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Beyond Language: The long-term benefits of multilingualism for self- regulation

Authors:
Martin Jakobus Koch at University of Wuerzburg
Martin Jakobus Koch
Werner Greve at University of Hildesheim
Werner Greve
Verena Rasche at University of Hildesheim
Verena Rasche
Kristin Kersten at University of Mannheim
Kristin Kersten
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Abstract

The cognitive advantage (CA) hypothesis claims that multilingualism promotes the development of several basic cognitive capacities. A large number of empirical findings support this hypothesis, but recently there have also been numerous contradictory findings and methodological objections. The present paper extends the investigation of possible cognitive advantages from basic cognitive (executive) functions to broader cognitive competencies such as cognitive flexibility. A promising candidate for this is ‘flexibility of goal adjustment’ (FGA), a capacity of developmental regulation that solves problems through flexible adaptation processes. In a study with N = 119 monolingual and multilingual adults we found the predicted positive correlation between multilingualism and FGA. However, the mediator function of executive capacities entailed in the CA hypothesis operationalised as Stroop and flanker tasks could not be demonstrated.
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August 17th 2021 Martin J. Koch, Hildesheim
Beyond Language: The long-term
benefits of multilingualism for self-
regulation
Martin Koch, Werner Greve, Verena Rasche & Kristin Kersten
Hildesheim University
English Department, Psychology Department
August 17th 2021 Martin J. Koch, Hildesheim
Presentation overview
1. Theoretical Background
2. Empirical Study
3. Discussion
4. Future Research
5. Literature
August 17th 2021 Martin J. Koch, Hildesheim
Cognitive Advantage
•Cognitive advantage (CA)
–positive effects of multilingualism due to high cognitive demands (e.g.,
language switching) on basic cognitive functions
–e.g., working memory or executive functions (EFs; Bialystok, 2017; Antoniou,
2019)
–inconclusive results
–e.g., Lehtonen et al., 2019: no systematic evidence to support the CA
hypothesis regarding executive functions
•Needed: more differentiated methods, control of possible conditions
•Problem: studies differ in the assessment of cognitive functions, sample sizes,
sample composition (age, multilingualism, involved languages)
August 17th 2021 Martin J. Koch, Hildesheim
Broad Perspective on Switching and
Multilingual Advantages
•socio-linguistic switching as a reason for advantages
–includes switching of languages and cultural frame switching (Hong et al.,
2000)
–higher mental flexibility is needed for switching between sociocultural frames
and perspectives including social etiquette, implicit and explicit rules of
behaviour, specific ways of thinking, etc.
•examples for broader mental flexibility where multilinguals show advantages
–Theory of Mind (e.g., Kovács, 2009; Rubio-Fernandez & Glucksberg, 2012)
–Perspective Taking (Fan et al., 2015)
–Divergent Thinking (e.g., Kharkhurin, 2009; Leikin, 2012)
–ability to learn from new experiences and adjust behaviour accordingly
(Dewaele & Botes, 2019)
August 17th 2021 Martin J. Koch, Hildesheim
Flexible Goal Adjustment
•Flexible Goal Adjustment (FGA)
–describes processes of accommodatively letting go of unreachable goals,
reorienting towards new goals, changing or broadening the perspective
–conceptualised in the two-process model of developmental regulation (e.g.,
Brandtstädter & Renner, 1990)
•developmental conditions (Greve & Thomsen, 2013; Thomsen & Greve 2013)
–(1) Contextual conditions of individual ontogenesis of FGA
•heterogeneous complex life experiences
•so far, only shown for unrestricted play in childhood
–(2) Cognitive conditions of FGA
•EFs (some studies fail to show positive relations or show negative ones)
•Divergent Thinking
August 17th 2021 Martin J. Koch, Hildesheim
Research Questions
Does Multilingualism positively predict Flexible Goal
adjustment? Is this prediction mediated by Executive
Functions?
Hypothesis 1: Multilingualism predicts FGA.
→Multilingualism is a heterogeneous life experience that may promote FGA.
Hypothesis 2: The relationship between multilingualism and FGA is mediated by
EFs.
→If multilingualism enhances executive functions and executive functions were a
supporting or necessary condition for FGA, the assumed relation between
multilingualism and FGA may be partly mediated by executive functions.
August 17th 2021 Martin J. Koch, Hildesheim
Methods
•data elicitation
– “incidental” cross-sectional online sample
–questionnaire with SoSci-Survey
–standardised questionnaires
•data analysis
–mediation analysis with Process (Addon for SPSS)
–Degree of Multilingualism as the independent variable
–Executive Functions as mediator variable
–Flexible Goal Adjustment as the dependent variable
August 17th 2021 Martin J. Koch, Hildesheim
Methods - Operationalization
•Degree of Multilingualism
–Language and Social Background Questionnaire (Anderson et al., 2018)
–self-ratings for speaking, understanding, reading, and writing for each of the
(up to) three best languages multiplied with the intensity of usage
•Executive Functions
–adapted Stroop (Bialystok et al., 2008) and Flanker tasks (Luk et al. , 2011)
–online with SoSci-Survey: accuracy of 10 ms (Leiner, 2020)
•Flexible Goal Adjustment
–questionnaire (Brandtstädter & Renner, 1990)
– “In general, I am not upset very long about an opportunity passed up”
– “After a serious disappointment, I soon turn to new tasks”
August 17th 2021 Martin J. Koch, Hildesheim
Sample
N = 119
age: M= 36.4 (19–79)
May to July 2019
MLC group
MM ECM LCAM
N
35 17 67
Age (years)
41.72 (16.56) 29.47 (10.83) 34.60 (15.48)
age of
acquisition L2
10.13 (1.73) 1.67 (3.20) 9.57 (3.71)
age of
acquisition L3
11.17 (3.92) 8.29 (5.25) 14.94 (7.10)
L1
7.01 (2.19) 8.49 (1.24) 8.83 (1.29)
L2
3.55 (1.34) 6.38 (1.82) 7.01 (1.71)
L3
3.44 (.09) 5.63 (2.26) 4.65 (1.99)
use of 3 “best”
languages
8.89 (3.53) 20.33 (3.49) 18.66 (3.82)
N%
Germany
95
79.8
United
States
10
8.4
UK
6 5.0 MM: (mainly) monolinguals
ECM: early childhood multilinguals
LCAM: late childhood and adult multilinguals
Mean (SD)
August 17th 2021 Martin J. Koch, Hildesheim
Results: mediation
Degree of
multilingualism FGA
EFs
c’ = 0.03, p= .005
a*b = 0.00
95% CI = -0.0009, 0.0040
August 17th 2021 Martin J. Koch, Hildesheim
Results: moderated mediation I
Degree of
multilingualism FGA
EFs
Index of moderated mediation = -0.0001
95% CI = -0.0014, 0.0019
MLC
(mono/early/late)
August 17th 2021 Martin J. Koch, Hildesheim
Results: moderated mediation II
Degree of
multilingualism FGA
EFs
Age
c’ = .03, p= .003
August 17th 2021 Martin J. Koch, Hildesheim
Discussion
1. The degree of multilingualism positively predicts flexible goal
adjustment.
2. The prediction is not mediated by executive functions. EFs are not
predicted by multilingualism and do net predict FGA.
3. The prediction is not moderated by the type of multilingualism or the
age.
→This supports the assumption that multilingualism is a
heterogeneous life experience that may promote flexible goal
adjustment.
→The Cognitive Advantage Hypothesis is not supported.
4. The age additionally predicts FGA.
→Older individuals use more FGA: less resources to reach goals
August 17th 2021 Martin J. Koch, Hildesheim
Future Research
1. Include other conceptualisations of accommodative processes as
dependent variables.
2. Include the dimension of (multi-) cultural frame switching.
3. Divergent thinking as a possible mediator variable.
August 17th 2021 Martin J. Koch, Hildesheim
Thank you for listening!
kochm@uni-hildesheim.de
https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2021.1922420
August 17th 2021 Martin J. Koch, Hildesheim
References
Anderson, J. A. E., Mak, L., Keyvani Chahi, A., & Bialystok, E. (2018). The language and
social background questionnaire: Assessing degree of bilingualism in a diverse population.
Behavior Research Methods,50(1), 250–263. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-017-0867-9
Antoniou, M. (2019). The Advantages of Bilingualism Debate. Annual Review of Linguistics,
5(1), 395–415. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-linguistics-011718-011820
Bialystok, E. (2017). The bilingual adaptation: How minds accommodate experience.
Psychological Bulletin,143(3), 233–262. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000099
Bialystok, E., Craik, F., & Luk, G. (2008). Cognitive control and lexical access in younger and
older bilinguals. Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition,
34(4), 859–873. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.34.4.859
Brandtstädter, J., & Renner, G. (1990). Tenacious goal pursuit and flexible goal adjustment:
Explication and age-related analysis of assimilative and accommodative strategies of coping.
Psychology and Aging,5(1), 58–67. https://doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.5.1.58
August 17th 2021 Martin J. Koch, Hildesheim
References
Dewaele, J.-M., & Botes, E. (2020). Does multilingualism shape personality? An exploratory
investigation. International Journal of Bilingualism, 24(4), 811–823.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006919888581
Fan, S. P., Liberman, Z., Keysar, B., & Kinzler, K. D. (2015). The exposure advantage: Early
exposure to a multilingual environment promotes effective communication. Psychological
Science, 26(7), 1090–1097. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797615574699
Greve, W. & Thomsen, T. (2013). Developmental Conditions of Adaptive Self-Stabilization in
Adolescence: An Exploratory Study. International Journal of Developmental Science, 7(3-4),
119–131. https://doi.org/10.3233/DEV-120101
Hong, Y.-y., Morris, M. W., Chiu, C.-y., & Benet-Martínez, V. (2000). Multicultural minds: A
dynamic constructivist approach to culture and cognition. American Psychologist, 55(7), 709–
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Kharkhurin, A. V. (2009). The role of bilingualism in creative performance on divergent
thinking and invented alien creatures tests. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 43(1), 59–71.
https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2162-6057.2009.tb01306.x
Kovács, A. M. (2009). Early bilingualism enhances mechanisms of false-belief reasoning.
Developmental Science, 12(1), 48–54. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2008.00742.x
August 17th 2021 Martin J. Koch, Hildesheim
References
Lehtonen, M., Soveri, A., Laine, A., Järvenpää, J., Bruin, A. de, & Antfolk, J. (2018). Is
bilingualism associated with enhanced executive functioning in adults? A meta-analytic
review. Psychological Bulletin, 144(4), 394–425. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000142
Leikin, M. (2012). The effect of bilingualism on creativity: Developmental and educational
perspectives. International Journal of Bilingualism, 17(4), 431–447.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006912438300
Leiner, D. J. (2020). SoSci Survey (Version 3.2.18) [Computer software]. Available at:
https://www.soscisurvey.de.
Luk, G., Sa, E. de, & Bialystok, E. (2011). Is there a relation between onset age of
bilingualism and enhancement of cognitive control? Bilingualism: Language and Cognition,
14(4), 588–595. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728911000010
Rubio-Fernández, P., & Glucksberg, S. (2012). Reasoning about other people's beliefs:
Bilinguals have an advantage. Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and
Cognition, 38(1), 211–217. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025162
Thomsen, T. & Greve, W. (2013). Accommodative coping in early adolescence: An
investigation of possible developmental components. Journal of Adolescence, 36, 971–981.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2013.08.003
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Tenacious Goal Pursuit and Flexible Goal Adjustment: Explication and Age-Related Analysis of Assimilative and Accommodative Strategies of Coping
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