Intergenerational Studies of Parenting and the Transfer of ...Intergenerational).pdf ·...

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Published by Blackwell Publishing Inc. 138 VOLUME 12, NUMBER 4, AUGUST 2003 Abstract This review describes a re- cent approach to studying the intergenerational processes that place families and chil- dren at risk for a broad variety of social, behavioral, and health problems. Intergenerational stud- ies typically involve two (or more) generations of partici- pants, observed over time. These projects are utilized to study the origins and early de- terminants of parenting behav- ior and of other environmental, health, and social conditions that place young offspring at risk for continuing behavioral, cognitive, and health prob- lems. Convergent findings, across a broad range of re- search populations in several countries, suggest that prob- lematic parenting develops in part through learning the be- havior modeled by one’s own parents. In addition, problem- atic parenting seems to be an extension of an individual’s early style of aggressive and problematic social behavior. Parents with a history of child- hood aggression, in particular, tend to have continuing social, behavioral, and health difficul- ties, as do their offspring. Con- versely, parental involvement, cognitive stimulation, warmth, and nurturance appear to have important protective effects for offspring. Finally, educational achievement appears to be a powerful buffer against prob- lematic parenting and a wide variety of difficult family cir- cumstances, protecting fami- lies against the transfer of risk between generations. Keywords intergenerational; risk; longitu- dinal; parenting; psychopa- thology Longitudinal studies following the lives of children into adulthood are generally familiar to psycholo- gists. Over the 20th century, such studies have contributed a great deal to our understanding of the course of development. In particu- lar, longitudinal studies that have followed individuals across the life course have provided basic infor- mation about the ways in which young children’s psychological and behavioral characteristics in- teract with their environment and experiences, leading to various positive or negative life trajecto- ries. Recently, there has been a new feature introduced into many on- going and recently initiated longi- tudinal studies (Serbin & Stack, 1998). As their young participants reach adulthood, many of these projects are being utilized to study the origins and early determinants of parenting behavior. In addition, birth circumstances, pre- and peri- natal maternal health, and other as- pects of the family environment that may affect the psychological growth of young offspring are be- ing studied within prospective lon- gitudinal designs. In part, this focus on the devel- opmental origins of parenting and child rearing is a response to re- newed interest in the outcomes of atypical patterns of social behavior, such as extreme aggression in girls (Peplar, Madsen, Webster, & Le- vene, 2003; Underwood, 2003). Girls’ aggression is attracting in- creasing attention as a risk factor for ongoing social maladjustment, as well as mental and physical health problems. Early aggression may become a stable pattern of so- cial behavior in both males and fe- males, leading to maladaptive fam- ily relationships, including violent and dysfunctional behavior toward spouses and children. In other words, there has been considerable recent interest in understanding the long-term consequences of childhood aggression and other problematic patterns of social be- havior. Psychologists are particu- larly interested in examining how these types of behaviors in child- hood may affect a person’s future family relationships and transfer risk to a new generation of children. BACKGROUND Risk Research and Prospective Longitudinal Designs Current theory, supported by a growing body of empirical re- search, strongly suggests that ge- netic and environmental influences combine to produce intergenera- tional similarities between parents and children. Individual character- istics, learning experiences, envi- ronmental context, and the process of development interact to create differing life trajectories and out- comes. These variables and a sub- ject’s life outcomes can be observed and measured over time. Despite the overall tendency for similarity and Intergenerational Studies of Parenting and the Transfer of Risk From Parent to Child Lisa Serbin 1 and Jennifer Karp Centre for Research in Human Development and Department of Psychology, Con- cordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

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Published by Blackwell Publishing Inc.

138 VOLUME 12, NUMBER 4, AUGUST 2003

Abstract

This review describes a re-cent approach to studying theintergenerational processesthat place families and chil-dren at risk for a broad varietyof social, behavioral, and healthproblems. Intergenerational stud-ies typically involve two (ormore) generations of partici-pants, observed over time.These projects are utilized tostudy the origins and early de-terminants of parenting behav-ior and of other environmental,health, and social conditionsthat place young offspring atrisk for continuing behavioral,cognitive, and health prob-lems. Convergent findings,across a broad range of re-search populations in severalcountries, suggest that prob-lematic parenting develops inpart through learning the be-havior modeled by one’s ownparents. In addition, problem-atic parenting seems to be anextension of an individual’searly style of aggressive andproblematic social behavior.Parents with a history of child-hood aggression, in particular,tend to have continuing social,behavioral, and health difficul-ties, as do their offspring. Con-versely, parental involvement,cognitive stimulation, warmth,and nurturance appear to haveimportant protective effects foroffspring. Finally, educationalachievement appears to be apowerful buffer against prob-

lematic parenting and a widevariety of difficult family cir-cumstances, protecting fami-lies against the transfer of riskbetween generations.

Keywords

intergenerational; risk; longitu-dinal; parenting; psychopa-thology

Longitudinal studies followingthe lives of children into adulthoodare generally familiar to psycholo-gists. Over the 20th century, suchstudies have contributed a greatdeal to our understanding of thecourse of development. In particu-lar, longitudinal studies that havefollowed individuals across the lifecourse have provided basic infor-mation about the ways in whichyoung children’s psychologicaland behavioral characteristics in-teract with their environment andexperiences, leading to variouspositive or negative life trajecto-ries. Recently, there has been a newfeature introduced into many on-going and recently initiated longi-tudinal studies (Serbin & Stack,1998). As their young participantsreach adulthood, many of theseprojects are being utilized to studythe origins and early determinantsof parenting behavior. In addition,birth circumstances, pre- and peri-natal maternal health, and other as-pects of the family environmentthat may affect the psychologicalgrowth of young offspring are be-

ing studied within prospective lon-gitudinal designs.

In part, this focus on the devel-opmental origins of parenting andchild rearing is a response to re-newed interest in the outcomes ofatypical patterns of social behavior,such as extreme aggression in girls(Peplar, Madsen, Webster, & Le-vene, 2003; Underwood, 2003).Girls’ aggression is attracting in-creasing attention as a risk factorfor ongoing social maladjustment,as well as mental and physicalhealth problems. Early aggressionmay become a stable pattern of so-cial behavior in both males and fe-males, leading to maladaptive fam-ily relationships, including violentand dysfunctional behavior towardspouses and children. In otherwords, there has been considerablerecent interest in understandingthe long-term consequences ofchildhood aggression and otherproblematic patterns of social be-havior. Psychologists are particu-larly interested in examining howthese types of behaviors in child-hood may affect a person’s futurefamily relationships and transferrisk to a new generation of children.

BACKGROUND

Risk Research and Prospective Longitudinal Designs

Current theory, supported by agrowing body of empirical re-search, strongly suggests that ge-netic and environmental influencescombine to produce intergenera-tional similarities between parentsand children. Individual character-istics, learning experiences, envi-ronmental context, and the processof development interact to creatediffering life trajectories and out-comes. These variables and a sub-ject’s life outcomes can be observedand measured over time. Despite theoverall tendency for similarity and

Intergenerational Studies of Parenting and the Transfer of Risk From Parent to Child

Lisa Serbin

1

and Jennifer Karp

Centre for Research in Human Development and Department of Psychology, Con-

cordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

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CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 139

continuity within families, there isalways considerable variability inbehavior between individuals,even within families identified as atrisk or within disadvantaged groups.Studies of the circumstances, envi-ronments, and experiences that pro-mote differential outcomes for chil-dren and their families are oftenreferred to in the literature as riskresearch.

Intergenerational Research Designs

Longitudinal research has his-torically been concerned with un-derstanding the processes of social-ization: how one generation transferspatterns of behavior to the next. Ina variation of this theme, recent in-tergenerational studies have oftenfocused on the predic t ion ofparenting behavior and other envi-ronmental conditions within the lifecourse of one generation, with aview to identifying the processesthat place the offspring of the origi-nal subjects at risk for social, be-havioral, and health problemsacross childhood and adulthood.Outcomes studied have includedparenting conditions and environ-mental conditions that place a newgeneration at risk for a disadvan-taged life course, as well as the ac-tual behavior and health of theyoung offspring. In these studies, aseries of steps involving develop-mental processes that lead to theoutcomes of interest is proposed,based on theory. These proposedsteps are then statistically testedfor their fit with the observed data.If members of both generations(parent and child) are examined atapproximately the same ages, re-searchers can compare parents andchildren to determine the similar-ity of their behavior at similarpoints in development (Cairns,Cairns, Xie, Leung, & Hearne,1998). At the same time, the impactof parenting behavior and otherenvironmental factors can be ex-

amined (Conger, Neppl, Kim, &Scaramella, 2003).

CONCEPTUAL AND RESEARCH ISSUES

Predicting Early Parenthood, Parenting Behavior, and Environmental Rearing Conditions

The most basic design for study-ing intergenerational risk involvesfollowing a sample of children asthey mature and become parentsthemselves. Some such studies fo-cus primarily on a single genera-tion, but many also include theparents of the target participants,and also the target participants’children, the generation born dur-ing the course of the study. Inter-generational studies, in this way,often include up to three genera-tions. Outcomes that are relevantto the intergenerational transfer ofrisk may include the circumstancesof the next generation’s birth, theparenting behavior of the partici-pants, and the rearing environmentthat they establish for the next gen-eration.

For example, a number of stud-ies have examined the predictors ofteen parenthood within varioushigh-risk populations, includinglow-income rural families, fosterchildren, inner-city urban chil-dren, and racial minority groups(Fagot, Pears, Capaldi, Crosby, &Leve, 1998; Hardy, Astone, Brooks-Gunn, Shapiro, & Miller, 1998;Scaramella, Conger, Simons, &Whitbeck, 1998; Serbin et al., 1998;Serbin, Peters, McAffer, & Schwartz-man, 1991). Both behavioral andenvironmental predictors of teenparenthood have been identified inthese longitudinal studies. Such fac-tors include early aggression andother antisocial behavior, risk-takingbehavior (such as smoking, or alco-

hol and drug use), having delin-quent friends, failing in school, anddropping out of high school. Pro-tective factors include family in-come (above poverty level), socialsupport to parents (by extendedfamily, friends, and the community),parental involvement in their child’sactivities and schoolwork, and highacademic abilities and achievementof the child during the elementaryand high school years.

Along with teen parenthood,other problematic conditions foroffspring have been predicted fromparents’ earlier patterns of aggres-sive behavior and low levels of ed-ucational achievement. These con-ditions include obstetric and deliveryproblems and poor pre- and post-natal infant health. Longitudinalstudies with participants drawn frommany geographic and cultural re-gions (including the United King-dom, United States, Canada, andScandinavia), and from diverse so-cial and ethnic groups, have yieldeda general convergence of findingsabout risk factors and protectivefactors for teen parenthood, prob-lematic parenting, and impover-ished early environment.

The Intergenerational Transfer of Parenting Behavior

Many ongoing intergenerationalstudies are examining the similarityof parenting behavior from one gen-eration to the next. Most of thesestudies have focused on the trans-fer of harsh and punitive parenting,or on effective versus ineffectivetransfer of styles of parenting be-havior (see also Capaldi, Pears,Patterson, & Owen, 2003; Chen &Kaplan, 2001; Conger et al., 2003;Thornberry Freeman-Gallant, Lizotte,Krohn, & Smith, 2003). General sup-port has been found for the ideathat direct modeling of parentingbehaviors leads to the transfer ofthose behaviors from one generation

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to the next. However, these studiesalso suggest that there is continuityof an aggressive behavioral stylefrom childhood to parenthood. Inother words, adults’ style of parent-ing incorporates both (a) what theylearned directly from parenting be-havior that was modeled in theirchildhood and (b) their own behav-ioral style, which was already ap-parent during childhood.

Predicting Outcomes in aSecond Generation

Parents’ histories are often usedto predict a variety of outcomes inthe next generation, such as theiroffsprings’ early health, behavior,and development. In studies thatinclude parents and their children,both individual and environmentalsources of risk may be identified.Predictors of interest often includeevents that occurred years prior tothe birth of the offspring. For exam-ple, in several studies of the offspringof teen parents (e.g., Fagot et al.,1998; Serbin, Peters, & Schwartz-man, 1996), parents who had beenaggressive and antisocial as chil-dren tended to have offspring whohad poorer physical health (e.g.,asthma, frequent respiratory infec-tions) and made more visits to theemergency room during the firstyears of life than the offspring ofother parents. One variable thatmay be involved in these specificnegative outcomes for early healthis maternal smoking, as motherswho smoke tend to have a historyof childhood aggression, risk tak-ing, and antisocial behavior.

Predicting Diverse Outcomes Within Populations Identifiedas at Risk

Some intergenerational designsfocus on atypical or clinical risk

factors, such as specific behavioralproblems or having a family mem-ber with diagnosed mental illness.For example, a researcher mightobserve children whose parentshave depression or parents whoare raising developmentally de-layed children. Some intergenera-tional studies include a range ofrisk profiles, or include multiplecomparison groups, each with adistinct risk profile (see McMahon& Peters, 2002, for a recent collec-tion of studies of the children ofdysfunctional, mentally ill, and at-risk parents).

SUMMARY OF CENTRAL FINDINGS AND

CONCLUSIONS TO DATE

Several generally consistentfindings deserve emphasis. First,problematic parenting seems to bethe combined outcome of model-ing by the individual’s own par-ents and the continuation of a pat-tern of aggressive and antisocialbehavior that can be observed inthe individual early in childhood.Second, childhood aggression andantisocial behavior also seem tolead to problematic parenting andnegative outcomes for offspringvia an indirect pathway from child-hood behavior patterns to adolescentrisk-taking behavior, low educa-tional and occupational attain-ment, maternal smoking, substanceabuse, poverty, and other problem-atic circumstances of birth and par-enthood. Third, parental involve-ment, warmth, and nurturanceduring childhood appear to haveimportant protective effects onlater family formation and parent-ing. Finally, educational achievementappears to be a powerful bufferagainst problematic parenting andthe transfer of risk to the next gen-eration, within both normativesamples and at-risk populations.

UNRESOLVED ISSUES AND DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE

RESEARCH

The Need for Integrated Theoretical Models and Research Designs

The specific and interrelatedpathways linking maladaptive be-havior during childhood to futureparenting problems need to be ex-amined within comprehensive re-search models and designs. In par-ticular, history of socialization, theindirect effects of early maladap-tive behavior (such as school drop-out, substance abuse, ill health, andpoverty), and genetic factors affect-ing behavior and temperamentshould all be included in both thetheoretical models and the empiri-cal designs used in intergenera-tional research. In many currentstudies that are focusing on behav-ior and environment in the absenceof genetic information, researchersare studying only a piece of thepuzzle of intergenerational transferof risk. Advances in work withphysiological, behavioral, or mo-lecular genetic markers may pro-vide new opportunities to mea-sure the genetic and physiologicalsimilarity of parent and child gen-erations. Both projects in the plan-ning stage and ongoing intergener-ational research programs maychoose to incorporate these newmethods into their designs in fu-ture phases of data collection.

Statistics and Methodological Limitations

The complexity of intergenera-tional processes—in particular, theinteractive and sequential nature ofindividuals’ life trajectories—pre-sents many challenges for research-ers using traditional methods ofquantitative and qualitative statis-tical analysis. Multiple regressionand path modeling are widely

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CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 141

used in intergenerational research,but these methods have definiteand well-known limitations, espe-cially when dealing with interac-tive, cumulative processes. A vari-ety of new and evolving methodsthat utilize multiple predictors toproject developmental trajectories(i.e., hierarchical linear modeling,growth curve analysis) presentsome intriguing possibilities for ex-panding the array of theoreticaland empirical issues that can be in-vestigated within intergenerationalstudies.

Moving Beyond the Limits of Current Correlational Designs

Uncontrolled situations andevents are often important concep-tually and statistically, representingnaturally occurring influences on thelife course of individuals. Examiningconverging results from several stud-ies will help us determine if predic-tive patterns related to individuals’characteristics and experiences arespecific to particular studies, his-torical periods, or research popula-tions, or occur more generally. Inorder to confirm whether the pre-dictive effects identified in inter-generational research projects todate are causal, intervention stud-ies using experimental or quasi-experimental designs, including ran-dom assignment of participants tointervention and control groups,will be required. In the future, it maybe possible to employ experimentaldesigns to examine well-specified re-search questions, such as the effectsof parent training or other preven-tion programs, within intergenera-tional research projects.

APPLICATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR

SOCIAL POLICY

Issues of intergenerational trans-fer of risk are central to the field of

human development. However,their importance extends furtherbecause identifying risk factorsprovides crucial information thatcan be used in developing social,educational, and health policy. Pol-icymakers often want to designand implement preventive inter-ventions aimed at improving chil-dren’s health and well-being. Beforesuch interventions are designed andevaluated, however, it is essential toidentify and evaluate specific pre-dictors of risk and protective fac-tors that increase children’s resil-iency. Because healthy functioningduring early childhood is an im-portant predictor of healthy life-long development, it is importantto design preventive strategies thatcan be implemented during earlychildhood, pregnancy, and even priorto conception. For example, manyintergenerational studies suggest thatmaternal education is a key protec-tive element for children in high-risk families. Based on these find-ings, an experimental study couldbe designed to investigate the ef-fects of providing increased educa-tional and social support to girlswho are at risk for dropping out ofschool. These girls could be fol-lowed into adulthood so that wemight evaluate the usefulness ofsuch increased support for the fu-ture health and development of theirchildren.

The opportunity to study com-plex, important phenomena withintergenerational designs has beencompelling for many developmen-tal researchers in recent years. Thistrend seems likely to continue andexpand.

Recommended Reading

Patterson, G. (1998). Continuities—asearch for causal mechanisms:Comment on the Special Section.

Developmental Psychology

,

34

,1263–1268.

Putallaz, M., Costanzo, P.R., Grames,C.L., & Sherman, D.M. (1998). Inter-

generational continuities and theirinfluences on children’s social de-velopment.

Social Development

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7

,389–427.

Rutter, M. (1998). Some research con-siderations on inter-generationalcontinuities and discontinuities:Comment on the Special Section.

Developmental Psychology

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,1269–1273.

Serbin, L.A., & Karp, J. (in press). Theinter-generational transfer of psy-cho-social risk: Mediators of vul-nerability and resilience.

AnnualReview of Psychology

.Serbin, L.A., & Stack, D.M. (Eds.).

(1998). Longitudinal studies of in-ter-generational continuity andthe transfer of psycho-social risk[Special section].

DevelopmentalPsychology

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, 1159–1273.

Note

1. Address correspondence to LisaSerbin, Centre for Research in HumanDevelopment, Concordia University,7141 Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal,Quebec, Canada, H4B 1R6.

References

Cairns, R.B., Cairns, B.D., Xie, H., Leung, M.C., &Hearne, S. (1998). Paths across generations:Academic competence and aggressive behav-iors in young mothers and their children.

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, 1162–1174.Capaldi, D.M., Pears, K.C., Patterson, G.R., &

Owen, L.D. (2003). Continuity of parentingpractices across generations in an at-risk sam-ple: A prospective comparison of direct andmediated associations.

Journal of AbnormalChild Psychology

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, 127–142.Chen, Z.Y., & Kaplan, H.B. (2001). Intergenera-

tional transmission of constructive parenting.

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, 17–31.Conger, R.D., Neppl, T., Kim, K.J., & Scaramella,

L. (2003). Angry and aggressive behavioracross three generations: A prospective, longi-tudinal study of parents and children.

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, 143–160.Fagot, B.I., Pears, K.C., Capaldi, D.M., Crosby, L.,

& Leve, C.S. (1998). Becoming an adolescentfather: Precursors and parenting.

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, 1209–1219.Hardy, J.B., Astone, N.M., Brooks-Gunn, J., Sha-

piro, S., & Miller, T.L. (1998). Like mother, likechild: Intergenerational patterns of age at firstbirth and associations with childhood and ad-olescent characteristics and adult outcomes inthe second generation.

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The ef-fects of parental dysfunction on children

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Peplar, D., Madsen, K., Webster, C., & Levene, K.

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beck, L.B. (1998). Predicting risk for pregnancyby late adolescence: A social contextual per-spective.

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P.M., Stack, D.M., & Schwartzman, A.E. (1998).Intergenerational transfer of psychosocial risk inwomen with childhood histories of aggression,withdrawal, or aggression and withdrawal.

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Thornberry, T.P., Freeman-Gallant, A., Lizotte,A.J., Krohn, M.D., & Smith, C.A. (2003).Linked lives: The intergenerational transmis-sion of antisocial behavior.

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Transfer as the Productive Use of Acquired Knowledge, Skills, and Motivations

Erik De Corte

1

Department of Educational Sciences, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

Abstract

Historically, the notion oftransfer has been very contro-versial, conceptually as well asempirically. Therefore, there isan obvious need for furtherinquiry aimed at a better un-derstanding of the processesunderlying transfer. Taking intoaccount the recent literature,this article defines transfer asthe broad, productive, and sup-ported use of acquired knowl-edge, skills, and motivations innew contexts and learning tasks.As an illustration, an interven-tion study is briefly discussed.This study shows the possibil-ity of designing a powerfullearning environment thatyields transfer effects in accor-dance with this reconceptual-ized perspective on transfer.

Keywords

transfer; learning; learning en-vironment

Throughout history, educatorshave attempted to equip studentswith cognitive tools that they can ap-ply beyond the initial learning con-text. At present, transfer of learnedknowledge and skills is still consid-ered a fundamental goal of educa-tion. It is, for instance, expected thatthe teaching of reading comprehen-sion will facilitate students’ readingand understanding of texts in othersubject-matter domains and outsidethe classroom. In addition, the fieldof industrial and corporate trainingis strongly interested in the transferof learning. For example, an em-ployer may attempt to teach clerksto use a text-processing program insuch a way that afterward they caneasily and quickly acquire masteryof a new program.

The scientific study of transferdates back only to the beginning ofthe previous century. From thestart, the concept has been verycontroversial, conceptually as wellas empirically. The empirical litera-ture contains many failures toachieve transfer, but also many suc-

cessful demonstrations of transfer.At the conceptual level, researchersargue for divergent conceptions oftransfer that reflect different schoolsin psychology. For instance, from abehavioristic perspective, for trans-fer to occur the transfer task mustshare specific identical elementswith the original learning task. Butfrom a cognitive psychology stand-point, the transfer of general skills,such as problem-solving strate-gies, can occur (De Corte, 1999).

In this article, I attempt to explainand overcome the empirical andconceptual discords by reconcep-tualizing transfer in terms of theproductive use of cognitive toolsand motivations. I discuss an in-tervention study illustrating thepossibility of designing learningenvironments that yield transfereffects in accordance with the re-vised perspective on transfer. Thearticle ends by touching on somemajor issues for further inquiry.

RECONCEPTUALIZING TRANSFER

Proposals to reconceptualize thetransfer construct are making animportant contribution toward ad-vancing theory and research. Ananalysis of the literature shows thattraditionally transfer was very nar-rowly conceived as the indepen-dent and immediate application of