Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S1366728914000704How to cite this article: LAURA SABOURIN and SANTA VĪNERTE (2015). The bilingual advantage in the Stroop task: simultaneous vs. early bilinguals.The Stroop task has become a popular paradigm in investigations of bilingual cognitive control. While several studies show a cognitive control advantage for bilinguals, recent studies have countered these findings. The present study investigates two factors that may account for conflicting results: participant grouping and task difficulty. While we find no differences between simultaneous and early bilinguals (age groups traditionally both classified as "early" bilinguals) when the task uses only one language, we find a significant difference between the two when languages are mixed. We suggest treating the two groups as distinct, and note the importance of the bilingual context. for their help with testing participants. We further thank all members of the Brain and Language Lab for discussions during the setting up and implementing of this research. We also thank Greg Poarch and one anonymous reviewer for comments on an earlier version of this paper.

The prevalence of bilingualism has prompted considerable interest in the effects of speaking 2 languages on the mind and brain, and although it is now well-established that both languages are simultaneously active in the bilingual mind, whether this has any effect on general cognition remains a matter of intense debate. In this review, we examine some of the theoretical underpinnings and hypotheses of bilingual benefits, as well as experimental evidence in favor of and against the bilingual advantage claim. Given the complicated results of behavioral studies, we support a more holistic, brain-based approach to exploring the effects of bilingualism on cognitive control, and review 2 recent theories that outline neurobiological mechanisms by which the ability to control 2 languages affects general cognitive processes. Public Significance StatementThere is an ongoing debate regarding whether or not bilingualism enhances general cognitive control abilities such as inhibition and attention. This work reviews both sides of the debate, examining both theoretical and experimental evidence. Given that this evidence is highly inconsistent when looking at behavior, a brain-based approach is suggested, and two brain-based theories are outlined.

While several studies have shown a bilingual advantage in cognitive control, others have refuted such findings, leading to debates regarding the existence of bilingual benefits. The current study conducts two experiments to investigate this issue, focusing on the effect of the age of second language immersion in young adult non-immigrant bilinguals. We use a colour-word Stroop task to assess linguistic cognitive control, and an Attention Network Test to examine non-linguistic cognitive control. Results show significant differences between Simultaneous and Early Sequential bilinguals (typically grouped together as ‘early’) in the Stroop task, but these only become apparent when both languages are mixed. Simultaneous bilinguals also show improved Executive Control efficiency, particularly in the presence of alerting and orienting cues, suggesting enhanced attentional skills for this group. We discuss these findings with respect to participant grouping and task effects, noting the importance of the language environment.

In this paper we integrate and reinterpret new data from a set of experiments in our lab in order to tease apart many of the factors thought to influence bilingual processing. Specifically we combine data from studies investigating age of immersion (AoI), manner of acquisition (MoA), proficiency and context of bilingualism to (1) investigate the organization of the bilingual mental lexicon and (2) determine the nature of the interaction between bilingualism and cognitive control. We suggest that a naturalistic MoA promotes the integration of the bilingual lexicon, and that an early AoI per se is somewhat less important (though it tends to lead to a more naturalistic MoA). Further, bilinguals with an integrated bilingual lexicon (i.e., naturalistic learners) only develop cognitive control advantages if they are in a dual-language environment.

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