Specificity and Transfer 1 Running head : SPECIFICITY AND TRANSFER

Knowledge is often highly specific to the conditions of acquisition, so there is limited transfer of learning from training to testing. A series of studies is reported examining specificity and transfer of learning in three very different tasks, including digit data entry, speeded aiming, and time production. These studies address a variety of theoretical issues, including those involving mental practice, variability of practice, and task integration. Despite these differences across studies, they converge on the conclusion that specificity and transfer of learning are not mutually exclusive. That is, significant specificity can occur even when participants appear to transfer their learning from training to testing. Furthermore, the studies show that the extent of transfer and its direction (i.e., positive or negative) is largely dependent on the definition of transfer employed, the baseline level during training (i.e., start or end of training), and the dependent measure used to assess performance (e.g., initiation time or execution time). Specificity and Transfer 4