The Theory of Four-factors on Transfer: An Integrated Model on Mechanisms of Skill Transfer

The mechanism of skill tracnsfer has been concerned with by psychologists for nearly 20 years.A widely accepted theory is the theory of common elements which argues that the transfer between two skills depends on the amount of procedural knowledge shared by the skills (Singley Anderson,1989).However,this theory disregards the role of declarative knowledge of transfer of skills.So it was criticized by some researchers.Neither the procedural knowledge,nor the declarative knowledge can solely explain the mechanism of skill tracnsfer.Four factors including the relations between the procedural knowledge of two skills,elaboration of declarative knowledge,elaboration of procedural knowledge,and the subject's cognitive ability must be integrated into the explanation of the mechanism of transfer between skills.