THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MULTILINGUALISM AND COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY IN INFANTS

Abstract

Multilingualism is a widespread phenomenon, characterising approximately more than half the world. Given the ubiquity of multilingualism, there is much research investigating the cognitive advantages of multilingualism. One exciting, yet controversial finding is a reported multilingual advantage in cognitive flexibility, a core dimension of executive function. Although some studies have found evidence to support a multilingual advantage in cognitive flexibility, others have failed to replicate the results. Cognitive flexibility tends to be investigated from pre-schoolers to older adults. There is a scarcity of studies examining the emergence of cognitive flexibility in pre-verbal infants. Thus, the current thesis aims to investigate the relationship between multilingualism and cognitive flexibility in infants. A total of 31 mother-infant dyads (31 mothers, 31 infants) with infants aged 12- to 18- months old participated in this study. Three cognitive flexibility tasks were administered, namely, the A-not-B task (which measures the ability to overcome perseverative responding), the Object Categorisation and Sequential Touching Task (which measures flexible categorisation of objects according to different dimensions), and the Attentional Set-Shifting Task, (which assesses the ability to shift attention from one featural dimension to a second dimension). The study yielded no showed no significant effects of multilingualism on infant?s cognitive flexibility outcomes. Limitations and future directions are discussed.