Attention during visual search: The benefit of bilingualism

Abstract

Aims and Objectives/Purpose/Research Questions Following reports showing bilingual advantages in executive control (EC) performance, the current study investigated the role of selective attention as a foundational skill that might underlie these advantages. Design/Methodology/Approach Bilingual and monolingual young adults performed a visual search task by determining whether a target shape was present amid distractor shapes. Task difficulty was manipulated by search type (feature or conjunction) and by the number and discriminability of the distractors. In feature searches, the target (e.g., green triangle) differed on a single dimension (e.g., color) from the distractors (e.g., yellow triangles); in conjunction searches, two types of distractors (e.g., pink circles and turquoise squares) each differed from the target (e.g., turquoise circle) on a single but different dimension (e.g., color or shape). Data and Analysis Reaction time and accuracy data from 109 young adults (53 monolinguals and 56 bilinguals) were analyzed using a repeated-measures analysis of variance. Group membership, search type, number and discriminability of distractors were the independent variables. Findings/Conclusions Participants identified the target more quickly in the feature searches, when the target was highly discriminable from the distractors and when there were fewer distractors. Importantly, although monolinguals and bilinguals performed equivalently on the feature searches, bilinguals were significantly faster than monolinguals in identifying the target in the more difficult conjunction search, providing evidence for better control of visual attention in bilinguals Originality Unlike previous studies on bilingual visual attention, the current study found a bilingual attention advantage in a paradigm that did not include a Stroop-like manipulation to set up false expectations. Significance/Implications Thus, our findings indicate that the need to resolve explicit conflict or overcome false expectations is unnecessary for observing a bilingual advantage in selective attention. Observing this advantage in a fundamental skill suggests that it may underlie higher order bilingual advantages in EC.

Comparing visual search and eye movements in bilinguals and monolinguals

“…Search difficulty was manipulated by varying the similarity of distractors to the target, both in shape and in color shades. Previous studies documenting a bilingual search advantage used color stimuli (e.g., Friesen et al, 2015; Hernández et al, 2012). Thus, it is possible that bilinguals were more efficient at locating targets because they were better at using colors to guide search.…”

“…Previous findings suggested that bilinguals are more efficient than monolinguals at finding target stimuli embedded among distractors (Friesen et al, 2015; Hernández et al, 2012). This visual search advantage may reflect better attentional guidance or faster response initiation (as was suggested by Hilchey & Klein, 2011), or a combination of both.…”

“…The benefits of higher WMC and bilingualism may also extend to visual search tasks (e.g., Friesen, Latman, Calvo, & Bialystok, 2015; Hernández, Costa, & Humphreys, 2012; Poole & Kane, 2009; Sobel, Gerrie, Poole, & Kane, 2007). Visual search is a flexible paradigm that has the potential to help address theoretical questions regarding EF.…”

“…Friesen and colleagues (2015) compared young adult bilinguals and monolinguals in feature and conjunction search tasks. In feature search, target shapes differed from distractors by only one feature (e.g., color).…”

“…The specific process(es) underlying the bilingual advantage shown in prior visual search studies cannot be determined, as overall response times (RTs) share contributions from both processes (see Hout & Goldinger, 2015; Hout, Walenchok, Goldinger, & Wolfe, 2015). Friesen et al (2015) recommended that “Future research should employ eye-tracking techniques to investigate whether it is the time course of engaging and disengaging attention when scanning the display that is more rapid for bilinguals or whether bilinguals are better able to initiate a response once the target has been found” (p. 700).…”