RESEARCH

Does being bilingual or multilingual enhance cognition? If so, which aspects of cognition? Are these benefits present in all bilinguals, or only those who have been bilingual their whole lives? My research currently examines these questions in two areas of cognition: executive function and creativity.

EXECUTIVE FUNCTION &
STEREOTYPE CUES

Is there a bilingual advantage in executive function? Can stereotype threat and lift exacerbate this advantage (if there is one)?

The existence of a bilingual advantage in executive function is heavily debated. My research compares monolingual and multilingual performance on two measures of executive function: the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (shifting), and the Flanker task (inhibition). Furthermore, I sought to determine if stereotype threat and lift effects could be extended to the domain of language status, and if these cues could influence the magnitude of a potential bilingual advantage.

 LANGUAGE & CULTURE 

ON CREATIVITY

Does being bilingual enhance creativity, or does exposure to different cultures related to a person's languages provide this benefit?

While there is more consensus that bilingualism enhances creativity, it is less certain whether this advantage comes from bilingualism in and of itself, or biculturalism resulting from bilingualism. My research aims to determine whether language or culture is a better predictor of creativity, and how these two factors impact performance on divergent and convergent thinking tasks.