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Transfer
1. The process of moving from one place to another.
In medical charts, you may see the word "transfers"
written. This refers to the ability of patients to move
from one position to another, such as from bed to a
wheelchair.
2. When learning in one situation influences learning
in a new situation. This influence can either be
positive or negative. It is positive if the learning in
one situation assists learning in a new situation, such
as when a child avoids touching a boiling pot of water
because he/she was burned in the past after touching
a hot stove. The influence is negative if what one has
learned in one situation interferes with the ability to
learn in another situation.
A patient being transferred from
sitting to standing position.
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For example, someone who has learned to swing a baseball bat very well may find that
this interferes with learning to swing a golf club well. This meaning of transfer is also
known as transmission.
3. The same thing as transference, which is when unconscious feelings and desires
(especially those from childhood) towards someone are redirected to a new object or
person, such as a psychologist doing therapy. Unconscious feelings and desires are
those that the person does not recognize he/she is experiencing. Transfer comes from
the Latin word "transferre" meaning "to carry over."
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