Open AccessEarly executive function: The influence of culture and bilingualism
Author(s) -
Crystal D. Tran,
Maria M. Arredondo,
Hanako Yoshida
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
bilingualism
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.471
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1469-1841
pISSN - 1366-7289
DOI - 10.1017/s1366728918000160
Subject(s) - neuroscience of multilingualism , psychology , cognition , function (biology) , developmental psychology , set (abstract data type) , executive functions , cognitive psychology , neuroscience , biology , evolutionary biology , computer science , programming language
Evidence suggests that cultural experiences and learning multiple languages have measurable effects on children's cognitive development (EF). However, the precise impact of how bilingualism and culture contribute to observed effects remains inconclusive. The present study aims to investigate how these factors shape the development of early EF constructs longitudinally, between monolingual and bilingual children at ages 3, 3 ½ and 4 years, with a set of EF tasks that are uniquely relevant to the effects of bilingualism and cultural practices. We hypothesize that the effects of bilingualism and cultural backgrounds (i.e., Eastern) are based on different, though related, cognitive control processes associated with different EF constructs. Results revealed a significant bilingualism effect on cognitive control processes measuring selective attention, switching, and inhibition; while an effect of culture was most pronounced on behavioral regulation/response inhibition. Contributions of bilingualism and cultural experiences on individual EF constructs across development are discussed.