Incorporating Motivation into a Theoretical Framework for Knowledge Transfer

Abstract Knowledge transfer is critical to successfully solving novel problems and performing new tasks. Several theories have been proposed to account for how, when, and why transfer occurs. These include both classical cognitive theories such as identical rules, analogy, and schemas, as well as more recent views such as situated transfer and preparation for future learning. Although much progress has been made in understanding specific aspects of transfer phenomena, important challenges remain in developing a framework that can account for both transfer successes and failures. Surprisingly, few of these approaches have integrated motivational constructs into their theories to address these challenges. In this chapter, we propose a theoretical framework that builds on the classical cognitive approaches and incorporates aspects of competence motivation. In the first part of the chapter we review the classical and alternative views of transfer and discuss their successes and limitations. We then describe our transfer framework that begins to address some of the issues and questions that are raised by the alternative views. In the second part, we describe how our proposed framework can incorporate aspects of competence motivation—specifically, students’ achievement goals. We then describe an initial test of the framework and the implications for both psychological theory and educational practice.