Bilateral Transfer Of Learning-Theoretical concept

2. Learning
“Learning is a relatively permanent change in
response potentiality which occurs as a result of
reinforced practice.”
-(Kimble, 1961)
“Any activity can be called learning so far as it
develops the individual (in any respect, good or
bad) and makes him alter behaviour and
experiences different from what they would
otherwise have been.”
-(Woodworth, 1945)

3. Motor Learning
A set of processes associated with
practice or experience resulting in
relatively permanent changes in the
capability for responding.
The cerebellum and basal ganglia are
critical for motor learning.

4. Perceptual Motor Learning
Perceptual Motor Learning or Motor Skill Learning is the
acquisition of motor skills requiring perceptual motor
coordination. It is the process of improving the smoothness
and accuracy of movements.
Perceptual Motor Skills Consists of Three Stages:
•Cognitive Stage
•Associative Stage
•Autonomous Stage

5. Bilateral Transfer of Learning
From many experiments it appeared clear
that skill acquired in a particular task by
practice on one hand can often be carried
over to the other hand (Woodworth and
Scholsberg,1971).
This Process is known as Bilateral Transfer.

6. Transfer of Learning & Types
The notion of transfer of learning was originally introduced
as ‘Transfer of Practice’ by E.L Thorndike(1903).
“The carryover of habits of thinking, feeling or working of
knowledge or of skills from one learning area to another”
-Crow and Crow(1973)
Depending on the learning situation, there are 3 types of
learning:
Positive Transfer Negative Transfer Zero Transfer

7. Bilateral Transfer of Motor Skills
• The transfer of skill from one part of the body to another was first observed
by E.H Weber.
• Later, Fechner published his paper on Bilateral Transfer of motor skills
supporting Weber’s point.
• Cook highlighted that transfer of motor learning from one performing
member to another will be the greatest in case of symmetrical
member(right hand/leg to the left hand/leg),next in the same sided
members(right hand to the right leg and left hand to left leg) and least in
case of diagonal members(right hand to left leg and left hand to right leg).
• Milisen and Van Riper(1939) pointed out that maximum transfer was there
from one hand to another when the required movements were symmetrical

8. How it all Started!
• E.H Weber had started the
work of scientific transfer . He
observed that some children
trained to write with the right
hand were able without further
training to produce very good
mirror-writing with the left
hand.
• Fechner published these
findings in 1858 along with a
similar observation of his own

9. • It seems almost certain that the locus of practice effect is
the cerebral hemisphere
• Practice leaves behind some changes in the neural structure
or condition.
• Callosal Access Model postulates that motor programs are
stored in the dominant hemisphere irrespective of the hand
used in training (Taylor and Heilman, 1980).
• Corpus Callosum, the major white tract connecting the two
cerebral hemispheres is crucial for inter-hemispheric
transfer of information (Wahl & Zeimann,2008).
• The Supplementary Motor Area is centrally involved in the
inter-hemispheric transfer of motor learning.
Neuropsychology of Bilateral
Transfer of Learning

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