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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 12, 2025

Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task

Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task

Published on: February 26, 2020

Word concreteness modulates bilingual language control during reading comprehension.

Junjie Wu¹, Hongyu Zhao¹, Xinye Wu¹

¹Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University.

Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition

|September 19, 2024

Summary

Bilingual language control during reading is affected by word concreteness. Concrete words increase language switching costs, while abstract words do not, suggesting word properties influence bilingual processing.

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Area of Science:

Psycholinguistics
Cognitive Neuroscience
Bilingualism Research

Background:

Debates exist regarding bilingual language control during comprehension.
The influence of word concreteness on language control has been under-explored.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the modulating effect of word concreteness on bilingual language control.
To examine how word abstractness versus concreteness impacts language switching costs in bilinguals.

Main Methods:

An experiment involving Chinese-English bilinguals (n=60).
Participants performed word reading tasks with language switching.
Abstract and concrete words were used to manipulate nontarget language activation.

Main Results:

Abstract words did not yield significant switching costs.
Concrete words resulted in significantly larger switching costs.
This indicates greater language control demands for concrete words.

Conclusions:

Word concreteness modulates bilingual language control during reading.
Language control demands increase with word concreteness.
Findings offer insights into the interaction of word properties and bilingual processing.