Ability, Intelligence & Learning

Ability Intelligence & Learning

Introduction  Ability refers to an individuals capacity to perform the various tasks in a job  Intelligence is the cognitive ability of an individual to learn from experience, to reason well and to cope with the demand of daily living  Learning is a change in behavior being able to do something different from what you were able to do before

Ability

Ability Intellectual Ability  Intellectual abilities are those needed to perform mental activities such as thinking, reasoning and problem solving

Dimensions of Intellectual Ability Number Aptitude Description: Ability to do speedy and accurate arithmetic

Job Example Accountant: Computing the sales tax on a set of items

Dimensions of Intellectual Ability

Verbal Comprehension Description: Ability to understand what is read or heard and the relationship of words to each other

Job Example Linguistic: Anyone good at translating

Dimensions of Intellectual Ability Perceptual Speed Description: Ability to identify visual similarities and differences quickly and accurately

Job Example Investigator: Identifying clues to support a charge of arson

Dimensions of Intellectual Ability Inductive reasoning Description: Ability to identify a logical sequence in a problem and then solve the problem

Job example Mathematician

Dimensions of Intellectual Ability Deductive reasoning Description: Ability to use logic and assess the implications of an argument

Job example Lawyer

Dimensions of Intellectual Ability Spatial Visualization Description: Ability to imagine how an object would look if its position in space was changed

Job example Interior designers, craftsmen and architects

Dimensions of Intellectual Ability Memory Description: Ability to retain and recall past experiences

Job Example Sales person, Teachers and Students

Ability Physical Ability 

It is the capacity to do task demanding stamina, dexterity , strength and similar characteristics  Physical Abilities gain importance for successfully doing less skilled and more standardized jobs

Nine Basic Physical Abilities Strength Factors  Dynamic strength Ability to exert muscular force repeatedly or continuously overtime  Trunk Strength Ability to exert muscular strength using the trunk

Nine Basic Physical Abilities Strength Factors  Static strength Ability to exert force against external objects

 Explosive strength Ability to expend a maximum of energy in one or a series of explosive acts

Nine Basic Physical Abilities Flexibility Factors 

Extent flexibility Ability to move the trunk and back muscles as far as possible

 Dynamic Flexibility Ability to make rapid and repeated flexing movements

Nine Basic Physical Abilities Other factors  Body Coordination

Ability to coordinate the simultaneous action of different parts of the body  Balance Ability to maintain equilibrium despite forces pulling off balance  Stamina Ability to continue maximum effort requiring prolonged effort overtime

Biographical Characteristics  Age  Gender  Martial Status  Tenure

Age  There is a wide spread belief that job performance declines with increasing age  Evidence indicates that older workers bring positive qualities like experience, good judgment, and commitment  Age is inversely related to absenteeism. Older employees have lower rate of avoidable absence than do younger employees

Gender  Changes have taken place in terms of increasing female participation rate in the workforce & rethinking what constitutes male & female roles  Working mothers are more likely to prefer part-time work, flexible work schedules &telecommuting in order to accommodate their family responsibilities  According to research women have higher rates of absenteeism than men do

Marital Status  Consistent research indicates that marries employees have fewer absence, i.e. they undergo less turnover with their jobs than their unmarried coworkers  Marriage imposes increased responsibilities that may make a steady job more valuable & important

Tenure  Tenure demonstrates a positive relationship between seniority & job productivity  It is expressed as work experience appears to be a good predictor of employee productivity  Past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior; evidence indicates that tenure on an employee’s previous job is a powerful predictor of that employee’s future turnover.

Intelligence

Intelligence  Intelligence is one of the most researched areas in the field of psychology  Intelligence assumes an important position in the understanding of performance  Definition: According to Wechsler, intelligence is “The aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally & to deal effectively with the environment".

Kinds of Intelligence  Multiple Intelligence 1. Emotional Intelligence 2. Social Intelligence 3. Cognitive Intelligence 4. Cultural Intelligence

Multiple Intelligence 1. Emotional Intelligence  Emotional intelligence refers to how well an individual handles himself and others  Individuals with high emotional intelligence are able to handle the set-backs and upsets of life better  These individuals excel in tasks that requires interaction with others

Multiple Intelligence 2.Social Intelligence  It is the ability of an individual to deal with social situations in this environment  It can also be defined as the intelligence that lies behind group interactions & behaviors  E.g.: Diplomats politicians & social workers require this type of intelligence

Multiple Intelligence 3. Cognitive Intelligence  Cognitive intelligence include intellectual abilities such as logic, reason, reading, writing, analyzing and prioritizing  These abilities do not require any social skills per se E.g.: you can solve a maths equation by yourself or write an essay or balance a business book by yourself

Multiple Intelligence 4. Cultural Intelligence  Cultural intelligence is one’s capability to grow personally through a continuous learning and good understanding of diverse cultural heritage  It teaches one how to deal effectively with people from different cultural background and understanding

Learning

Learning Learning may be defined as any relatively permanent change in behavior brought about through experience Three theories have been offered to explain the process by which we acquire patterns of behavior. They are as follows:  Classical Conditioning Theory  Operant Conditioning Theory  Social Learning Theory

Classical Conditioning Theory  Ivan Pavlov, a Russian Physiologist is credited for the discovery of learning by Classical Conditioning. Hence Classical Conditioning is also referred to as Pavlovian Conditioning

Classical Conditioning Theory Pavlov believed that Classical Conditioning was

actually learning through association .To study this, Pavlov conducted the following experiment: 1. A dog was placed in an apparatus that could measure the amount of salivation 2. At the beginning of the experiment Pavlov rang a bell but there was no response from the dog 3. Next, Pavlov would ring a bell & after a fixed interval of time a small quantity of meat powder was presented to elicit salivation 4. This procedure was repeated every fifteen minutes 5. Later when the bell alone was presented, the dog responded by salivating

Operant Conditioning  Operant Conditioning is defined by Skinner as “that form of learning in which the consequences of behavior lead to changes in the probability of its occurrence”  There are 4 important ways in which desirable & undesirable consequences influence our behavior which are as follows: 1. Positive Reinforcement 2. Negative Reinforcement 3. Punishment 4. Extinction

1. Positive Reinforcement  Positive Reinforcement is a favorable consequence that encourages repetition of a behavior  It is a process by which people learn to perform behaviors that lead to desired outcomes  It depends on 3 important factors: 1. Timing 2. Consistency 3. Rewarding

2. Negative Reinforcement  Negative Reinforcement occurs when a response is followed by an end to discomfort or by removal of an unpleasant event.  Negative Reinforcement increases the likelihood that the response will be made again

3. Punishment  Punishment is any event that follows a response and decreases the likelihood of the response occurring again  Through punishment we learn what actions “not” to perform E.g.: when the boss shouts or cuts the pay of an employee for coming late, the employee learns not to repeat the behavior

4. Extinction  It is the withholding of significant positive consequence that previously followed desirable behavior  When a response that was once rewarded is no longer rewarded, it tends to weaken and eventually die out  E.g.: If the manager stops rewarding employees for their suggestions then the employees will stop giving suggestions

Social Learning Theory  According to Albert Bandura, people learn through observation and direct experience  Social Learning theory recognizes the mental ability and skills of human beings  For learning to take place by observation following process must occur: 1. Attention process 2. Retention process 3. Reproduction process 4. Reinforcement process

Schedules Of Reinforcement What is “Reinforcement”?  Reinforcement is a systematic process used by the organization to change the behavior of the employees  Reinforcement differs from person to person. What is reinforcing to one person may not be reinforcing to another

Schedules Of Reinforcement Continuous Reinforcement  It occurs when a reinforcer accompanies each correct behavior by an employer  This level of reinforcement may be desirable to encourage quick learning  E.g.: payment of employees for each acceptable item that they produce

Schedules Of Reinforcement Intermittent reinforcement  It occurs when only some of the correct behaviors are reinforced  A unique feature of intermittent reinforcement is that learning comes to retain longer when it is secured under conditions

Schedules Of Reinforcement Intermittent reinforcement The four types of intermittent reinforcement are as follows: 1.Fixed interval 2. Variable interval 3. Variable ratio schedule 4. Fixed ratio

Shaping Behavior  Shaping is a behavior that managers frequently use to teach employees that are beneficial to the organization  In shaping each successive step that moves the individual closer to the desired response  The individual receives a reward for each small step towards the final goal

Organizational Applications  Behavior Modification involves specific behavior occur more or less often by systematically managing its uses and consequences  The four specific application of learning are as follows: 1. Reducing absenteeism through lotteries 2. Substituting Well pay for sick pay 3. Indiscipline problem of employees 4. Developing effective employee training programmes

1.Reducing Absenteeism through lotteries  The management embarked on an innovative programme to tackle the problem of absenteeism which consisted of lotteries with attractive prizes  The uniqueness about the lottery was its eligibility requirement where only employees with perfect attendance and no tardiness were eligible to contest  Attendance improved so much that even a storm could not deter the employees from being present at work

2. Substituting Well pay for Sick  Most organization pay provide their employee with paid sick leave as part of their employees fringe benefit programme

 Organization should have programme designed to encourage good attendance at work  An attendance which is practiced in most organization is designed to encourage good attendance

3. Employee Indiscipline  Employee indiscipline is exhibited in acts such as drunkenness to job, late arrivals to work, stealing company properties etc  Manager response to such things with disciplinary action such as verbal warnings oral reprimands or temporary suspensions  Managers are reinforced to use discipline because it reduces an immediate change in the employee behavior

4.Developing Training Programmes  Most organizations have some type of systematic training programmes  Billions of rupees are being spent on training in a single year by organizations the world over Social learning theory in particular tells the organizers that training should provide a model as it needs to grab the trainees attention

Conclusion  An ability represents a broad and stable characteristic which is responsible for a person’s performance  The abilities which arouse the greatest interest in people go by the name of intelligence  Intelligence is closely linked to learning

This presentation was put together by the efforts of Steffi D’costa Meera Mathew Judaline D’souza Nikita Albert Brian D’souza Premilla Serrao Melissa D’souza