competency in multicultural environment.
An organization must have an awareness of how it functions within the context of a multicultural environment,
evaluating operational aspects of the agency as well as staff ability and competence in
providing culturally congruent services to racially and ethnically diverse populations.

The learner’s orientation influences the amount of cognitive learning. A mastery orientation relates to a
dedication to increasing one’s competence on a task. With performance orientation, learners focus on how well
they perform on a task and making comparisons with others. Table 3-1 also supports the contribution of
informal learning yet also points to the role of formal learning.

C. E-Learning
An important innovation in learning in both schools and industry is distance learning, technology-based
learning, or e-learning, a Web based form of computer-based learning.
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E-learning is based on basic methods of learning, such as giving the learner reinforcement.
The success of e-learning depends on cognitive processes of the learner, particularly self-motivation and self-
discipline. A study about computer-based training with technical employees showed the influence of individual
differences on knowledge gain about a problem-solving process. The employees who learned the most from
computer-based training were those who (a) completed more of the practice opportunities, and (b) took more
time to complete the courses. The most successful e-learning experiences combine features of technology-based
learning with the emotional support possible in a classroom. Most companies prefer blended learning (Web and
classroom).

II. LEARNING STYLES

Another important concept in understanding learning is learning style, the fact that people learn best in different
ways. Some learn best through passive learning; others learn best by doing rather than studying. Some people learn
best by working alone, others by working cooperatively (such as study groups). Two more systematic explanations
of learning styles are presented next.

A. Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic Learning Styles

According to the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic (VAK) learning style categorization, people learn best using
one of three main sensory receivers. Visual learners learn best by seeing, and they have two sub-channels,
linguistic (mostly words) and spatial (films and graphics). Auditory learners prefer to learn by hearing, and they
tend to move their lips and read out loud. Kinesthetic learners learn best while touching and moving, and rely
on two sub-channels, kinesthetic (movement) and tactile (touch). Most learners combine all three styles to some
degree even though being dominant in one.

B. Learning Styles Based on Four Learning Stages

Learning styles have also been divided into four orientations based on four stages of the learning cycle: concrete
experienceobservations and reflectionsformation of abstractions and generalizationshypotheses to be
tested, leading to new experiences. The four learning orientations stemming from the cycle are:

1. An orientation toward concrete experiences that emphasizes being involved in experiences and dealing with
human interactions in a personal way.
2. An orientation toward reflective observation that emphasizes understanding meanings.
3. An orientation toward abstract conceptualization that emphasizes applying logic, ideas, and concepts.
4. An orientation toward testing implications of concepts in new situations that emphasizes actively
influencing people and changing situations.

A manager can apply the concept of learning styles by asking group members to reflect on how they learn best
When new work-related material has to be learned, group members can select their best learning method.

C. Individual Differences Related to Skill Acquisition

In general, people with higher mental ability and personality traits that allow them to concentrate better (such as
emotional stability and conscientiousness) acquire knowledge and skills more readily. A study with 9,793 air-
traffic controller trainees showed that trainees with high cognitive ability and warmth acquired more knowledge
than their counterparts lower on mental ability and warmth.

III. PERCEPTION
Much phenomena is interpreted in terms of how we perceive it, rather than what it really is. Perception deals with
the various ways in which people interpret things in the outside world and how they act on the basis of these
perceptions.
the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses.
"the normal limits to human perception"

the state of being or process of becoming aware of something through the senses.
"the perception of pain"
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A. Perceptual Distortions and Problems

lack of correspondence between the way a stimulus is commonly perceived and the way an individual
perceives it under given conditions.

Both characteristics of the stimulus and perceptual processes of people can lead to perceptual distortions.

1. Characteristics of the stimulus. Perceptual problems are most likely encountered when the stimulus or cue
to be perceived affects the emotional status of the perceiver. The perception of a stimulus or event depends
on the emotions, needs, attitudes, and motives of a person.
2. Mental processes of people. The general purpose of these perceptual shortcuts is usually to make the reality
less painful or disturbing. As such, these mental processes are types of defensive behavior.
a. Denial. We block out the existence of painful sensory information.
b. Stereotyping. We lessen discomfort when we encounter a person who does not fit a stereotype by
looking for behavior that conforms to the stereotype.
a stereotype is an over-generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people
might have about every person of a particular group.

c. Halo effect. People may color everything that they know about a person because of one recognizable
favorable or unfavorable characteristic.
Overall judgment to a person or thing
d. Projection. We project out own faults on to others instead of making an objective appraisal of the
situation.
a mental image viewed as reality.
"monsters can be understood as mental projections of mankind's fears"
the unconscious transfer of one's own desires or emotions to another person.
"we protect the self by a number of defense mechanisms, including repression and projection"

e. Selective perception. People use this mechanism when they draw an unjustified conclusion from an
unclear situation. (They perceive what they want to.) If it appears that a work associate is making
obvious use of a perceptual distortion, gently confront the person about the discrepancy in his or her
thinking.
Selective perception is the tendency not to notice and more quickly forget stimuli that cause emotional discomfort
and contradict our prior beliefs. For example, a teacher may have a favorite student because they are biased by in-
group favoritism. The teacher ignores the student's poor attainment.

IV. ATTRIBUTION THEORY AND BLAME

Attribution theory is the process by which people ascribe causes to the behavior they perceive. The fundamental
attribution error is the tendency to attribute behavior to internal causes when focusing on someone else’s
behavior. The self-serving bias is the general tendency to attribute one’s achievements to good inner qualities,
while attributing failure to adverse factors within the environment.
attribution is the process by which individuals explain the causes of behavior and events. Models to explain this
process are called attribution theory.

People have a general tendency to attribute their achievements to good inner qualities, while they attribute failure
to adverse factors within the environment. People attribute causes after gathering information about three
dimensions of behavior: Consensus relates to comparing one’s behavior with that of peers. Distinctiveness is a
function of comparing a person’s behavior on one task with that person’s behavior on other tasks. Consistency is
determined by assessing whether the person’s performance in a given task is consistent or inconsistent over time.
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People attribute behavior to external (environmental) causes when they perceive high consensus, low consistency,
and high distinctiveness. Low consensus, high consistency, and low distinctiveness leads to an attribution of
internal (personal) behavior.

A. Locus of Control
A logical extension of attribution theory is the concept of locus of control, the way in which people look at
causation in their lives. People with an internal locus of control feel in charge of their lives. People with an
external locus attribute much of their success and failure to luck.
Locus of control refers to the perception that events are determined by one's own behavior
(internal control) or by such outside forces as other people or fate (external control).

B. Blame
Another aspect of attribution is blame, the tendency to place the responsibility for a negative outcome on a
person, thing, or the environment. Mark Alicke says that “the human impulse to blame grew out of the
evolutionary need to avert harm.” Blame is most likely to occur when harmful events take place. A negative
consequence of blame is that it can block problem solving; a positive consequence is that it can lead to change
for the good.

V. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERIAL PRACTICE

Two additional suggestions for e-learning are: (1) Use a three-step structure: show me, let me practice, and watch
me do it. (2) Not all subject matter and skills are suitable for e-learning (such as teamwork skills), although the
underlying concepts can be learned online.

Be aware of the pervasive effect of selective perception, such as overstating a candidate’s qualifications when a job
needs to be filled. Employees who are talented in one aspect of work might become stereotyped as being capable of
and interested only in that type of work.

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