Anxiety and rumination impact bilingual individuals differently to monolingual individuals

Sixty-one young adults undertook an innovative test measuring their eye movements when performing a cognitive task. In this task, participants had to look away from a visual stimulus appearing on a computer screen when the natural tendency is to look towards it. Their ability to "suppress" the automatic response and re-plan the action to complete the task correctly was recorded in terms of accuracy and speed.

The researchers at the IOE’s Multilanguage and Cognition lab, found significant performance differences between bilingual and monolingual participants with non-clinical levels of anxiety, with bilinguals completing the tasks less accurately. No difference in performance was observed in monolingual and bilingual people without anxiety.  

First author, Dr Julia Ouzia (IOE), said: “This is a rather surprising finding. Much of the literature indicates the existence of a bilingual cognitive advantage. However, there are very few studies that investigate the link between multilinguistic experience and emotional traits like depression and anxiety. This finding suggests that bilingualism can influence the complex interplay between cognition and emotion. The reasons for this result are unclear and we look forward to unpacking them through further research.”

Professor Peter Bright (Anglia Ruskin), co-author of this study, said: “We now have robust evidence that the process of becoming bilingual can modulate how adverse emotions influence behaviour. More broadly, our findings invite questions which transcend the field of bilingual cognition to incorporate the dynamic and reciprocal interplay between emotion and cognitive control.” 

Dr Roberto Filippi (IOE), co-author and Director of the Multilanguage and Cognition lab, said: “We have been studying the effects of multilinguage acquisition on cognitive development for more than a decade but this is the first time we have incorporated adverse emotional traits in our paradigm. We plan to extend our research to other age groups (i.e. children and older adults) and try to better understand how emotions and language skills can interact and shape our minds.”

The study has been funded by the Leverhulme Trust UK.

Links

• Read the paper: ‘Attentional Control in Bilingualism: An Exploration of the Effects of Trait Anxiety and Rumination on Inhibition’
• Multilanguage and Cognition lab
• Department of Psychology and Human Development
• View Dr Julia Ouzia’s research profile
• View Dr Roberto Filippi research profile
• View Professor Peter Bright's research profile