CHAPTER 15
LEARNING STRATEGIES, PERCEPTION, AND LIFE SPAN CHANGES
CHAPTER OUTLINE AND LECTURE NOTES
It is possible at any stage of our life cycle that we may be required to make major
adaptations and changes. In this chapter, we deal with a series of issues and topics
that enable a person to develop career thrust and stay on track; how people learn; how
perception influences their behavior; and the major challenges people face at different
stages of their life, including a career change.
I. MAJOR LEARNING STRATEGIES AND PROCESSES
Much learning takes place on the job simply because people spend such a
large proportion of their lives at work. Furthermore, workers at all levels are
expected to learn new job skills and technology continuously. Learning is
generally considered to be a lasting change in behavior based on practice and
experience. Yet it is possible to learn something new and store it in your mind
without changing your behavior.
A. Classical Conditioning: Learning Simple Habits and Reflexes
The principles of classical conditioning stem from Ivan Pavlov’s
digestion experiments that help people understand the most elementary
type of learning – how people acquire uncomplicated habits and reflexes.
1. How Classical Conditioning Takes Place. Classical conditioning works
by forming associations between a stimulus and a response. It helps
explain such elementary job behaviors as how people learn to avoid
being conked on the head by cranes and low-hanging pipes in the
workplace.
2. Habits in Everyday Life. Habits are a major part of everyday life on and
off the job, with about 45 percent of what we do being habitual
(performing the act almost without thinking). A modern habit is
checking your smartphone every time you exit a building.
Visit the Valdosta University webpage for more information on Classical
Conditioning at http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/behsys/classcnd.html
B. Operant Conditioning: Learning Through the Consequences of our
Behavior
Operant conditioning is learning that takes place as a consequence of
behavior. A person’s actions are instrumental in determining whether
learning takes place.
1. Reinforcement Strategies. The term reinforcement refers to the means
by which behaviors are selected and retained.
Positive reinforcement refers to adding something rewarding to a
situation.
Negative reinforcement refers to taking something unpleasant away
from a situation.
Punishment refers to the introduction of an unpleasant stimulus as a
consequence of the learning having done something wrong.
Extinction refers to the weakening or decreasing of the frequency of
undesirable behavior by removing the reward for such behavior.
2. Schedules of Reinforcement. Under a continuous schedule, behavior is
reinforced each time it occurs. Under an intermittent schedule the
learner receives a reward after some instances of engaging in the
desired behavior, but not after each instance.
Visit the Valdosta University website for more information on Operant
Conditioning at http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/behsys/operant.html
C. Modeling and Informal Learning: Learning Complicated Skills
When you acquire a complicated skill, you learn much more than simple a
single stimulus-response relationship. You learn a large number of these
relationships, and you also learn how to put them together in a cohesive,
smooth flowing pattern. Modeling occurs when you learn a skill by
observing another person perform the skill (and is therefore a form of
social learning).
Informal learning is planned or unplanned learning that occurs without a
formal classroom, lesson plan, instructor, or examination. A key aspect of
informal learning in the workplace is knowledge sharing among
coworkers.
Human learning is a complex field of study, with interesting and useful
research emerging regularly. A recent finding is that if you have to
concednt4rate harder to decipher something, you will remember it better.
D. E-Learning
Important innovations in learning have taken place in both schools and
industry through the use of distance learning, technology-based learning,
and e-learning. E-learning is an Internet form of computer-based training.
The learner studies independently outside of a classroom setting and
interacts with a computer in addition to studying course materials.
A major impetus behind e-learning is that so many employees are
geographically dispersed, making it difficult to gather them in one place
for learning. Another evolution in e-learning is the business use of massive
open online courses (MOOCs).
1. Traits and Attitudes of the Learner. E-learning success depends on
the self-motivation and self-discipline. High motivation is necessary
because some students may not take e-learning seriously. Most
students need the structure of a face-to-face instructor, a classroom,
and other students to keep them focused on the course.
2. Strengths and Limitations of E-Learning. Most companies prefer a
blend of the Internet and classroom for learning because it combines
the personal nature of classroom training with the cost efficiencies of
learning over the Internet. The loss of the human touch including
exchanging ideas is difficult with e-learning. In general, e-learning is
most effective in delivering conceptual matter, whereas classroom
training is more effective for learning interpersonal skills.
E. Group Learning
Groups can learn in the sense that members come to adapt their behavior
collectively in response to experience. Group learning is a change in the
group’s repertoire of potential behavior. An example would be the group
learning to deal with a crisis. Group learning has three basic features:
1. Sharing is the process by which new knowledge, routines, or
behaviors becomes distributed among group members.
2. Storage is the process of storing in memory what has been
learned.
3. Retrieval is the ability of group members to find and access the
knowledge for subsequent inspection and use.
II. SEVERAL DIFFERENT LEARNING STYLES
Another important concept in understanding learning is learning style, the fact
that people learn best in different ways. Some people acquire new material best
through passive learning (such as reading), and others learn best by doing.
Another key dimension of learning styles is whether a person learns best by
working alone or cooperatively, such as in a study group.
A. Learning Styles Associated with Personality as Measured by the Golden
Personality Type Profiler™
Another way of understanding learning style is to recognize that your
personality type can influence your learning style. The Golden Personality
Type Profiler is an accepted method of measuring personality type.
As measured by the Golden, four separate dichotomies direct the typical
use of perception and judgment by an individual.
1. Energy Flow: Extraversion versus Introversion.
2. Information Gathering: Sensation versus Intuition.
3. Decision Making: Thinking versus Feeling.
4. Life Style Orientation: Judging versus Perceiving.
Combining the four types with each other results in 16 personality types,
such as the ESFP, or “The Entertainer.” Figure 15-1 presents four of the
sixteen personality types along with the implications for each one with
respect to learning style. For example, the INFP learns best from lectures
and written methods rather than rote methods.
C. Improving Learning and Brain Functioning Through Rest
No matter what your learning style, common wisdom suggests that it is
easier to learn when you are rested, and scientific evidence supports this
contention. The brain needs downtime. The potential benefits of sleep
include stronger memory and better attention spans attributed to a
reduction in brain overload.
D. Continuous Learning during Your Career
A reality of almost all occupations is that career success, and even
survival, depends on continuous learning. Whatever your style, continuous
learning is important.
III. HOW PERCEPTION INFLUENCES OUR INTERPRETATION OF
WORLD
Most of us interpret what is going on in the world outside us as we perceive
it—not as it really is. Perception deals with the various ways in which people
interpret things in the external world and how they act on the basis of these
perceptions.
A. Why Perceptual Problems Exist
Both characteristics of a stimulus and the mental process of people can
lead to distorted perceptions. See Figure 15-2 for an outline of
Contributors to Perceptual Problems.
1. Characteristics of the Stimulus. Perceptual problems are most likely to
be encountered when the stimulus or cue to be perceived has an
emotional meaning.
2. Mental Processes of People. The devices people use to deal with
sensory information play a major role in creating perceptual problems.
Several of these can also be classified as defensive behavior.
Selective attention is giving exclusive attention to something at the
expense of other aspects of the environment.
Denial is the process of excluding from awareness an important aspect
of reality.
Stereotyping is a common method of simplifying perception by
evaluating an individual or thing based on our perception of the group
or class to which the person or object belongs.
Halo effect is the tendency to color everything we know about a
person because of one recognizable favorable or unfavorable trait.
Projection occurs when we project our own faults onto others instead
of making an objective appraisal of the situation.
B. Perceptual Congruence
Perceptual congruence refers to the degree to which people perceive
things in the same way. High congruence generally implies valid
perception, but people can also agree on a distorted perception. High
congruence usually helps the organization.
C. Attribution Theory: How We Perceive the Causes of Behavior
Attribution theory is the study of the process by which people ascribe
causes to the behavior they perceive. Most people give relatively little
weight to the circumstances in making judgments about a person’s
behavior. Also, people tend to attribute their achievements to good inner
qualities, whereas they attribute failure to adverse factors within the
environment.
Visit the following website for information and examples of Attribution
Theory at http://www.as.wvu.edu/~sbb/comm221/chapters/attrib.htm
IV. HOW WE RESPOND TO LIFE SPAN CHANGES AND CHALLENGES
At different stages in life we face different challenges.
A. Stages of the Life Cycle
Several approaches have been developed over the years to explain the
various stages of human development. Among the best known is the eight
stages of human development formulated by Erik Erikson in the 1950s.
See Figure 15-3 for a chart outlining Erikson’s Eight Stages of
Development and Associated Crisis. The stages include:
Trust versus mistrust
Autonomy versus shame
Initiative versus guilt
Industry versus inferiority
Identity versus identity diffusion
Intimacy versus isolation
Generativity versus self-absorption
Integrity versus despair
Visit George Boeree’s website for well written information about Erik
Erikson and his theory at http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/erikson.html
B. Responding to Challenges in Adolescence
Adolescence refers to the period in life from approximately ages 13-20.
From a biological standpoint, it begins with puberty.
1. Cognitive Challenges. Adolescents headed for a successful career
must rise to the challenge of developing logic, abstract thought, and
hypothetical reasoning. They must also deal with the development of
moral reasoning, in which they attempt to learn acceptable versus
unacceptable codes of conduct. Lawrence Kohlberg identified three
levels of moral thought:
Preconventional level in which moral dilemmas are resolved in a self-
centered way.
Conventional level in which moral dilemmas are resolved in ways that
reflect laws or norms set by parents or other influential adults.
Postconventional level in which moral dilemmas are resolved by
relating to abstract principles such as equality, justice, and the value of
life.
2. Personality and Social Challenges. While an adolescent struggles to
establish a reliable self-concept, or personal identity, he or she faces
an identity crisis. In a multicultural world, the adolescent may need
to establish an ethnic identity.
3. Successfully Managing the Teenage Brain. A cognitive challenge of
adolescence meriting separate mention is dealing successfully with
the teenage brain, a stage of brain development in which people are
easily influenced by their environment and more prone to impulsive
behavior. The parts of the brain involved in emotional responses are
fully engaged, or even more active than in adults. The frontal lobe,
responsible for cognitive processes such as reasoning, planning, and
judgment is only about 80 percent developed in teenagers.
,
The heavy reliance on parts of the brain involved in impulses (the
amygdala) often causes misunderstandings, incendiary language, and
faulty decision making despite high cognitive capacity.
C. Responding to Adult Life Challenges
Adulthood is not marked by the same more predictable milestones as
childhood and adolescence.
1. Cognitive Challenges. Adults face the unique challenge of applying
the many cognitive skills they have acquired during study. To prosper
in a career, the adult must often learn creative-thinking skills and
apply wisdom.
2. Personality and Social Challenges. Adults must learn to become less
self-centered and refine their interpersonal skills, including
developing business etiquette. Many adults in their forties face a
midlife crisis, when they feel unfulfilled and search for a major shift
in career of lifestyle. During the more common midlife transition,
adults may take stock of their life and formulate new goals. Among
dozens of other personality and social challenges facing adults are the
loss of a youthful appearance and a decreased reproductive or sexual
capacity.
3. The Sandwich Generation Challenge. During the adult stage of life
many people face the difficult challenge of being part of the
sandwich generation, or people who take care of both children and
aging parents at the same time. Sandwich-generation people
have to avoid emotional, physical, and financial overload.
D. Responding to Late Life Challenges
The challenges of late life have increased because more people live longer
beyond the traditional retirement age, and many remain active and in good
health. Others in late life are infirmed, impoverished, and dependent on
family and government to maintain their well-being.
1. Cognitive Challenges. Some people in late adulthood face cognitive
decline. The abilities to learn rapidly and reason abstractly may
decline while wisdom and judgment may increase. Common wisdom
suggests that staying in shape mentally can slow the decline of an
aging brain.
Brain-imaging studies support the idea that mental workouts help
preserve cognitive fitness, a state of optimized ability to remember,
learn, plan, and adapt to changing circumstances. New learning
expands the neural systems and helps them communicate with one
another. Staying physically healthy in general has a positive impact
on preserving cognitive functioning.
2. Personality and Social Challenges. Aging adults tend to value the
present more. They often seek to spend time with family and friends.
This becomes more challenging as friends die and family members
move away. A challenge for some late-life adults is to engage in
fulfilling physical activities to replace favored activities of previous
years.
E. Life and Job Satisfaction throughout the Life Span
The research evidence about life and job satisfaction throughout the life
span is not entirely consistent, but some trends are notable.
1. Life Satisfaction and Age. Life satisfaction tends to increase
throughout adulthood. Personality factors influence happiness and life
satisfaction. It appears that as long as people have a reasonable
amount of love and satisfying work, they tend to stay happy.
2. Job Satisfaction and Age. Job satisfaction also tends to increase with
age, as would be predicted because work satisfaction is such a major
component of life satisfaction. A survey of 62,000 people found that
seniors have the highest level of job satisfaction among U. S. workers.
A later study found that 90 percent of workers age 50 or older are
very or somewhat satisfied with their job. One explanation for these
findings is that is that older people have often climbed the career
ladder, increased their salaries, and obtained reasonable job security.
V. BASIC CONCEPTS ABOUT CHANGING CAREERS
A new type of career emphasizes doing work that fits your major values in
life, so many people switch careers to find work that fits their values.
A. Factors Influencing a Career Change. A successful career change begins
with a clear goal in mind. Be thorough in your planning. Before changing
careers, obtaining valid career information is essential. Consulting www
the on-line edition of the Occupational Outlook Handbook is a good
starting point.
Assess your likes and dislikes, including making use of a scientifically
developed career inventory. A new career should be built gradually. A key
factor in many career changes is to transfer useful skills from the present
to the new career so as not to start from zero.
B. Changing Careers without Changing Employers. A major concern many
people have about changing careers is the loss of job security that they
have already established at a large employer. A select number of large
employers offer the opportunity for a career change without leaving the
company.
C. Self-Employment as a Career Change. A major reason that many
employees consider a new career is that they crave independence,
prompting many career switchers to choose self-employment. Entering
self-employment doing the same type of work as before is one option.
Pursuing a passion is another option (e.g., opening a wine store), as is
purchasing a franchise. Anyone contemplating self-employment should
recognize that it offers potential high rewards as well as risks.
VI. TACTICS FOR COPING WITH CHANGE
Adapting to change is necessary for career success, and even survival. A few
tactics for coping with change include:
Look for the personal value that could be embedded in a forced change.
Ask “What if?” questions.
Force yourself to enjoy at least some small aspect of the change.
Recognize that change is inevitable.
Change before you have to, which can lead to a better deal.
Continue to acquire useful knowledge.
Globalization has made it important for many workers to find jobs that cannot
be outsourced because they are dependent on location. Jobs dependent on
building personal relationships with work associates also help ward off some of
the threats of outsourcing.
Visit the Business Know-How website for a good article on dealing with
change at http://www.businessknowhow.com/manage/leadwithin.htm
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND REVIEW
15.1 What is it about experience working on a farm that would help a person learn how
to maintain and repair complex manufacturing machines?
Is there somebody raised on a farm in the house to help answer this question?
15.2. Distracted driving causes more vehicular accidents than driving under the
influence of alcohol, and the punishments for driving while texting have increased
substantially. Why, then do so many people refuse to lean to stop being a
distracted driver?
15.3 Provide an example of knowledge that you have acquired without a conscious
intention to learn.
15.4 What steps can a company take to encourage informal learning among
employees?
15.5 If e-learning is so effective, why haven’t most schools of higher education
converted completely to distance learning?
15.6 Give an example of where it is true that perception is more important than reality.
As noted in the text, perceptions on the job are very important. Research has
15.7 What might a person do to increase the probability that work associates will
perceive him to be intelligent and hard working?
15.8 How does the widespread use of information and communication technology
force most workers to be continuous learners?
15.9 What are the reasons that a 40-year-old college president would be regarded as
young by so many people, yet a 40-year-old professional athlete would be
regarded as old?
Copyright © 2017, Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
15–11
to develop. With respect to professional athletes, most people recognize that
physical skill and capacity being to decline in the early thirties, making it difficult
to stay effective as a professional athlete in most sports. Even the top golfers are
younger today, but professional billiard players and bowlers are often in their
forties or fifties.
15.10 What is your strategy for dealing with the biggest change you will have to face
during the next 12 months?
Answers could vary widely for this question, but consider the suggestions
presented in the chapter for dealing with change including:
Look for the personal value that could be embedded in a forced change.
COMMENTS ON EXERCISES AND CASES
Human Relations Self-Assessment Quiz 15-1: Should I Be Thinking about a Career
Change?
Changing a career is a profound life decision loaded with risk and uncertainty. Changing
a major is also a decision of great magnitude that can change the course of a person’s life.
Thinking through this inventory will therefore be an exercise with considerable impact.
We assume that nobody fully content with a career or major will jump ship just because
he or she scored eight or more points. In contrast, students who have nagging concerns
about their career or major might find this quiz particularly useful. Note that a visit to a
career counselor is urged for higher scorers on the quiz.
Applying Human Relations Exercise 15-1: Developing Your Brain and Learning Ability
Students who follow through with this skill-building exercise are ambitious and have
good self-discipline. It is conceivable that the two exercises will increase learning ability,
particularly because they will require practice in intense concentration. A similar
argument could be made that a demanding course and professor helps develop a student’s
learning ability. Reciting the alphabet backwards to the point of proficiency will be a
challenge for many students. Another potential contribution of these exercises is that if
they are accomplished successfully, the self-efficacy for learning will be enhanced.
Applying Human Relations Exercise 15-2: Lifespan Challenges Facing Seniors
Students are likely to be pleasantly surprised at the positive reception they will receive
from interview prospects. The vast majority of your students will be younger than the
interviewees, and senior are usually highly receptive to being interviewed by young
people. Answers to the questions will most likely be rich.
1. Most older people do face challenges in recalling information and
remembering things, often having difficulty recalling something they knew well in
problems, vision problem, hearing problems, and low energy. Yet, many of the
seniors will be in excellent health with no discernible problems other than wearing
glasses. Students might even encounter a marathon runner or someone who is
nationally ranked in tennis in his or her age group.
3. Many of the seniors will be facing emotional and human relations problems with
the same proviso that many will be leading very happy lives from an interpersonal
standpoint. As described in the chapter, life satisfaction tends to increase with age.
Seniors who live in adult communities have ample opportunity to make new friends
and acquaintances, but those who are no longer working and live alone may feel
socially isolated.
4. Other people could help seniors with their most pressing concerns by giving them
Human Relations Class Activity: Capitalizing on the Halo Effect
A potential contribution of this class activity is that it reinforces the idea that the halo
effect does exist. A take-away for students would be to (a) strengthen one or two
favorable characteristics to create a positive halo, and (b) overcome a trait or behavior
that could lead to creating a negative halo.
Human Relations Case Study 15-1: Dental Marketing Specialist Brad
15.11 What does this case have to do with perception, as well as life stages?
Copyright © 2017, Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
15–13
Perception is involved in this case because Brad must deal with the perceptions of
dental office staff as to the appropriateness of his appearance and behavior for his
role as a vendor of Internet marketing services. The case also illustrates that Brad
may not be advancing rapidly enough out of the teenage life stage.
15.12 To what extent is Brad being victim of age discrimination?
15.13 What advice can you offer Brad to help him attain more success in obtaining more
customers for Dental Outreach?
The little evidence we have suggests that Brad has a marketing service of value
Human Relations Case Study 15-2: Amanda Contemplates a Career Change
change careers.
15.14 To what extent does Amanda seem to need a career change?
15.15 What advice can you offer Amanda about beginning the process of making a
career change?
15.16 Can you think of any other type of work that might fit the skills of a real-estate
agent?
Copyright © 2017, Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
15–14
position that did not require advanced technical knowledge, such as the sale of
cloud software systems or industrial machinery. Her knowledge of real estate
might transfer well into real-estate management, such as the position of rental
agent or property manager.
Human Relations Role-Playing Exercise: Amanda’s Friend Listens to her Problem
This role play offers yet another opportunity for a student to practice listening skills,
including the display of empathy and compassion. Amanda’s friend might ask questions
instead of giving specific advice. An example of a good question would be, “Have you
thought of…? The person who plays the role of Amanda might engage in deep acting.