BILINGUALISM ENRICHES THE POOR:
ENHANCED COGNITIVE CONTROL IN
LOW-INCOME MINORITY CHILDREN
BY: GABRIEL ALARCON
STUDY OVERVIEW
• Purpose: To find a bilingual cognitive advantage and it’s specific
process, in lower socioeconomic class (SES) of immigrant children
• Subjects: Compared 40 bilingual children with 40 monolingual
children. Same low SES and cultural background (N. Portugal)
• Tests: Measured language proficiency and cognitive abilities
• Results: Bilingual advantage in cognitive control only, not affected
by socioeconomic status or cultural differences
HYPOTHESIS
• Bilingualism selectively affects the ability to resolve conflict, an
aspect of cognitive control, and that this difference would emerge
in carefully matched children from low-SES backgrounds.
POSSIBLE CONCERNS AND CONFOUNDS
• Bilingual executive functioning advantage not found in all studies
• Improper SES matching across groups in previous studies
• SES may determine access to opportunities that bilingualism
presents
• Few studies on bilingual children in poverty
• No studies matching monolingual vs bilingual immigrants in the
SAME SES
LUXEMBOURG
• Trilingual country (Luxembourgish, German, French)
• Taught German at age 6 and French at age 7.
• Portuguese largest foreign born population (16%)
SUBJECTS
• 40 bilingual (Portuguese and Luxembourgish) children living in Luxembourg
• 1st and 2nd generation low SES, parents emigrated from Northern Portugal
• 40 monolingual children (Portuguese) living in Northern Portugal
• Samples are from the same region, and sociodemographic background
• All 18% below poverty line
• 99% Caucasian, 1% other
• 50/50 gender
• Samples are 2nd graders
SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC CHART
METHODS
• M=22 students
• Equivalent curriculums
• Total 121 children assessed, 67 from Luxembourg, and 54 from
Portugal
• SES criteria matched
• Language measures ( 3 test administered)
• Cognitive measures (5 test administered)
• Terms: Representation and Control
METHODS: TYPES OF TEST
Raven’s Colored
Progressive Matrices
Odd One Out
Dot Matrix
Flanker Task
Sky Search Attention Task
RESULTS
• Vocabulary Test: Bilinguals named more words in Portuguese, but
monolinguals performed better on Portuguese single vocabulary
test.
• Expressive One Word Picture Vocabulary Test: Monolinguals
performed better.
• Raven’s: Groups did not differ in abstract reasoning.
• Odd One Out and Dot Matrix: Groups did not differ on working
memory.
RESULTS
• Sky Search: Bilinguals faster on motor control, but overall scores do
not significantly differ.
• Flanker: Bilinguals had faster reaction times (RT) in both congruent
and incongruent trials.
• Between Groups: Bilinguals outperformed on control, but groups
performed equally on representation
DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS
VARIMAX ROTATION
FACTOR 1 = REPRESENTATION
FACTOR 2 = CONTROL
Between Groups: Bilinguals outperformed on control factor,
but groups performed equally on representation.
DISCUSSIONS
• Control and representation are two specific cognitive factors
• Bilingualism only affects control
• The bilingual control advantage showed in children in lower SES
• Higher demand for control required, the more likely this
advantage emerges
• Dispels economic or cultural confounds
• Data consistent with idea that bilingualism strengthens “control”
cognitive abilities because of sorting different lexicons
REFERENCES
•
Engel de Abreu PMJ, Cruz-Santos A, Tourinho CJ, Martin R, Bialystok E. Bilingualism Enriches the Poor:
Enhanced Cognitive Control in Low-Income Minority Children. Psychological science. 2012;23(11):1364-1371.
doi:10.1177/0956797612443836.