Abstract:
It is proposed that bilingual individuals have advantages in executive function (EF) and self-regulation, which is referred to as the Bilingual Advantage Hypothesis (BAH). To examine this hypothesis in a novel way, this thesis examines a group of bilingual preschool-aged children, rather than comparing bilinguals to monolinguals. With this approach, this study aims to understand whether language balance in bilinguals affects self-regulation. The present study examined this question using a battery of behavioral measures of EF, in addition to an event-related potential (ERP) paradigm that assesses brain function for selective attention. Children were divided into three groups: more balanced, English dominant, and Spanish dominant. No relationship between language balance and behavioral results were found. Results from the ERP paradigm revealed a trend toward a significant relationship between language balance and brain function, specifically for distractor suppression. A follow-up between-group analysis suggested that English dominant children had poorer brain function for distractor suppression, as compared to more balanced and Spanish dominant children. While speculative, this pattern of results suggests that level of acculturation and parenting culture may be associated with bilingualism and selective attention in preschool-aged children.