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Related Experiment Videos

Random number generation in native and foreign languages.

Hans Strenge1, Jessica Bohm

  • 1Institute of Medical Psychology, University of Kiel, Germany. strenge@med-psych-uni.kiel.de

Perceptual and Motor Skills
|August 5, 2004
PubMed
Summary

Language proficiency impacts random number generation. Lower proficiency in foreign languages (L2, L3) increases errors and slows responses, especially at higher speeds, affecting cognitive tasks.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Psycholinguistics
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Random number generation (RNG) is a fundamental cognitive task.
  • Language proficiency is known to influence various cognitive processes.
  • The relationship between non-native language use and RNG performance is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how varying levels of language proficiency affect random number generation.
  • To examine the impact of native (L1) versus foreign languages (L2, L3) on RNG.
  • To explore the influence of generation speed on RNG performance across different languages.

Main Methods:

  • 16 healthy students (German L1, English L2, French L3) performed RNG tasks.
  • Participants generated sequences of digits 1-9 at 1, 1.5, and 2 Hz.
  • Data analyzed for patterns of redundancy, seriation, response time, and errors.

Main Results:

  • Increased speed led to more errors and non-random patterns (redundancy, seriation) across all languages.
  • Using foreign languages (L2, L3) significantly slowed responses and increased errors compared to L1.
  • Non-random performance was most pronounced in L3 at 2 Hz, showing dissociation in counting patterns.

Conclusions:

  • Lower language proficiency interferes with random number generation, particularly at higher cognitive loads.
  • Attentional capacity limits in non-native languages can lead to rule-breaking and errors in cognitive tasks.
  • Self-assessed proficiency did not correlate with objective performance measures in RNG.

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