• Distinguish Between Operant Conditioning, Observational Learning, and Social Learning. How Are These Different Kinds of Learning Utilized in the Work Place? Give Specific Examples for Each One.

• Distinguish between operant conditioning, observational learning, and social learning. How are these different kinds of learning utilized in the work place? Give specific examples for each one.

Operant conditioning is learning in which a certain deed is reinforced or punished, causing equivalent increases or decreases in occurrence. Organizations can use positive reinforcement to condition the brain by rewarding positive or desired behaviors. This type of operant conditioning at work is common, most often in the form of raises, bonuses, promotions and other forms of awards or recognition that directly relate to a job well done. Getting a reward for good performance at work is highly motivating, prompting most people to continue to perform well because they want to do a good job in the hope or expectation that more rewards will be forthcoming.

In observational learning an observer watches someone perform a behavior and is later able to imitate it closely, though the observer was unable to do this before observing the model. In the workplace observational learning is used in a few ways. I know this first hand as I worked as a technical instructor and trainer at various companies. Therefore, whenever I first started to train an employee I used instructional videos so that the new employees could observe the functions they were to assume. Next, I would take employees into the actual system production area they would work in and allow them to observe me performing the various tasks. After that I would pair a new employee with an employee that performed their job well enough to train another employee. This allowed the new employee to observe the other employee, which enabled the new employee to learn though observing the other employees behaviors. An example of observational learning includes after witnessing an older sibling being punished for taking a cookie without asking, the younger child does not take cookies without permission.