Psychology of Learning and Power Bases

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Questions and Answers

What does knowledge primarily consist of?

Opinions and assumptions

Facts, information, and skills (correct)

Emotions and beliefs

Memories and experiences

Which of the following power bases is considered a formal power base?

Expert power

Referent power

Trust power

Coercive power (correct)

What type of knowledge is easily articulated and codified?

Explicit knowledge (correct)

Experiential knowledge

Implicit knowledge

Tacit knowledge

How is dependency related to power, according to the general dependency postulate?

They are inversely related Signup and view all the answers

Which concept is primarily associated with Ivan Pavlov's experiments?

Classical conditioning Signup and view all the answers

What is a characteristic of tacit knowledge?

It is individual-based and context-specific Signup and view all the answers

What challenge is often faced in the process of learning?

Learning can sometimes be difficult Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following concepts refers to a change in behaviors, skills, or preferences?

Learning Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary characteristic of organizational learning?

It incorporates individual learning to enhance overall organizational capability. Signup and view all the answers

Which level of organizational learning involves collaboration and sharing of ideas?

Group level Signup and view all the answers

What type of learning involves questioning and possibly altering existing assumptions and strategies?

Double-loop learning Signup and view all the answers

What challenge does organizational learning face related to individual development?

Fear of investing in development due to potential turnover. Signup and view all the answers

In the Toyota Way example, the main issue leading to a series of problems was traced back to which root cause?

Inferior quality of purchased gaskets. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT a level of organizational learning?

Universal Signup and view all the answers

What is an essential skill for effective organizational learning?

Capability to embrace change and innovation. Signup and view all the answers

What describes triple-loop or deutero learning?

Learning about the processes of learning itself. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes positive reinforcement?

Provides a favorable stimulus to encourage behavior Signup and view all the answers

What outcome does negative punishment aim to achieve?

Removing a favorable stimulus to discourage behavior Signup and view all the answers

Which statement is true regarding extinction in behavior modification?

No consequences are applied to decrease the likelihood of behavior Signup and view all the answers

Social learning primarily relies on which mechanism?

Anticipating consequences by observing others Signup and view all the answers

What best defines cognitive learning in relation to behavior?

Knowledge and understanding impacting potential behavioral changes Signup and view all the answers

Which aspect of Kolb's Individual Learning Styles highlights that everyone has varying preferences?

The emphasis on a four-step learning process Signup and view all the answers

What is the goal of positive punishment?

To decrease a behavior by adding an aversive stimulus Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary focus of organizational learning?

Facilitating collective knowledge acquisition Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Learning

Learning is a relatively permanent change in knowledge (behaviors, skills, values, preferences, understanding, etc.).
Learning is a process.
Changes in knowledge equal learning.

What is Knowledge?

Knowledge is comprised of facts, information, and skills.
Knowledge is acquired through learning (e.g., experience, education, reading, watching videos, training).
Knowledge is an outcome of learning.
Learning = Knowledge
Knowledge is a resource.
Knowledge is a base of power.

Power

Power is the capacity to influence someone to act in a way they wouldn't otherwise.

5 Power Bases

3 Formal Bases:
- Coercive: power based on fear, threats, and punishment.
- Reward: power based on rewards, benefits, and advantages.
- Legitimate: power stemming from position, hierarchy, and organizational structure.
2 Personal Bases:
- Expert: power derived from knowledge, skills, information, and expertise.
- Referent: power based on attraction, charisma, admiration, and likeability.
2 Add-on Bases:
- Trust
- Respect

Knowledge (Explicit and Tacit)

Explicit Knowledge:
- Tangible and codified.
- Easily articulated.
- Includes documents, databases, textbooks, policies, and procedures.
Tacit Knowledge:
- Intangible.
- Difficult to articulate; it is hard to write down or explain.
- Includes experience, insights, intuition, motor skills.
- Often individual-based, context-specific, implied, or understood.
- Includes norms, assumptions, judgements, not always recognized, and not always shared.

General Dependency Postulate

Dependency and power are inversely related.
- The more dependent B is on A, the more power A has over B.
Dependency is related to supply versus demand.
Dependency is proportional to:
- Scarcity.
- Importance.
- Non-substitutability (lack of alternative sources, imitability).

Learning Challenges

Learning = change
Learning can be hard at times.
Encouraging individual learning.
Strategic unlearning.
Myth of multitasking.
Individual vs. organizational learning.

Classical Conditioning

Based on Ivan Pavlov's experiments.
Passive.
Creating a conditioned response to an unconditioned stimulus.
Making you react to something in a specific way that didn't trigger that reaction before.
Not generally considered a good organizational tool.

Operant Conditioning

Developed by B.F. Skinner.
Applies to voluntary behavior, different from classical conditioning.
All about reaction to feedback/reinforcement.
- Reinforcement.
- Punishment.
- Extinction.

Reinforcement, Punishment, Extinction

Reinforcement: Uses rewards to increase the likelihood of repeating a behavior.
- Positive Reinforcement: Rewarding a behavior with a desirable stimulus (giving something good).
- Negative Reinforcement: Rewarding a behavior by removing an undesirable stimulus (taking away something bad).
Punishment: Uses punishment to decrease the likelihood of repeating a behavior.
- Positive Punishment: Punishing a behavior with an undesirable stimulus (enacting something bad).
- Negative Punishment: Punishing a behavior by removing a desirable stimulus (taking away something good).
Extinction: Doing nothing to decrease the likelihood of repeating a behavior. This includes stopping to provide the previous reinforcement.

Learning through the experience and observation of others.
Learn to anticipate consequences once we have observed others.
Good consequences = good behavior.
Bad consequences = bad behavior.
Danger: consequences are in the eye of the beholder.

Cognitive Learning

Cognitive learning is not necessarily observed.
Cognition is the act or process of knowing.
Manifested by the capacity and skills to learn better.
Reinforcement could include:
- Intrinsic rewards: knowledge of results or feeling of accomplishment.
- Extrinsic rewards.

Kolb's Individual Learning Styles

Everyone learns through a 4-step process.
Individuals have stronger and weaker stages or preferences (individual differences).

How do Organizations Learn?

Organizational learning is a process of change.
It's the organization's ability to acquire, process, exploit, apply, and disseminate knowledge to ensure success.
It's an essential skill and strategic capability.
It's the concept of individual learning applied to the organization as a whole, not just individuals.
This approach is also one of the most criticized aspects of Organizational Learning.

Organizational Learning Challenges

Summing up individual learning/organizational learning
Fear of investing in individual development (fear of flight); no time for reflection/synthesis.
Operational focus ("putting out fires").
Learning = change (intangible).

Levels of Organizational Learning

Individual, group, organizational, and interorganizational
Sharing ideas, collaborating, developing knowledge across groups, and learning from competitors.
Total system of interaction between levels to generate knowledge.

Organizational Learning Argyris & Schön (1978)

Single-loop learning (Adaptive Learning): Coping by changing according to existing procedures and strategies. (Inside the box)
Double-loop learning (Generative Learning): Creating by questioning existing procedures, policies, assumptions, and developing new ones. ("Outside the box").
Triple-loop learning (Deutero learning): Learning to learn.

The Toyota Way

A practical approach to continuous improvement.
The example shows how a small problem (e.g., puddle of oil) can lead to broader organizational and strategic improvements, including purchasing policies. A short-term cost-saving measure should not be the sole factor on which a decision is based.

2 Ways Organizations Learn

Exploitation: Refining and improving existing organizational activities and procedures.
Exploration: Searching for and experimenting with new forms of organizational activities and procedures.

Recap: Learning

Knowledge = facts, information, and skills acquired through learning.
Knowledge = power (especially if unique/important).
Different types of Knowledge (explicit, tacit, implicit).
Learning: relatively permanent change in knowledge.
Different kinds of learning (e.g., conditioning, reinforcement, social, cognitive).
Individuals learn in different ways.
Organizational learning is based on knowledge capture, transfer, etc. and is founded on individual learning.
Relying on existing policies and procedures, training is NOT Organizational Learning.

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Description

Explore the concepts of learning and knowledge in this quiz. Understand how knowledge acquisition impacts power dynamics through different bases of power. Test your understanding of these essential psychological principles.