Question 1

Performance-oriented individuals enjoy working on new kinds of tasks, even if they fail during their early experiences.

Accepted Answer

Performance-oriented individuals are often focused on demonstrating their competence and may avoid new tasks where there is a risk of failure, as they prefer tasks where they can succeed and be recognized for their abilities.

Question 2

Edgar has a habit of telling jokes during meetings. Others laugh, but it really does slow down the meetings. Josh, Edgar's manager, has asked other meeting members to refrain from laughing when Edgar tells a joke in future meetings. Josh is hoping Edgar will stop wasting time with the jokes. Jonh is using extinction to change Edgar's behavior.

Accepted Answer

Extinction involves reducing a behavior by removing the reinforcement that maintains it. In this case, laughter is the reinforcement for Edgar's jokes, and by removing it, Josh hopes to decrease the behavior.

Question 3

The entire process of reinforcement is a continuous cycle, and the repetition of behaviors is strengthened to the degree that reinforcement continues to occur.

Accepted Answer

This is true, as reinforcement increases the likelihood that a behavior will be repeated, leading to a continuous cycle of reinforcement and behavior repetition.

Question 4

Decision making reflects relatively permanent changes in an employee's knowledge or skills that result from experience.

Accepted Answer

Decision making is the process of making choices or reaching conclusions, while learning reflects relatively permanent changes in knowledge or skills from experience.

Question 5

For positive reinforcement to be successful, an employee needs to see a direct link between his or her behavior and the desired outcome.

Accepted Answer

Positive reinforcement is based on the principle that rewarding desired behavior increases the likelihood of its recurrence. However, for this to be effective, the employee needs to understand the connection between their behavior and the desired outcome for them to continue to perform well.

Question 6

Variable interval schedule is the simplest schedule of reinforcement and happens when a specific consequence follows each and every occurrence of a desired behavior.

Accepted Answer

This statement is incorrect. The variable interval schedule of reinforcement is actually a schedule in which a specific consequence follows a desired behavior, but only after an unpredictable amount of time has passed since the last reinforcement. This schedule tends to produce steady and consistent behavior, as individuals continue to engage in the desired behavior in hopes of receiving the reinforcement at some unpredictable point in the future.

Question 7

Research has consistently shown that fixed reinforcement schedules lead to higher levels of performance than variable schedules.

Accepted Answer

Research has consistently shown that variable schedules lead to higher levels of performance than fixed schedules.

Question 8

Andrew is under a lot of time pressure to make a decision. As a result, he chooses the first acceptable solution without considering any more possibilities. Andrew has engaged in satisficing behavior.

Accepted Answer

Satisficing is a decision-making strategy where an individual chooses the first acceptable solution without considering all possibilities, especially when under time pressure or limited information. Therefore, Andrew's behavior aligns with satisficing.

Question 9

Positive reinforcement should necessarily be in the form of material rewards to be effective.

Accepted Answer

Positive reinforcement can come in various forms, such as verbal recognition, extra privileges, or even a simple smile or pat on the back. Material rewards are not the only way to employ positive reinforcement.

Question 10

Learning refers to the process of generating and choosing from a set of alternatives to solve a problem.

Accepted Answer

Learning reflects relatively permanent changes in an employee's knowledge or skill that result from experience. The more employees learn, the more they bring to the table when they come to work.

Question 11

Because of their tacit knowledge, experts sometimes cannot put into words why they know that a problem exists, why a solution will work, or how they accomplished a task.

Accepted Answer

Experts often have intuitive understanding and knowledge that they may not be able to fully explain or articulate. This is often referred to as tacit knowledge.

Question 12

Tacit knowledge is the kind of information that can be easily communicated during training sessions or using written manuals.

Accepted Answer

Tacit knowledge refers to the knowledge and skills that are not easily codified or communicated through manuals or training sessions. It involves personal experiences, intuition, expertise, and insights that are deeply rooted in an individual's cognitive processes and not easily transferred to others.

Question 13

Learning is important because it has a significant impact on decision making.

Accepted Answer

Learning provides us with knowledge and skills that help us make better decisions in various aspects of our lives, such as career, relationships, and health. Without learning, we may rely on assumptions, stereotypes, or trial and error, which can lead to poor decision making. Therefore, learning is important for making informed and effective decisions.

Question 14

Research shows that the difference between experts and novices is almost always a function of intelligence as opposed to the more popular view that learning makes the difference.

Accepted Answer

Research has actually shown that the difference between experts and novices is not always solely attributed to intelligence, but also to factors such as practice, motivation, and prior knowledge. Therefore, the statement is false.

Question 15

When employees observe the actions of others, learn from what they observe, and then repeat the observed behavior, they are engaging in cognitive modeling.

Accepted Answer

The correct term for this process is "observational learning" or "modeling," not "cognitive modeling."

Question 16

Research shows that desired behaviors tend to disappear much more quickly when reinforcement is discontinued under variable plans.

Accepted Answer

Variable reinforcement schedules tend to produce more resistant behaviors to extinction compared to fixed schedules, as the unpredictability of reinforcement maintains the behavior longer.

Question 17

Explicit knowledge is what employees can typically learn only through experience.

Accepted Answer

Explicit knowledge refers to knowledge that is codified, written down, and easily transferable. It can be acquired through formal training, instruction manuals, or other documented sources.

Question 18

The rational decision-making model assumes that people are very rarely perfectly rational.

Accepted Answer

The rational decision-making model assumes that people are perfectly rational, meaning they have access to all information, can process it without bias, and make decisions that maximize their utility.

Question 19

Those with a performance-prove orientation focus on demonstrating their competence so that others will not think poorly of them.

Accepted Answer

Those with a performance-prove orientation focus on demonstrating their competence so that others think favorably of them. Those with a performance-avoid orientation focus on demonstrating their competence so that others will not think poorly of them.

Question 20

The rational decision-making model offers a step-by-step approach to making decisions that maximize outcomes by examining all available alternatives.

Accepted Answer

The rational decision-making model does indeed offer a step-by-step approach to making decisions that considers all available alternatives before selecting the option that maximizes outcomes.

Quiz 8: Learning and Decision Making