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Volume 6, Issue 5
  • ISSN 1879-9264
  • E-ISSN: 1879-9272
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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.

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2016-05-10
2023-12-08

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

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