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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 20, 2026

Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task

Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task

Published on: February 26, 2020

Recent language experience influences cross-language activation in bilinguals with different scripts.

Chuchu Li¹, Min Wang², Candise Y Lin³

¹Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, USA.

The International Journal of Bilingualism : Cross-Disciplinary, Cross-Linguistic Studies of Language Behavior

|October 24, 2017

Summary

Bilinguals may not automatically activate non-target language phonology. However, pre-activated phonological information can cause language competition, impacting bilingual processing.

Keywords:

Phonology bilingual cross-language activation different script language experience

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Psycholinguistics
Neuroscience of Language

Background:

Bilingual language processing is complex, involving the interplay of multiple languages.
Understanding how phonological information is accessed and interferes in bilinguals is crucial for cognitive models.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the activation of phonological information in the non-target language in bilinguals.
To determine the influence of this activation on bilingual language processing using the Stroop paradigm.

Main Methods:

Employed the Stroop paradigm with Mandarin-English bilinguals across two experiments.
Stimuli included color characters, homophones, and phonologically similar characters, with naming accuracy and latency measured.
Planned t-tests compared phonological conditions against a neutral baseline.

Main Results:

Experiment 1 showed a classic Stroop effect for direct color characters.
Experiment 2 revealed significant Stroop interference in the congruent homophone condition, suggesting phonological activation.
Results indicate non-target phonological activation may not be automatic but can occur with pre-activation.

Conclusions:

Phonological information from the non-target language may not be automatically activated in bilinguals, especially with different scripts.
Pre-activation of non-target phonology can lead to interlingual competition at phonological and lemma levels.
This research offers novel insights into the mechanisms of bilingual language processing.