negative transfer

noun

Psychology.

1. the obstruction of or interference with new learning because of previous learning, as when a U.S. tourist in England learns to drive on the left side of the road.

Word History and Origins

Origin of negative transfer¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

Without transference of this sort, or without a negative transfer, he would not even listen to the physician and to his arguments.

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Suggestibility in his sense is nothing more than an inclination to transference, bounded so narrowly that there is no room for any negative transfer.

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The researchers investigated what is called “negative transfer”—a cognitive process by which a learned association between cue and outcome inhibits any further learning about that cue.

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Negative transfer is a good example of the uncertainty principle at work.

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This is termed the “negative transfer” effect.

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