Finnish Academy Research Fellow, Principal Investigator
Department of Psychology and Logopedics; Åbo Akademi University , Turku
Is bilingualism associated with enhanced executive functions? A meta-analysis
Bilingualism has been associated with superior performance in tasks requiring executive functions (EF), assumedly reflecting bilinguals’ massive experience of managing the two languages. However, despite extensive investigation, research has not produced a comprehensive picture on the nature of the putative bilingual advantage. Moreover, the field has been found to suffer from publication bias. The aim of this meta-analysis is to study in which EF domains and tasks, if any, the advantage is consistently observed. In an analysis of 152 studies and 891 effect sizes, we also consider a number of study-, task-, and participant-related variables previously suggested to moderate the effects.