The Effect of Bilingualism in Children’s Ability to Solve a Perspective – Taking Task
Session
Psychology
Description
Previous research has demonstrated that bilingualism contributes to cognitive advantages in nonverbal tasks. This study examines whether these cognitive advantages extend to spatial problems, more precisely the perspective-taking task. Fourteen bilingual and 14 monolingual third-grade children were compared on their ability to solve a perspective-taking task, which required them to imagine what an observer would see from a viewpoint that was different from their own. The background measures showed that children from both groups had similar cognitive functioning. In perspective-taking, the main difference was found in the comparison of different trials. Bilinguals were more consistent across all trials, while monolinguals showed more variability. Generally, monolinguals made more errors than bilinguals, especially in conditions that involved the most conflict.
Keywords:
Bilingualism, monolinguals, children, spatial cognition, perspective-taking task
Session Chair
Violeta Zefi
Session Co-Chair
Ibrahim Neziri
Proceedings Editor
Edmond Hajrizi
ISBN
978-9951-437-69-1
Location
Pristina, Kosovo
Start Date
27-10-2018 10:45 AM
End Date
27-10-2018 12:15 PM
DOI
10.33107/ubt-ic.2018.421
Recommended Citation
Shahini, Vjollca Pllana and Bialystok, Ellen, "The Effect of Bilingualism in Children’s Ability to Solve a Perspective – Taking Task" (2018). UBT International Conference. 421.
https://knowledgecenter.ubt-uni.net/conference/2018/all-events/421
The Effect of Bilingualism in Children’s Ability to Solve a Perspective – Taking Task
Pristina, Kosovo
Previous research has demonstrated that bilingualism contributes to cognitive advantages in nonverbal tasks. This study examines whether these cognitive advantages extend to spatial problems, more precisely the perspective-taking task. Fourteen bilingual and 14 monolingual third-grade children were compared on their ability to solve a perspective-taking task, which required them to imagine what an observer would see from a viewpoint that was different from their own. The background measures showed that children from both groups had similar cognitive functioning. In perspective-taking, the main difference was found in the comparison of different trials. Bilinguals were more consistent across all trials, while monolinguals showed more variability. Generally, monolinguals made more errors than bilinguals, especially in conditions that involved the most conflict.