- Title
- Bilinguals' and monolinguals' performance on a non-verbal cognitive control task: how bilingual language experience contributes to cognitive performance by reducing mixing and switching costs
- Creator
- Khodos, Iryna; Moskovsky, Christo; Paolini, Stefania
- Relation
- The International Journal of Bilingualism Vol. 25, Issue 1, p. 189-204
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1367006920946401
- Publisher
- Sage Publications
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2021
- Description
- Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: The study investigated whether language experience predicts cognitive performance in bilingual and monolingual adults. As indicators of language experience, we focused on language context, typological proximity/distance between two languages and onset age of active bilingualism. As indicators of cognitive performance, we measured mixing costs and switching costs to gauge proactive and reactive control processes during a computerized non-verbal cognitive control task. Design/methodology/approach: Demographic and language data were collected with the Language and Social Background Questionnaire. Mixing and switching costs were subsequently obtained using a cued non-verbal switching task. Data and analysis: The background and switching-task data obtained from 60 bilinguals from non-English-speaking backgrounds and 24 English monolinguals residing in Australia were analysed using linear fixed-effects regression analyses. Findings/conclusions: The results showed that the use of two languages in a dual-language context was associated with reduced switching costs relative to monolingual and bilingual separated-language contexts and with reduced mixing costs only relative to a bilingual separated-language context. Among the bilinguals, lower mixing costs were also associated with an earlier onset age of active bilingualism and smaller typological distance between two languages. Originality: This study’s design included bilinguals as a target group and monolinguals as a control group, thus enabling the identification of possible mixing and/or switching cost advantages in bilinguals. By targeting young/middle-aged adults and considering a set of potentially relevant language experiences, this work was, therefore, well placed to provide clarity on findings for an age group that previously returned mixed and inconclusive results regarding a bilingual advantage. Significance/implications: Our findings reinforce the idea that particular dimensions of bilingual experience rather than bilingualism per se are linked to enhanced cognitive performance.
- Subject
- bilingualism; language experience; cognitive performance; mixing costs; switching costs
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1430110
- Identifier
- uon:38800
- Identifier
- ISSN:1367-0069
- Rights
- Khodos, Iryna; Moskovsky, Christo; Paolini, Stefania. (2021). Bilinguals' and monolinguals' performance on a non-verbal cognitive control task: how bilingual language experience contributes to cognitive performance by reducing mixing and switching costs. The International Journal of Bilingualism (Vol. 25, Issue 1) p. 189-204. . Copyright © 2021 The Author (s). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006920946401
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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