Transfer of Simple Task Learning is Different in Approach and Withdrawal Contexts

Academic achievement, subjective well-being, and effectiveness of training are known to be dependent on motivation. Correspondingly, the utilization of prior knowledge for learning is shown to differ in approach/withdrawal contexts for complex tasks and educational settings. How can this be explained on the level of psychological structures? We assume that approach and withdrawal behaviors are supported by distinct asymmetric domains of individual experience. Hence, we proposed that the transfer-motivation relationship is also valid for simple task learning. Two word discrimination tasks were performed by 58 schoolchildren either to get “reward” or to avoid “punishment” with points. We show that the difference of transfer effect between approach and withdrawal motivational contexts is evident for simple tasks. The implications of these results for an instructional context and normative evaluation are discussed.