Abstract
We examined whether a bilingual advantage can be found in older bilinguals that share the same cultural background with monolinguals. Sixteen Gaelic-English bilinguals over the age of 60 years were compared with three monolingual control groups in performance on the Simon task, as well as in general intelligence and socio-economic status. Some of the monolinguals were bidialectal allowing us to also test whether switching between dialects can incur similar cognitive benefits as bilingualism. Results showed no group differences in overall reaction times as well as in the Simon effect suggesting that individuals that share a cultural background may not exhibit differences in inhibitory control even if they routinely use another dialect or another language. This opens up the possibility that other factors associated with bilingualism, like immigrant status, may be responsible for the bilingual advantage found in some but not in other studies.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Title of host publication | 35th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (CogSci 2013) |
Subtitle of host publication | cooperative minds: social ineraction and group dynamics |
Editors | Markus Knauff , Michael Pauen, Natalie Sebanz, Ipke Wachsmuth |
Place of Publication | Austin, TX |
Publisher | Cognitive Science Society |
Pages | 782-787 |
Number of pages | 6 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781629930817 |
Publication status | Published - Nov 2013 |
Event | 35th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society: Cooperative minds: social interaction and group dynamics - Berlin, Germany Duration: 31 Jul 2013 → 3 Aug 2013 Conference number: 35th https://cognitivesciencesociety.org/past-conferences/ |
Conference
Conference | 35th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society |
---|---|
Abbreviated title | CogSci 2013 |
Country/Territory | Germany |
City | Berlin |
Period | 31/07/13 → 3/08/13 |
Internet address |
Keywords
- Bilingualism
- Bildialectism
- Inhibitory control
- Simon test