KEY TERMS INTERNAL COMMUNICATION
20/01/2022 – INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
CHAPTER 5 – LEARNING
Learning The process of acquiring knowledge through experience which leads to a lasting
change in behaviour.
Behaviourist A perspective which argues that what we learn are chains of muscle movement:
psychology mental processes are not observable and not valid issues for study (stimulus-
response).
Cognitive A perspective which argues that what we learn are mental structures; mental
psychology processes can be studied by inference, although they cannot be observed
directly (information processing).
Growth The belief that you can develop your capabilities through hard work, good
mindset methods, and contributions from others.
Feedback Information about the outcomes of our behaviour.
Positive The attempt to encourage desirable behaviours by introducing positive
reinforcement consequences when the desired behaviour occurs.
Negative The attempt to encourage desirable behaviours by withdrawing negative
reinforcement consequences when the desired behaviour occurs.
Punishment The attempt to discourage undesirable behaviours by applying negative
consequences or withholding a positive outcome following the undesirable
behaviour.
Extinction The attempt to eliminate undesirable behaviours by attaching no consequences,
positive or negative, such as indifference and silence.
Pavlovian A technique for associating an established response or behaviour with a new
conditioning stimulus.
Skinnerian A technique for associating a response or a behaviour with its consequence.
conditioning
Shaping The selective reinforcement of chosen behaviours in a manner that
progressively establishes a desired behaviour pattern.
Intermittent A procedure in which a reward is provided only occasionally following correct
reinforcement responses, and not for every correct response.
Schedule of The pattern and frequency of rewards contingent on the display of desirable
reinforcement behaviour.
Behaviour A technique for encouraging desired behaviours and discouraging unwanted
modification behaviours using operant conditioning.
Cybernetic An explanation of the learning process based on the components and operation
analogy of a feedback control system.
Intrinsic Information which comes from within, from the muscles, joints, skin, and other
feedback mechanisms such as that which controls balance.
Extrinsic Information which comes from our environment, such as the visual and aural
feedback information needed to drive a car.
Feedforward A method for improving performance by focusing on recent success and
interview attempting to create the same conditions in the future.
Concurrent Information which arrives during our behaviour, and which can be used to
feedback control behaviour as it unfolds.
, Delayed Information which is received after a task is completed, and which can be used
feedback to influence future performance.
Socialization The process by which new members learn the value system, the norms, and the
required behaviour patterns of the society, organization, or group which they are
entering.
Behavioural Learning how to act by observing and copying the behaviour of others.
modelling
Provisional The personal experiments that we carry out with regard to how we act and
selves interact in new organizational roles, based on our observations of the behaviour
of others.
Neuroplasticity The ability of the human brain to keep learning and changing throughout an
individual’s life; also called brain plasticity.
CHAPTER 6 – PERSONALITY
Personality The psychological qualities that influence an individual’s characteristic behaviour
patterns, in a stable and distinctive manner.
Psychometrics The systematic testing, measurement and assessment of intelligence, aptitudes,
and personality.
Chronotype A cluster of personality traits that can affect whether someone is more active and
performs better in the morning or in the evening.
Type A descriptive label for a distinct pattern of personality characteristics, such as
introvert, extravert, neurotic.
Trait A relatively stable quality or attribute of an individual’s personality, influencing
behaviour in a particular direction.
Nomothetic An approach to the study of personality emphasizing the identification of traits,
and the systematic relationship between different aspects of personality.
Type A A combination of emotions and behaviours characterized by ambition, hostility,
personality impatience, and a sense of constant time-pressure.
Type B A combination of emotions and behaviours characterized by relaxation, low
personality focus on achievement and ability to take time to enjoy leisure.
The Big Five Consistent trait clusters that capture the main dimensions of personality:
openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.
HEXACO A model of personality based on six trait clusters: Honesty – Humility,
model Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness
to experience.
Idiographic An approach to the study of personality emphasizing the uniqueness of the
individual, rejecting the assumption that we can all be measured on the same
dimensions.
Self-concept The set of perceptions that we have about ourselves.
Generalized What we think other people expect of us, in terms of our attitudes, values, beliefs
other and behaviour.
Unconditional Unqualified, non-judgemental approval and respect for the traits and behaviours
positive of the other person (a term used in counselling).
regard
Thematic An assessment in which the individual is shown ambiguous pictures and is
apperception asked to create stories of what may be happening in them.
test
Need for A concern with meeting standards of excellence, the desire to be successful in
achievement competition, the motivation to excel.
