Knowledge that has been learned, stored, and retrieved must still be applied, or transferred, to other situations. Transfer may be positive or negative, vertical to higher-level situations or lateral to related situations at similar levels of difficulty. The question that has occupied much research has to do with what is transferred. Bruner holds to the lateral transfer of general principles of knowledge and strategies for learning. Gagne believes that only behaviors that are basically similar can be transferred to new situations. Ausubel supports the thesis that it is subject-matter knowledge which is transferred (Shulman & Tamir, 1973). In a study conducted by Rychlak et al. (1974), evidence was found for both positive and negative "nonspecific" transfer. 3 Too, the results revealed transfer of affective factors for which there were no common stimuli or responses.
After reviewing the literature, Overing and Travers (1966) concluded that the "knowledge of a principle" facilitates transfer to situations in which that principle may apply. In their own study, the "verbalization of knowledge" prior to application improved its transfer. In a review of the research, Klausmeier and Davis (1969, p. 1489) cite studies that found that helping the students to identify rules, assisting in stimulus organization, having the students verbalize principles while solving problems, and having the students verbalize a generalization after solving a problem are approaches that facilitate transfer. The authors conclude, "In summary, the major concepts and princi-
pies in a subject field show greater positive transfer to later tasks than does specific information. Abilities, including strategies and learning to learn, facilitate positive transfer to subsequent tasks of the same class and to other classes of tasks."
Wittrock (1963, p. 184) conducted a study in which there were three factors: rule—given or not given; order—example first, rule second, or rule first, example second; and answer—given or not given. There were also four treatments: rule given, answer given; rule given, answer not given; rule not given, answer given; and rule not given, answer not given. The results indicated at a significant level that, "When retention of learned rules or transfer of learned rules to examples is the criterion, giving rules appears to be more effective than either less direction (not giving rules) or more direction (giving rules and giving answers to examples)."
Skanes et al. (1974) report a high correlation between intelligence and transfer. High intelligence makes possible a high level of learning, more meaningful learning, and broader generalizations, which in turn facilitate transfer. However, personality variables such as positive attitudes, strong self-concept, appropriate amount of anxiety, and willingness to participate in new experiences regulate to a large extent the individual's receptivity to learning, his likelihood of retaining information, and his using it in new or related situations (Mouly, 1973). Obviously, the student must have a positive set for learning, remembering, and applying the material being presented.
SPECIFIC STUDIES