Comparing Verbal And Spatial Working Memory In Monolingual And Bilingual Speakers

Abstract

The bilingual advantage has been demonstrated in different domains of cognitive functioning, especially executive functioning. Compared to other domains of executive functioning, the impact of bilingualism on working memory in children and adults has received relatively little attention. Moreover, research on the bilingual advantage in young adults has produced mix results in tasks where working memory is required. The present study examined whether bilingual expertise yielded different results depending on the working memory task. The present study included 54 participants, 44 identified as female and 10 identified as male. Spatial working memory was measured using the computerized spatial span task (C-SST). Verbal working memory was measured using the backward digit span. It was hypothesized that bilingual speakers would outperform monolingual participants in the verbal and spatial span tasks. The results of the present study did not support the hypothesis. There were no differences between bilingual and monolingual speakers in the verbal or spatial task. There was a small correlation between performance in the verbal and spatial working memory tasks. This relation was attributed to similar cognitive processes associated with working memory tasks (Miyake et al., 2000).