The Quest for Signals in Noise: Leveraging Experiential Variation to Identify Bilingual Phenotypes

Abstract

Increasing evidence suggests that bilingualism does not, in itself, result in a particular pattern of response, revealing instead a complex and multidimensional construct that is shaped by evolutionary and ecological sources of variability. Despite growing recognition of the need for a richer characterization of bilingual speakers and of the different contexts of language use, we understand relatively little about the boundary conditions of putative “bilingualism” effects. Here, we review recent findings that demonstrate how variability in the language experiences of bilingual speakers, and also in the ability of bilingual speakers to adapt to the distinct demands of different interactional contexts, impact interactions between language use, language processing, and cognitive control processes generally. Given these findings, our position is that systematic variation in bilingual language experience gives rise to a variety of phenotypes that have different patterns of associations across language processing and cognitive outcomes. The goal of this paper is thus to illustrate how focusing on systematic variation through the identification of bilingual phenotypes can provide crucial insights into a variety of performance patterns, in a manner that has implications for previous and future research.

Individual and Sociolinguistic Differences in Language Background Predict Stroop Performance

“…In general terms, the influence of sociolinguistic context in our current study may be explained within the framework of the adaptive control hypothesis ( Green and Abutalebi, 2013 ). Sociolinguistic contexts with varying demands on language interaction, such as contexts of competitive vs. cooperative language use ( Beatty-Martínez and Titone, 2021 ), shape cognitive control performance in bilinguals. Given the language background information collected from participants in the current study, it is likely that the participants in SoCal functioned in a more integrated (cooperative) and linguistically diverse language context where both languages were used frequently, while the environment for participants in the Midwest reflected a potentially less integrated and potentially more competitive language environment in which the majority language was used more.…”

“…The adaptive control hypothesis posits that bilinguals respond adaptively to the demands on language use within their sociolinguistic environments ( Green and Abutalebi, 2013 ). Indeed, a number of studies suggest that cognitive control is shaped by bilinguals’ contexts, such as whether they are exposed to primarily single language use vs. dual language use environments ( Green and Wei, 2014 ; Green, 2018 ; Beatty-Martínez et al, 2020 ; Beatty-Martínez and Titone, 2021 ; Khodos and Moskovsky, 2021 ; Zhang et al, 2021 ). Here, we consider sociolinguistic context as a constellation of variables that constitute bilingual experience, such as L2 proficiency, exposure, and age of L2 acquisition.…”

Language Entropy Relates to Behavioral and Pupil Indices of Executive Control in Young Adult Bilinguals

“…There is now a general consensus that it is unattainable to accurately represent the dynamic, multifaceted, and complex nature of bilingualism by treating it as a binary construct ( Bialystok, 2021 , this special issue). Recent work examining bilingualism on a continuum has suggested that individual experiences place different demands on language control and domain-general cognitive systems, each differentially shaping language processing, cognitive functioning, and brain structure and function ( DeLuca et al, 2019 ; Beatty-Martínez and Titone, 2021 ; Gullifer and Titone, 2021b ). Despite recent attempts to unravel the complexity of bilingualism and its consequences for cognition, much remains unknown about how bilingual experiences may be responsible for these neurocognitive adaptations.…”

Bilingualism caught in a net: A new approach to understanding the complexity of bilingual experience.

“…In fact, the need to investigate systematic variation in bilingual experiences has been recognized in many recent articles (Backer & Bortfeld, 2021; Beatty-Martínez & Titone, 2021; Blanco-Elorrieta & Caramazza, 2021; de Bruin et al, 2021; DeLuca et al, 2019; Navarro-Torres et al, 2021; Pliatsikas, DeLuca, & Voits, 2020). In particular, research posits that systematic variation in bilingual experience may give rise to a variety of bilingual phenotypes that display different patterns of relationship between language and cognitive processes (Beatty-Martínez & Titone, 2021; Navarro-Torres et al, 2021). The psychometric model of bilingualism should capture the variation in bilingual experience and therefore clarify how bilingualism should be conceptualized and operationalized in the literature.…”