Relationship between language switching experience and executive functions in bilinguals: an Internet-based study*. Issue 4 (19th May 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jylkkä, Jussi; Soveri, Anna; Wahlström, Jenny; Lehtonen, Minna; Rodríguez-Fornells, Antoni; Laine, Matti
• Is Part Of: Journal of cognitive psychology. Volume 29:Issue 4(2017)
• Page Start: 404
• Page End: 419
• Publication Date: 2017-05-19
• Subjects: Bilingualism -- executive functions -- language switching -- Bilingual Switching Questionnaire; Cognitive psychology -- Periodicals; 153.05
• DOI: 10.1080/20445911.2017.1282489
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2044-5911

Abstract

ABSTRACT: We examined the relationship between self-reported everyday language switching experience and the performance of early bilinguals in tasks measuring different executive functions. Our participants were Finnish–Swedish early bilinguals, aged 16–41 years ( N = 66, Experiment 1) and 18–69 years ( N = 111, Experiment 2). An earlier study using a sample from a similar population discovered a negative relationship between self-reported language switching and a mixing cost in error rates in a number–letter task. This finding was not replicated. Instead, we found that a higher rate of reported contextual language switching predicted larger switching cost reaction times in the number–letter task, and that a higher rate of reported unintended language switches predicted larger error rates in a spatial n -back task. We conclude that these results likely reflect individual differences in executive skills, and do not provide evidence for the hypothesis that language switching trains executive functions.