Negative transfer is a psychological and behavioral interference that usually occur when an individual who is used to certain settings or modes of conducting things and is allover sudden transferred to a different setting and still does things in a routine way.
There are several negative transfer examples that scholars use to substantiate the term. In other definitions, psychologist describe that individuals who have learned one skill are routinely used to it that when it comes to learning the second skill, they have greater challenges in overcoming the first skill. Negative transfers usually occur because of the brain stimulus that is common to both skills that the individual is pursuing while in real sense the two skills require different responses.
Example of negative transfer according to above definition is that an athlete who is a squash player and takes up to tennis may find difficulties to cope up with tennis way of using wrist during shots. The athletes are thus advised to make regular practice that conforms to tennis and be aware of the differences that exist in the two games. Frequent training programs will ensure that there is a generalized motor program that harnesses the stimulus.
Negative transfers nowadays are common to drivers who are used to driving automatic gearbox vehicles. Such individuals find it difficult to drive manual vehicles because the gear shift in manual vehicle is operated differently with the automatic one. Automatic vehicles do not have gear leavers therefore challenges the driver who is used to them to change gears in a manual operated gearbox vehicle. It is important to note that negative transfer is a two way traffic phenomenon where the currently being learned skill may interfere with the skills that was previously learned.
