scholarly journals Cognitive Control and Bilingualism: The Bilingual Advantage Through the Lens of Dimensional Overlap

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melodie Bellegarda ◽  
Pedro Macizo
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Picture Naming ◽  
Simon Task ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Incorrect Response ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Naming Task ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Superior Performance ◽  
Response Level

Past research shows that the bilingual experience may enhance cognitive executive function. In this experiment, we evaluated cognitive control in bilinguals relative to monolinguals by using a dimensional overlap model to predict performance in a task composed of Stroop and Simon stimuli. A group of 24 Spanish monolinguals and 24 bilinguals with differing first languages and all having Spanish as a second language (L2) did a picture naming task and a task composed of Stroop and Simon stimuli, where the effect of different overlap conditions (spatial/color) between stimuli and responses were examined. The tasks were performed in Spanish for both groups and performance was indexed with behavioral and electrophysiological measures. We hypothesized that the bilinguals’ daily language practice in L2 reflected overlap conditions similar to the Simon task. Both naming a picture in L2 and the Simon task would involve conflict at the response level. L2 picture naming entails interference between two potential oral responses, to name in L2 vs. L1 (correct vs. incorrect responses, respectively). Similarly, incongruent stimuli in the Simon task produce interference because the irrelevant dimension (spatial location) overlap with an incorrect response. In contrast, the manual Stroop task involves a different type of conflict between two overlapping stimulus dimensions (the ink color and the color meaning). We predicted for these reasons a superior performance in Simon tasks over Stroop tasks for bilinguals, while monolinguals were expected to have a similar performance in both tasks. We also expected to see a correlation between the performance on the picture naming task and the Simon task in bilinguals. However, the behavioral results did not confirm these hypotheses. In fact, both groups had similar congruency effects as measured by reaction times and error rates, and there was no correlation between the picture naming and Simon task in bilinguals. Despite this, the electrophysiological data suggested a relationship between the picture naming task and the P300 congruency effect in bilinguals. Our findings provide insights into the neurocognitive bases of language and serve as a research avenue for language behaviors in bilinguals.

Cognitive inhibitory control in children following early childhood music education

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 303-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie-Eve Joret ◽  
Filip Germeys ◽  
Yori Gidron
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Simon Task ◽  
Musical Training ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
Music Training

The relationship between music training and executive functions has remained inconsistent in previous studies, possibly due to methodological limitations. This study aims to investigate cognitive inhibitory control in children (9–12 years old) with and without musical training, while carefully considering confounding variables. To assess executive functions, the Simon task was used, measuring reaction times (RTs) and error rates on congruent and incongruent trials. Information on important variables such as bilingualism, socio-economic status (SES), music pedagogy and amount of musical training was collected through a parental questionnaire. Furthermore, verbal and non-verbal intelligence were assessed with validated tests to consider their effects as well. The results showed that the samples did not significantly differ in background variables. The analysis of the RT data on the Simon task revealed a significant group × congruency interaction, such that musically trained children showed a reduced magnitude of the congruency effect (RTs on incongruent trials – RTs on congruent trials) compared to non-musicians. To conclude, music training seems to be associated with enhanced cognitive inhibitory control in well-matched samples.

The influence of short-term language-switching training on the plasticity of the cognitive control mechanism in bilingual word production

2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (10) ◽  
pp. 2115-2128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junjie Wu ◽  
Chunyan Kang ◽  
Fengyang Ma ◽  
Xiaoyi Gao ◽  
Taomei Guo
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Picture Naming ◽  
Control Mechanism ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Naming Task ◽  
Word Production ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Language Mapping ◽  
Target Languages

This study examined the effect of short-term language-switching training on the cognitive control mechanism in bilingual word production. In two experiments, two groups of relatively proficient but unbalanced Chinese–English bilinguals performed a cued picture-naming task, in which they switched between their two languages. On two consecutive days, the participants took part in four sessions. The same procedure was employed on 2 days in Experiment 1, whereas the cue-language mapping was reversed on Day 2 in Experiment 2. In both experiments, picture naming in the dominant language (L1, Chinese) was slower than that in the weaker second language (L2, English) in all sessions. In addition, the reversed language dominance effect was enhanced with training, suggesting that training proactively increases the amount of inhibition of the dominant L1 at the global level. Furthermore, switching costs in the L1 were reduced with training in Experiment 1, but not in Experiment 2. These results indicate that language-switching training improves the efficiency of reactively exerting inhibitory control over the dominant L1 at the local level. However, when a cue matches with different target languages, the effect of training is absent at the local level. These findings reveal the plasticity and complexity of the cognitive control mechanism as a function of bilingual experience, particularly in language switching.

Visual and Lexical Factors in Naming Speed by Children with Reading Disorders

2002 ◽  
Vol 95 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1196-1198
Author(s):  
Marianna M. Walker
Keyword(s):  
Picture Naming ◽  
Task Analysis ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Naming Task ◽  
Naming Speed ◽  
Reading Disorders ◽  
Hemispheric Processing ◽  
Lexical Factors

Reaction times of 12 reading disordered and 12 normally reading children and 12 adults were investigated with a visual half-field tachistoscopic picture-naming task. Analysis indicated slower picture-naming times for children with reading disorders. Hemispheric processing models suggested neurolinguistic maturation for rapid picture-naming speed.

Lexical Priming in Picture Naming of Young Children Who Do and Do Not Stutter

2005 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 278-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark W. Pellowski ◽  
Edward G. Conture
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Semantic Priming ◽  
Picture Naming ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Naming Task ◽  
Unrelated Word ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Semantic Priming Effect ◽  
Prime Condition

The purpose of this investigation was to assess the influence of lexical/semantic priming on the speech reaction time of young children who do and do not stutter during a picture-naming task. Participants were 23 children who stutter, age-matched (±4 months) to 23 children who do not stutter, ranging in age from 3;0 (years;months) to 5;11. Procedures involved a computer-assisted picture-naming task, during which each participant was presented with the same set of 28 pictures in each of 3 different conditions: (a) no-prime condition, in which no auditory stimulus was presented before picture display; (b) related-prime condition, in which a word, semantically related to the target picture, was presented auditorily 700 ms before picture display; and (c) unrelated-prime condition, in which a semantically unrelated word was presented auditorily 700 ms before picture display. Results indicated that when compared with a no-prime condition, presentation of semantically related words before the picture-naming response led to shorter or faster speech reaction times for children who do not stutter, but for children who stutter, it led to longer or slower speech reaction times. Moreover, children who do not stutter and who had higher receptive vocabulary scores exhibited faster speech reaction times and a greater semantic priming effect, whereas no such relationships were found for children who stutter. Findings were taken to suggest that children who stutter may exhibit subtle difficulties with lexical encoding and that this difficulty with speech-language planning may be one variable that contributes to childhood stuttering.

scholarly journals Contributions of nonlinguistic task-shifting to language control in bilingual children

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
MEGAN GROSS ◽  
MARGARITA KAUSHANSKAYA
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Picture Naming ◽  
Naming Task ◽  
Task Shifting ◽  
Naming Speed ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
Language Selection ◽  
Language Control ◽  
Cross Language

Language control, bilinguals’ ability to regulate which language is used, has been posited to recruit domain-general cognitive control. However, studies relating language control and cognitive control have yielded mixed results in adults and have not been undertaken in children. The current study examined the contributions of nonlinguistic task-shifting to language control in Spanish–English bilingual children (ages 5–7) during a cued-switch picture-naming task. Language control was assessed at two levels: (1) cross-language errors, which indexed the success of language selection, and (2) naming speed, which indexed the efficiency of lexical selection. Nonlinguistic task-shifting was a robust predictor of children's cross-language errors, reflecting a role for domain-general cognitive control during language selection. However, task-shifting predicted naming speed only in children's non-dominant language, suggesting a more nuanced role for cognitive control in the efficiency of selecting a particular lexical target.

scholarly journals Dunning-Kruger Effect: Intuitive Errors Predict Overconfidence on the Cognitive Reflection Test

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariana V. C. Coutinho ◽  
Justin Thomas ◽  
Alia S. M. Alsuwaidi ◽  
Justin J. Couchman
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Incorrect Response ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Cognitive Reflection Test ◽  
Intuitive Thinking ◽  
Cognitive Reflection ◽  
Analytical Reasoning ◽  
Thinking Disposition ◽  
Dispositional Measure

The Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) is a measure of analytical reasoning that cues an intuitive but incorrect response that must be rejected for successful performance to be attained. The CRT yields two types of errors: Intuitive errors, which are attributed to Type 1 processes; and non-intuitive errors, which result from poor numeracy skills or deficient reasoning. Past research shows that participants who commit the highest numbers of errors on the CRT overestimate their performance the most, whereas those with the lowest error-rates tend to slightly underestimate. This is an example of the Dunning-Kruger Effect (DKE). The present study examined how intuitive vs. non-intuitive errors contribute to overestimation in the CRT at different levels of performance. Female undergraduate students completed a seven-item CRT test and subsequently estimated their raw score. They also filled out the Faith in Intuition (FI) questionnaire, which is a dispositional measure of intuitive thinking. Data was separated into quartiles based on level of performance on the CRT. The results demonstrated the DKE. Additionally, intuitive and non-intuitive errors predicted miscalibration among low, but not high performers. However, intuitive errors were a stronger predictor of miscalibration. Finally, FI was positively correlated with CRT self-estimates and miscalibration, indicating that participants who perceived themselves to be more intuitive were worse at estimating their score. These results taken together suggest that participants who perform poorly in the CRT and also those who score higher in intuitive thinking disposition are more susceptible to the influences of heuristic-based cues, such as answer fluency, when judging their performance.

scholarly journals Expectancy to Eat Modulates Cognitive Control and Attention Toward Irrelevant Food and Non-food Images in Healthy Starving Individuals. A Behavioral Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sami Schiff ◽  
Giulia Testa ◽  
Maria Luisa Rusconi ◽  
Paolo Angeli ◽  
Daniela Mapelli
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Simon Task ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Affective Priming ◽  
Spatial Compatibility ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Behavioral Study ◽  
Attention Orienting ◽  
Correspondence Effect ◽  
Goal Directed Behavior

It is thought that just as hunger itself, the expectancy to eat impacts attention and cognitive control toward food stimuli, but this theory has not been extensively explored at a behavioral level. In order to study the effect of expectancy to eat on attentional and cognitive control mechanisms, 63 healthy fasting participants were presented with an affective priming spatial compatibility Simon task that included both food and object (non-food) distracters. The participants (N = 63) were randomly assigned to two groups: an “immediate expectancy” group made up of participants who expected to eat immediately after the task (N = 31; females = 21; age = 26.8 ± 9.6) and a “delayed expectancy” cohort made up of individuals who expected to eat a few hours later (N = 32; females = 21; age = 25.0 ± 8.0). Slower reaction times (RTs) toward the food and non-food distracters and a more pronounced effect on the RTs in the incompatible condition [i.e., the Simon effect (SE)] were noted in both groups. The effect of the food and non-food distracters on the RTs was more pronounced in the immediate with respect to the delayed expectancy group. The magnitude of the SE for the food and the non-food distracters was also greater in the immediate with respect to the delayed expectancy group. These results seem to indicate that when the expectancy to eat is short, the RTs are delayed, and the SE is more pronounced when food and non-food distracters are presented. Instead, when the expectancy to eat is more distant, the distracters have less of an effect on the RTs and the correspondence effect is smaller. Our results suggest that the expectancy to eat can modulate both attention orienting and cognitive control mechanisms in healthy fasting individuals when distracting details are competing with information processing during goal directed behavior.

Efficient but less mobilized monitoring system in individuals with high aggressive predispositions

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fanny Grisetto ◽  
Yvonne N. Delevoye-Turrell ◽  
Clémence Roger
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Monitoring System ◽  
Congruency Effect ◽  
Performance Monitoring ◽  
Simon Task ◽  
Aggressive Behaviors ◽  
Eeg Recordings ◽  
Global Reduction

Aggressive behaviors in pathological and healthy populations have been largely related to poor cognitive control functioning. However, few studies investigated the influence of aggressive traits (i.e., aggressiveness) on cognitive control. In the current study, we investigated the effects of aggressiveness on cognitive control abilities and particularly, on performance monitoring. Thirty-two participants performed a Simon task while electroencephalography (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) were recorded. Participants were classified as high and low aggressive using the BPAQ questionnaire (Buss & Perry, 1992). EMG recordings were used to reveal three response types by uncovering small incorrect muscular activations in ~15% of correct trials (i.e., partial-errors) that have to be distinguished from full-error and pure-correct responses. For these three response types, EEG recordings were used to extract fronto-central negativities indicative of performance monitoring, the error and correct (-related) negativities (ERN/Ne and CRN/Nc). Behavioral results indicated that the high aggressiveness group had a larger congruency effect compared to the low aggressiveness group, but there were no differences in accuracy. EEG results revealed a global reduction in performance-related negativities amplitudes in all the response types in the high aggressiveness group compared to the low aggressiveness group. Interestingly, the distinction between the ERN/Ne and the CRN/Nc components was preserved both in high and low aggressiveness groups. In sum, high aggressive traits did not affect the capacity to self-evaluate erroneous from correct actions but are associated with a decrease in the importance given to one’s own performance. The implication of these findings are discussed in relation to pathological aggressiveness.

Coining Compounds and Derivations - A Crosslinguistic Elicitation Study of Word-Formation Abilities of Preschool Children and Adults in Polish and English

2009 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 176-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewa Haman ◽  
Andrea Zevenbergen ◽  
Melissa Andrus ◽  
Marta Chmielewska
Keyword(s):  
Preschool Children ◽  
Picture Naming ◽  
Native Language ◽  
General Pattern ◽  
Naming Task ◽  
Word Formation ◽  
Elicitation Study ◽  
American Children ◽  
To Come

Coining Compounds and Derivations - A Crosslinguistic Elicitation Study of Word-Formation Abilities of Preschool Children and Adults in Polish and English This paper examines word-formation abilities in coining compounds and derivatives in preschool children and adult speakers of two languages (English and Polish) differing in overall word-formation productivity and in favoring of particular word-formation patterns (compounding vs. derivation). An elicitation picture naming task was designed to assess these abilities across a range of word-formation categories. Adult speakers demonstrated well-developed word-formation skills in patterns both typical and non-typical for their native language. In contrast with adult results, preschool children predominantly coined innovations conforming to the general pattern of their language: Polish children favoring derivation and American children favoring compounding. The results show that although children are improving their wordformation skills during the preschool years, they need much more experience to come to the mature proficiency in using the variety of word-formation patterns available in their language.

Syllable weight in monolingual and heritage Spanish

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 395-427
Author(s):  
Michael Shelton ◽  
Hannah Grant
Keyword(s):  
Reading Proficiency ◽  
Naming Task ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
General Effect ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Stress Assignment ◽  
Syllable Weight ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
Quantity Sensitivity ◽  
Analysis Of Error

AbstractThis study presents two experiments employing a naming task that test the modulation of stress assignment by syllable structure in Spanish. The first replicates the findings of a previous study in which words containing arguably heavy penultimate diphthongs provoke higher error rates than putatively light monophthong controls when marked for antepenultimate stress. This result is interpreted as support for quantity sensitivity in the language. This experiment also replicates a subtler finding of differential patterning between rising and falling diphthong in their interaction with Spanish stress, suggesting gradient sensitivity to patterns in the lexicon. The second experiment presents the results of an identical task with Spanish-English heritage speakers in which the general effect of syllable weight is replicated, while the effect of diphthong type does not emerge. An analysis of error types suggests that varying levels of reading proficiency among heritage speakers may have led to the lack of the latter result, while still revealing sensitivity to frequencies in the lexicon. The combined results are offered as further evidence of quantity sensitivity among both monolingual and bilingual speakers of Spanish and provide further data in the understudied subfield of heritage phonotactics.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document