Cognitive advantage in bilingualism: An example of publication bias?

Angela de Bruin, Barbara Treccani, Sergio Della Sala

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

It is a widely held belief that bilinguals have an advantage over monolinguals in executive-control tasks, but is this what all studies actually demonstrate? The idea of a bilingual advantage may result from a publication bias favoring studies with positive results over studies with null or negative effects. To test this hypothesis, we looked at conference abstracts from 1999 to 2012 on the topic of bilingualism and executive control. We then determined which of the studies they reported were subsequently published. Studies with results fully supporting the bilingual-advantage theory were most likely to be published, followed by studies with mixed results. Studies challenging the bilingual advantage were published the least. This discrepancy was not due to differences in sample size, tests used, or statistical power. A test for funnel-plot asymmetry provided further evidence for the existence of a publication bias.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)99-107
Number of pages9
JournalPsychological Science
Volume26
Issue number1
Early online date4 Dec 2014
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2015

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