Do Bilinguals Have an Advantage in Theory of Mind? A Meta-Analysis

Schroeder, Scott R.

doi:10.3389/fcomm.2018.00036

Cited by 80 publications

(106 citation statements)

References 48 publications

(82 reference statements)

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“…Anticipating others' communicative intentions is at the heart of irony comprehension (Fan, Liberman, Keysar, & Kinzler, 2015) and relates to capacities in perspective-taking, mentalizing, and Theory of Mind. To this end, a recent meta-analysis revealed that, despite controlling for publication bias, bilingualism cultivated Theory of Mind to a greater degree than monolingualism (Schroeder, 2018).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Second language experience impacts first language irony comprehension among bilingual adults.

Tiv¹,

Deodato²,

Rouillard³

et al. 2021

Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology / Revue canadienne

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Recently, core components of irony processing (e.g., mental-state reasoning, executive control, and metalinguistic awareness) have been tentatively linked to bilingual experience. Thus, we investigated whether bilingual experience modulates irony comprehension during first language reading, and also how bilingual adults comprehend irony in positive vs. negative contexts (i.e., ironic compliments vs. criticisms, respectively). We deliver three main findings. First, bilinguals are faster at processing ironic criticisms than ironic compliments, and they find ironic criticisms more sensible than ironic compliments in their L1, much like past findings among monolinguals. Second, individual differences in bilingual experience modulate comprehension of ironic statements. Specifically, readers with high global L2 proficiency find ironic statements more sensible than readers with low global L2 proficiency, regardless of the valence of the preceding context. Third, individual differences in global L2 proficiency further predict the speed of L1 irony comprehension: following a positive scenario, greater global L2 proficiency patterns with faster processing of irony compared to literal statements. Together, these data suggest that second language experience may be linked to irony processing in the first language. While the precise mechanism underlying this relationship remains open, potential sources may be rooted in flexible social cognition or executive functions.

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Second language experience impacts first language irony comprehension among bilingual adults.

Tiv¹,

Deodato²,

Rouillard³

et al. 2021

Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology / Revue canadienne

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Bilingual experience has been argued to strengthen executive functions (Baum & Titone, 2014;Green & Abutalebi, 2013;Gullifer & Titone, in press; c.f. Lehtonen, Soveri, Laine, Järvenpää, de Bruin, & Antfolk, 2018), support mental state inferencing (Schroeder, 2018), and alter sociocultural expectations (Pavlenko, 2006). Executive functions are a set of cognitive processes needed to control thought and behavior, subsuming working memory, monitoring, inhibition, and flexibility (Miyake & Friedman, 2012).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Global Second Language Proficiency Predicts Self-Perceptions of General Sarcasm Use Among Bilingual Adults

Tiv

Rouillard

Vingron

et al. 2019

Journal of Language and Social Psychology

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Each culture has a distinct set of features that contribute to a unique communication style. For example, bilinguals often balance multiple social contexts and may undergo cognitive changes that consequently support different communication styles. The present work examines how individual differences in bilingual experience affect one form of communication style: sarcastic and indirect language. A diverse sample of largely bilingual adults (first language English) rated their likelihood of using sarcastic and indirect language across different daily settings. They also rated their second language experience. There were two key findings: Bilinguals use sarcasm for similar social functions as do monolinguals (general sarcasm, frustration diffusion, and

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“…In support of the current endeavor, however, they show the same pattern of relationships on tasks that require linking of mental files. Diaz and Farrar's study suggests that bilingual experience may have a causal effect on the ability to link files, which may account for bilingual advantages in theory of mind (Schroeder, 2018).…”

Section: Bilingualismmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Their primary aim was to account for the reported bilingual advantage in the false belief task (Goetz, 2003;Kovács, 2009;Nguyen & Astington, 2014). Schroeder (2018) concludes from a metaanalysis that there is a small bilingual advantage, and a medium advantage for studies that adjust for bilingual children's lower proficiency in a single language. Diaz and Farrar (2018) compared performances on false belief tasks, an executive function composite, and a metalinguistic composite which included the judgement version of the alternative naming task (Doherty & Perner, 1998).…”

Section: Bilingualismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental files: Developmental integration of dual naming and theory of mind

Doherty

Perner

2020

Developmental Review

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We use mental files theory to provide an integral theory of children's diverse dual naming problems and why these problems are overcome when children pass the false belief test. When an object is encountered under different appearances or given different verbal labels, two distinct representations (mental files) may be deployed for that single object. The resulting files refer to the same object but capture different perspectives on the object. Such coreferential files can thus be used to represent people's differing perspectives (e.g., belief). Typically the existence of different files indicates the existence of two separate objects. To mark that only a single object is involved, coreferential files need to be linked. Development of the ability to link files provides a powerful developmental explanation for success on dual labelling and perspective tasks at the same age, around 4 years: processing identity statements, overcoming mutual exclusivity (accepting different labels for an object), visual perspective taking, and understanding differences of belief. Mental files also provide a new framework for understanding conceptual pacts and their relation to mutual exclusivity in children and adults.

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Do Bilinguals Have an Advantage in Theory of Mind? A Meta-Analysis

Cited by 80 publications

References 48 publications

Second language experience impacts first language irony comprehension among bilingual adults.

Second language experience impacts first language irony comprehension among bilingual adults.

Global Second Language Proficiency Predicts Self-Perceptions of General Sarcasm Use Among Bilingual Adults

Mental files: Developmental integration of dual naming and theory of mind

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