Which term describes the effect that present has on prior performance?

• A. Proactive transfer
• B. Retroactive transfer
• C. Negative transfer
• D. Bilateral transfer

Answer: (B)

Retroactive transfer describes how what you learn now can change how you performed in the past. When you adopt a new movement pattern or technique, the new motor plans and cognitive strategies you use can interfere with or alter your earlier skills, affecting speed, rhythm, or accuracy in tasks you already mastered. For example, changing a tennis service motion or a bowling approach can disrupt your previous timing and consistency. This differs from proactive transfer, where old learning influences how you perform or learn a new skill, and from bilateral transfer, which is about transferring learning from one limb to the other. Negative transfer is a broader idea of interference that reduces performance, but the specific situation described—present learning affecting prior performance—fits retroactive transfer.