TRANSFER OF DECLARATIVE KNOWLEDGE IN COMPLEX INFORMATION-PROCESSING DOMAINS

Declarative transfer from one domain to another can be observed in a s ystematic decrease in the time spent reading an instructional text and processing help during problem solving. Two experiments, done in the programming domain, tested the hypothesis that subjects introduced to a first programming language develop a representation of basic program ming concepts that helps them integrate new declarative knowledge from a second programming language. This article shows that the effect on reading was greater for pages that were conceptually close across text s and for subjects who had fully mastered the basic concepts in the fi rst language. A regression model of reading showed an effect on proces ses that are responsible for the analysis of novel words and examples, whereas general strategic reading processes remained unaffected. The increased reading speed was not accompanied by a greater understanding of the text. Effects of a common programming interface and transfer o f procedural knowledge appeared to be negligible on the kind of proble ms considered. This study supports the distinction between procedural and declarative transfer.