Transfer-of-learning effect with the tactual performance test using familiar and unfamiliar shapes with American, Lao, and Senegalese children.

The Tactual Performance Test (TPT) and a version of the TPT with unfamiliar geometric designs were presented to American, Lao, and Senegalese children. The nonstandard TPT was designed to evaluate the importance of familiarity of forms in improved performance between successive TPT learning trials. The nonstandard board was more difficult for all the groups, with poorer time-per-block performance across learning trials and poorer TPT memory measures. Irrespective, the transfer-of-learning (ToL) effect for the standard and nonstandard boards was consistent for all the cultural groups. ToL effect is not dependent on familiarity of the TPT forms and is consistent across cultures.