In relation to psychology and learning processes, transposition describes instances where an individual abstracts a previously learned relation or rule and applies it to a new problem. It entails the acquisition of higher-order relations and the grasping of an underlying structure to a problem, instead of merely recalling a specific item. Transposition, as the Gestalt psychologists showed, reveals the relational quality of learning and the insufficiency of reinforcement as the sole driver of learning. It accounts for the ability of humans and animals to transfer solutions to new problems. For example, a child who learns that a bigger portion always means more food can apply that rule to new, differently shaped containers, illustrating transposition.
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