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Cognitive efficiency and expertise-dependent automaticity in the working memory performance of bilinguals
Federico Gallo1, Liliia Terekhina2, Jubin Abutalebi3
1PoLaR Lab, Center for Language, Brain and Learning, UiT-The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
Brain and Cognition
|May 13, 2025
Summary
More experienced bilinguals show better working memory performance, especially under high cognitive load. This suggests bilingualism enhances cognitive efficiency (CE) and automaticity, aiding task performance with increased difficulty.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Linguistics
Background:
- Cognitive efficiency (CE) and expertise-dependent automaticity are key to understanding bilingual cognitive adaptations.
- Bilingualism's impact on cognitive functions like working memory is an active area of research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the behavioral manifestations of cognitive efficiency and automaticity in bilingual young adults.
- To determine if the degree of bilingual experience predicts working memory performance under varying cognitive loads.
Main Methods:
- Participants completed an n-back task with cognitive loads ranging from 0-back to 3-back.
- Performance was measured by accuracy, reaction times, and the speed/accuracy tradeoff.
- The study manipulated task difficulty to observe effects on cognitive performance.
Main Results:
- A positive correlation was found between the degree of bilingual experience and working memory performance.
- More experienced bilinguals exhibited less performance decline as task difficulty increased, indicating enhanced cognitive efficiency.
- The speed/accuracy tradeoff varied with task difficulty and degree of bilingual experience, suggesting expertise-dependent automaticity.
Conclusions:
- Bilingualism positively influences working memory performance, particularly under high cognitive load.
- Greater bilingual experience is associated with improved cognitive efficiency and adaptive automaticity.
- These findings highlight the dynamic cognitive advantages conferred by bilingualism.
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