Tag: Kuskie

Cognitive Differences Between Bilingual and Monolingual Children

In this evidence-based synthesis paper, I reviewed findings across 15 empirical studies from 2008 to 2021 to summarize what is currently known about cognitive differences between bilingual and monolingual children. The differences between bilingual and monolingual children have been studied since the early 20th century. There was much debate as to whether there was an advantage or disadvantage in executive function and memory flexibility for bilingual children. Most researchers have found that there is a bilingual advantage in the inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility of executive function, as well as memory flexibility. There does not appear to be a clear advantage or disadvantage to the working memory process of executive function. Furthermore, researchers utilized that information to explore what effect that advantage has on language acquisition and survival processing. Some limitations to the research conducted was that there is not one cohesive definition of a bilingual child, and the requirement for the participants utilized varied in each study depending upon the definition used. Additionally, most studies are not replicable due to the strict nature of the groups studied and the variation that occurs between the different languages that each study tested.

PSY499- Psychology Capstone

Dr. Erin Mueller

3pm – P103