Dual-tasking while using two languages: Examining the cognitive resource demands of cued and voluntary language production in bilinguals

de Bruin, Angela; McGarrigle, Ronan · 2024 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1177/17470218231173638

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Summary

This study investigates the cognitive resource demands associated with two distinct types of bilingual language production: cued switching, where language choice is dictated by external environmental cues, and voluntary switching, where bilinguals freely choose languages based on lexical access or preference. Motivated by the Adaptive Control Hypothesis, which posits that these contexts engage different proactive and reactive control mechanisms, the research aims to determine whether cued language production requires greater attentional resources than voluntary production. Specifically, it examines if the cognitive effort involved in monitoring cues and maintaining goals differs from the effort required for opportunistic, lexically driven switching. To address this, the authors employed a dual-task paradigm with 40 Mandarin-English bilinguals. Participants performed a primary picture-naming task under two conditions: a cued condition, where they named pictures in the language indicated by a visual cue (e.g., a country flag), and a voluntary condition, where they named pictures in their language of choice. Simultaneously, they completed a secondary task involving the discrimination of high- versus low-pitched tones. This design allowed the researchers to measure attentional resource allocation by observing performance decrements in the secondary task; slower tone-discrimination response times (RTs) indicated higher cognitive load on the primary naming task. Additionally, participants provided subjective workload ratings using the NASA Task Load Index after each condition. The results demonstrated that cued language production was more cognitively demanding than voluntary production. Response times for both the secondary tone-discrimination task and the primary naming task were significantly shorter in the voluntary condition compared to the cued condition. Furthermore, participants reported higher subjective workload ratings during the cued-naming task. These findings suggest that cued naming requires more attentional resources, likely due to the need for sustained proactive control to monitor environmental cues and maintain language goals. However, despite the overall difference in effort, the costs associated with switching languages were similar in both voluntary and cued contexts. This indicates that while the baseline demand for control differs, the reactive control mechanisms recruited during the actual act of switching languages are comparable across both environments. The study concludes that while cued language switching is more effortful overall due to higher proactive control demands, the reactive control required for switching languages does not differ significantly between cued and voluntary contexts. This challenges the assumption that voluntary switching is entirely free of control demands, suggesting that even opportunistic switching recruits similar reactive resources to manage language competition. The findings refine the understanding of bilingual language control, highlighting that the primary distinction between these contexts lies in the sustained monitoring and goal maintenance required in cued environments, rather than in the mechanics of the switch itself.

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• task switching