Task-Switching Costs, Stroop-Costs, and Executive Control: A Correlational Study

AbstractBilingual advantages in executive control tasks are well documented, but it is not yet clear what degree or type of bilingualism leads to these advantages. To investigate this issue, we compared the performance of two bilingual groups and monolingual speakers in task-switching and language-switching paradigms. Spanish–English bilinguals, who reported switching between languages frequently in daily life, exhibited smaller task-switching costs than monolinguals after controlling for between-group differences in speed and parent education level. By contrast, Mandarin–English bilinguals, who reported switching languages less frequently than Spanish–English bilinguals, did not exhibit a task-switching advantage relative to monolinguals. Comparing the two bilingual groups in language-switching, Spanish–English bilinguals exhibited smaller costs than Mandarin–English bilinguals, even after matching for fluency in the non-dominant language. These results demonstrate an explicit link between language-switching and bilingual advantages in task-switching, while also illustrating some limitations on bilingual advantages. (JINS, 2011, 17, 682–691)

Download Full-text

A bilingual advantage in task switching? Age-related differences between German monolinguals and Dutch-Frisian bilinguals

Bilingualism Language and Cognition ◽

10.1017/s1366728915000498 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

pp. 69-79 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

NIENKE HOUTZAGER ◽

WANDER LOWIE ◽

SIMONE SPRENGER ◽

KEES DE BOT

Keyword(s):

Task Switching ◽

Executive Control ◽

Switching Costs ◽

Group Differences ◽

Significant Group ◽

Bilingual Advantage ◽

Bilingual Speakers ◽

Age Related ◽

Related Language ◽

Mixing Costs

This study investigated whether lifelong bilingualism can be associated with enhanced executive control, particularly mental flexibility, and with a modulation of an age-related decline in these functions. We compared performance of middle-aged and elderly speakers of German and bilingual speakers of Dutch and Frisian in a cued task-switching paradigm. All bilinguals were fluent in the same, closely-related language pairs. Bilinguals incurred significantly lower switching costs than monolinguals, and elderly bilinguals were less affected by an age-related increase in switching costs than monolinguals. Bilinguals did not differ from monolinguals in the size of the mixing costs. Our findings suggest that lifelong bilingualism correlates with enhanced ability to shift between mental sets, as well as increased resistance to proactive interference. The fact that we found significant group differences – while some previous studies did not – may be attributable to the choice of our task and to the cognateness of the languages involved.

Download Full-text

Supplemental Material for Working Memory, Task Switching, and Executive Control in the Task Span Procedure

Journal of Experimental Psychology General ◽

10.1037/0096-3445.133.2.218.supp ◽

2004 ◽

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Task Switching ◽

Executive Control ◽

Memory Task ◽

Task Span

Download Full-text

Faculty Opinions recommendation of A tweaking principle for executive control: neuronal circuit mechanism for rule-based task switching and conflict resolution.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.718206630.793491450 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Earl Miller

Keyword(s):

Conflict Resolution ◽

Task Switching ◽

Executive Control ◽

Neuronal Circuit ◽

Rule Based

Download Full-text

Investigating task and modality switching costs using bimodal stimuli

Seeing and Perceiving ◽

10.1163/187847612x646451 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 25 (0) ◽

pp. 22

Author(s):

Raj Sandhu ◽

Ben Dyson

Keyword(s):

Task Switching ◽

Visual Stimulus ◽

Switching Costs ◽

Stimulus Presentation ◽

Task Type ◽

Task Repetition ◽

Specific Combination ◽

Task Change ◽

Modality Switching ◽

And Task

Investigations of concurrent task and modality switching effects have to date been studied under conditions of uni-modal stimulus presentation. As such, it is difficult to directly compare resultant task and modality switching effects, as the stimuli afford both tasks on each trial, but only one modality. The current study investigated task and modality switching using bi-modal stimulus presentation under various cue conditions: task and modality (double cue), either task or modality (single cue) or no cue. Participants responded to either the identity or the position of an audio–visual stimulus. Switching effects were defined as staying within a modality/task (repetition) or switching into a modality/task (change) from trial n − 1 to trial n, with analysis performed on trial n data. While task and modality switching costs were sub-additive across all conditions replicating previous data, modality switching effects were dependent on the modality being attended, and task switching effects were dependent on the task being performed. Specifically, visual responding and position responding revealed significant costs associated with modality and task switching, while auditory responding and identity responding revealed significant gains associated with modality and task switching. The effects interacted further, revealing that costs and gains associated with task and modality switching varying with the specific combination of modality and task type. The current study reconciles previous data by suggesting that efficiently processed modality/task information benefits from repetition while less efficiently processed information benefits from change due to less interference of preferred processing across consecutive trials.

Download Full-text

Active Bilingualism in Aging: Balanced Bilingualism Usage and Less Frequent Language Switching Relate to Better Conflict Monitoring and Goal Maintenance Ability

The Journals of Gerontology Series B ◽

10.1093/geronb/gbaa058 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 75 (9) ◽

pp. e231-e241 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Clara G H Chan ◽

Wei Quin Yow ◽

Adam Oei

Keyword(s):

Older Adult ◽

Task Switching ◽

Executive Control ◽

Processing Speed ◽

Fluid Intelligence ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Self Report ◽

Conflict Monitoring ◽

Language Switching ◽

Goal Maintenance

Abstract Objectives Experience-related neuroplasticity suggests that bilinguals who actively manage their two languages would develop more efficient neural organization at brain regions related to language control, which also overlap with areas involved in executive control. Our aim was to examine how active bilingualism—manifested as the regular balanced use of two languages and language switching—may be related to the different domains of executive control in highly proficient healthy older adult bilinguals, controlling for age, processing speed, and fluid intelligence. Methods Participants were 76 community-dwelling older adults who reported being physically and mentally healthy and showed no signs of cognitive impairment. They completed a self-report questionnaire on their language background, two computer measures for previously identified covariates (processing speed as measured by two-choice reaction time (RT) task and fluid intelligence as measured by the Raven’s Progressive Matrices), as well as a battery of computerized executive control tasks (Color-shape Task Switching, Stroop, Flanker, and Spatial 2-back task). Results Regression analyses showed that, even after controlling for age, processing speed, and fluid intelligence, more balanced bilingualism usage and less frequent language switching predicted higher goal maintenance (nonswitch trials RT in Color-shape Task Switching) and conflict monitoring abilities (global RT in Color-shape Task Switching and Flanker task). Discussion Results suggest that active bilingualism may provide benefits to maintaining specific executive control abilities in older adult bilinguals against the natural age-related declines.

Download Full-text