1887
  1. Home
  2. e-Journals
  3. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism
  4. Volume 6, Issue 5
  5. Article
Volume 6, Issue 5
  • ISSN 1879-9264
  • E-ISSN: 1879-9272
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Executive functions (EFs), such as response inhibition, interference control, and set shifting, are general-purpose control mechanisms that enable individuals to regulate their thoughts and behaviors. Because bilingual individuals use EF-like processes during language control, researchers have become interested in the hypothesis that this use might train EFs, resulting in better performance on non-linguistic EF tasks. Although this bilingual advantage hypothesis seems straightforward to test, it involves a number of important decisions in terms of how to assess bilingualism and EFs. In this article, I focus on the complexity of measuring EFs, drawing on individual differences research (conducted with participants not selected for bilingualism). Specifically, I discuss issues related to (1) the measurement of EFs (particularly the effects of task impurity and unreliability) and (2) the multicomponent nature of EFs. Within each of these topics, I elaborate on consequences for research on bilingual advantages and provide some recommendations.

© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/lab.15041.fri
2016-05-10
2025-04-29

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/10.1075/lab.15041.fri
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Aron, A. R. , Robbins, T. W. , & Poldrack, R. A.
    (2014) Inhibition and the right inferior frontal cortex: One decade on. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 18, 177–185. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2013.12.003
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2013.12.003 [Google Scholar]
  2. Banich, M. T. , & Depue, B. E.
    (2015) Recent advances in understanding neural systems that support inhibitory control. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 1, 17–22. doi: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2014.07.006
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2014.07.006 [Google Scholar]
  3. Bialystok, E. , Craik, F. I. M. , & Luk, G.
    (2012) Bilingualism: Consequences for mind and brain. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 16, 240–250. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2012.03.001
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2012.03.001 [Google Scholar]
  4. Bollen, K. A.
    (1989) Structural equations with latent variables. New York: Wiley. doi: 10.1002/9781118619179
     https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118619179 [Google Scholar]
  5. Button, K. S. , Ioannidis, J. P. A. , Mokrysz, C. , Nosek, B. A. , Flint, J. , Robinson, E. S. J. , & Munafò, M. R.
    (2013) Power failure: Why small sample size undermines the reliability of neuroscience. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 14, 365–376. doi: 10.1038/nrn3475
     https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3475 [Google Scholar]
  6. Chevalier, N. , Chatham, C. H. , & Munakata, Y.
    (2014) The practice of going helps children to stop: The importance of context monitoring in inhibitory control. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143, 959–965. doi: 10.1037/a0035868
     https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035868 [Google Scholar]
  7. Colzato, L. S. , Bajo, M. T. , van den Wildenberg, W. , Paolieri, D. , Nieuwenhuis, S. , La Heij, W. , & Hommel, B.
    (2008) How does bilingualism improve executive control? A comparison of active and reactive inhibition mechanisms. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 34, 302–312. doi: 10.1037/0278‑7393.34.2.302
     https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.34.2.302 [Google Scholar]
  8. Costa, A. , Hernández, M. , Costa-Faidella, J. , & Sebastián-Gallés, N.
    (2009) On the bilingual advantage in conflict processing: Now you see it, now you don’t. Cognition, 113, 135–149. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2009.08.001
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2009.08.001 [Google Scholar]
  9. de Bruin, A. , Treccani, B. , & Sala, Della S.
    (2015) Cognitive advantage in bilingualism: An example of publication bias?Psychological Science, 26, 99–107. doi: 10.1177/0956797614557866
     https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797614557866 [Google Scholar]
  10. Diamond, A.
    (2013) Executive functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 135–168. doi: 10.1146/annurev‑psych‑113011‑143750
     https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143750 [Google Scholar]
  11. Friedman, N. P. , & Miyake, A.
    (2004) The relations among inhibition and interference control functions: A latent-variable analysis. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 133, 101–135. doi: 10.1037/0096‑3445.133.1.101
     https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.133.1.101 [Google Scholar]
  12. Friedman, N. P. , Miyake, A. , Robinson, J. L. , & Hewitt, J. K.
    (2011) Developmental trajectories in toddlers’ self-restraint predict individual differences in executive functions 14 years later: A behavioral genetic analysis. Developmental Psychology, 47, 1410–1430. doi: 10.1037/a0023750
     https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023750 [Google Scholar]
  13. Gathercole, V. C. M.
    (2014) Does language dominance affect cognitive performance in bilinguals? Lifespan evidence from preschoolers through older adults on card sorting, Simon, and metalinguistic tasks. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 11. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00011
     https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00011 [Google Scholar]
  14. Hilchey, M. D. , & Klein, R. M.
    (2011) Are there bilingual advantages on nonlinguistic interference tasks? Implications for the plasticity of executive control processes. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 18, 625–658. doi: 10.3758/s13423‑011‑0116‑7
     https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-011-0116-7 [Google Scholar]
  15. Johns, G.
    (1981) Difference score measures of organizational behavior variables: A critique. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 27, 443–463. doi: 10.1016/0030‑5073(81)90033‑7
     https://doi.org/10.1016/0030-5073(81)90033-7 [Google Scholar]
  16. Kline, R. B.
    (2011) Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Kroll, J. F. , & Bialystok, E.
    (2013) Understanding the consequences of bilingualism for language processing and cognition. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 25, 497–514. doi: 10.1080/20445911.2013.799170
     https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2013.799170 [Google Scholar]
  18. Miller, E. K. , & Cohen, J. D.
    (2001) An integrative theory of prefrontal cortex function. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 24, 167–202. doi: 10.1146/annurev.neuro.24.1.167
     https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.neuro.24.1.167 [Google Scholar]
  19. Miyake, A. , & Friedman, N. P.
    (2012) The nature and organization of individual differences in executive functions: Four general conclusions. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 21, 8–14. doi: 10.1177/0963721411429458
     https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721411429458 [Google Scholar]
  20. Miyake, A. , Friedman, N. P. , Emerson, M. J. , Witzki, A. H. , Howerter, A. , & Wager, T. D.
    (2000) The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex “frontal lobe” tasks: A latent variable analysis. Cognitive Psychology, 41, 49–100. doi: 10.1006/cogp.1999.0734
     https://doi.org/10.1006/cogp.1999.0734 [Google Scholar]
  21. Munakata, Y. , Herd, S. A. , Chatham, C. H. , Depue, B. E. , Banich, M. T. , & O’Reilly, R. C.
    (2011) A unified framework for inhibitory control. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 15, 453–459. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2011.07.011
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2011.07.011 [Google Scholar]
  22. Paap, K. R. , & Greenberg, Z. I.
    (2013) There is no coherent evidence for a bilingual advantage in executive processing. Cognitive Psychology, 66, 232–258. doi: 10.1016/j.cogpsych.2012.12.002
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogpsych.2012.12.002 [Google Scholar]
  23. Paap, K. R. , Johnson, H. A. , & Sawi, O.
    (2015) Bilingual advantages in executive functioning either do not exist or are restricted to very specific and undetermined circumstances. Cortex, 69, 265–278. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2015.04.014
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2015.04.014 [Google Scholar]
  24. Rabbitt, P.
    (1997) Introduction: Methodologies and models in the study of executive function. In P. Rabbitt , Methodology of frontal and executive function (pp.1–38). Hove, UK: Psychology Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Shipstead, Z. , Redick, T. S. , & Engle, R. W.
    (2012) Is working memory training effective?Psychological Bulletin, 138, 628–654. doi: 10.1037/a0027473
     https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027473 [Google Scholar]
  26. von Bastian, C. C. , Souza, A. S. , & Gade, M.
    (2015) No evidence for bilingual cognitive advantages: A test of four hypotheses. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/xge0000120
     https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000120 [Google Scholar]
  27. Valian, V.
    (2015) Bilingualism and cognition. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 18, 3–24. doi: 10.1017/S1366728914000522
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728914000522 [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/lab.15041.fri
Loading
Research on individual differences in executive functions
Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism 6, 535 (2016); https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.15041.fri
/content/journals/10.1075/lab.15041.fri
/content/journals/10.1075/lab.15041.fri
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): Executive control; executive functioning; latent variables; multilingualism

Most Cited

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error