What mistakes do students make with Skill, skill continuums and transfer of skills?

Believing that negative transfer is a permanent barrier to learning. It is usually a temporary effect that diminishes with practice. Confusing negative transfer with a lack of physical ability or poor motivation. It is a specific cognitive and motor interference between two skills. Assuming negative transfer happens between completely unrelated sports. It occurs when skills look similar but have different technical requirements.

What are the exam tips for Skill, skill continuums and transfer of skills in Physical Education AQA A-Level?

Clearly state that negative transfer involves one skill hindering or interfering with another. Explain the mechanism of negative transfer by referencing conflicting motor programmes or different responses to similar cues. Use the tennis and badminton wrist action example to clearly illustrate how similar contexts can lead to conflicting movements.

AQA · A-Level · Physical Education

Course version: 7582 · Version from Sept 2016

Skill, skill continuums and transfer of skills: Negative.

Negative transfer occurs when the learning or performance of one skill hinders the learning or performance of another.

Checked against the AQA 7582 specification (opens in a new tab) on 10 November 2026.

Point 11 of 14

Study notes

From the checked teaching notes for this specification point.

The idea

What earns the marks

Negative transfer is defined as the process where the learning or performance of one skill hinders or interferes with another.
The interference is caused by the inappropriate application of an established motor programme to a new skill.
A classic example is the firm wrist of a tennis shot interfering with the flexible wrist required in badminton.
Negative transfer is usually a temporary phase in learning and can be resolved through targeted practice and highlighting differences.

Common mistakes and how to put them right

Believing that negative transfer is a permanent barrier to learning.
Put it right: It is usually a temporary effect that diminishes with practice.
Confusing negative transfer with a lack of physical ability or poor motivation.
Put it right: It is a specific cognitive and motor interference between two skills.
Assuming negative transfer happens between completely unrelated sports.
Put it right: It occurs when skills look similar but have different technical requirements.

Exam tips

Clearly state that negative transfer involves one skill hindering or interfering with another.
Explain the mechanism of negative transfer by referencing conflicting motor programmes or different responses to similar cues.
Use the tennis and badminton wrist action example to clearly illustrate how similar contexts can lead to conflicting movements.

Try the lesson

The start of the Skill, skill continuums and transfer of skills: Negative. lesson, made from checked teaching notes for this specification point.

Have a go first

A badminton player who is used to a low wristy serve struggles to learn a tennis serve, which needs a high overhead action. Which type of transfer does this describe?

Tip: press 1 to 4 to choose

Listen

Negative transfer occurs when the learning or performance of one skill hinders the learning or performance of another. This interference happens when two skills share similar environmental cues but require different movement patterns. The performer inappropriately applies the established motor programme of the first skill to the second, causing errors. For example, a tennis player learning badminton may find the firm wrist required for tennis interferes with the flexible wrist action needed for badminton. Negative transfer is usually temporary and can be overcome with practice. Coaches can minimise its impact by avoiding teaching conflicting skills simultaneously, highlighting the differences, and ensuring the first skill is fully grooved. A strong answer earns marks for these points. Negative transfer is defined as the process where the learning or performance of one skill hinders or interferes with another. The interference is caused by the inappropriate application of an established motor programme to a new skill. A classic example is the firm wrist of a tennis shot interfering with the flexible wrist required in badminton. Negative transfer is usually a temporary phase in learning and can be resolved through targeted practice and highlighting differences. A common slip: Believing that negative transfer is a permanent barrier to learning. Instead, it is usually a temporary effect that diminishes with practice. Exam tip: Clearly state that negative transfer involves one skill hindering or interfering with another.

See it

A top-down flowchart with eleven nodes. It begins with two skills sharing similar environmental cues, leading to the skills requiring different movement patterns. This leads to the established motor programme of the first skill being applied inappropriately, which causes errors. Errors lead to negative transfer, where one skill hinders the other. From negative transfer, one branch leads to it being usually temporary, which leads to being overcome with practice. A second branch leads to coaches minimising impact, which splits into three: avoid teaching conflicting skills simultaneously, highlight the differences, and ensure the first skill is fully grooved. — This flowchart shows how similar cues but different movement patterns lead to inappropriate application of a motor programme, causing negative transfer, and how it is overcome or minimised.

Label the diagram

Some boxes have lost their names. Pick the right name for each number.

The diagram again, with 3 boxes numbered instead of named. A top-down flowchart with eleven nodes. It begins with two skills sharing similar environmental cues, leading to the skills requiring different movement patterns. This leads to the established motor programme of the first skill being applied inappropriately, which causes errors. Errors lead to negative transfer, where one skill hinders the other. From negative transfer, one branch leads to it being usually temporary, which leads to being overcome with practice. A second branch leads to coaches minimising impact, which splits into three: avoid teaching conflicting skills simultaneously, highlight the differences, and ensure the first skill is fully grooved.

1Box 1
2Box 2
3Box 3

0 of 3 labelled

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