Role of Cognitive Flexibility in Bilingualism and Creativity

Abstract

The present study examined cognitive flexibility as a mediator in the relationship between bilingualism and creativity. Other variables, such as cultural orientation, multicultural experience, and second language acquisition age, were also included to comprehensively understand associations with creativity. The mediation effect of cognitive flexibility was analyzed using a bootstrapping method with a sample of 89 Korean-English bilingual college students through an online survey. Findings indicated that bilingualism was not statistically associated with creativity but that cognitive flexibility mediated the relationship between bilingualism and creative ideation (i.e., fluency, originality, and flexibility), indicating that the relationship of creative ideation with bilingualism depended on cognitive flexibility. Also, cognitive flexibility played an important role in the relationship between multicultural experience and two indices of creative potential (i.e., fluency and flexibility, but not originality). Bilingualism was the most accurate predictor of cognitive flexibility. Limitations and future research are discussed.