Investigating Proactive Interference Effects After Switching Encoding Language in Bilingual Individuals
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Mufeng Xu (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- Peter Delaney
Abstract: Proactive interference (PI) is the phenomenon where previously learned information hinders recall of later learned information. A common method of studying PI is to ask participants to memorize several lists of words, with poorer recall of words from later lists attributed to interference from earlier lists. Previous research has shown that certain strategies can be used to increase recall performance by reducing PI. For bilingual individuals, this includes switching the language of presentation on the last list. However, there has not been any research on whether mental translation can be used as a conscious strategy to reduce PI.In the current study, we investigate whether switching the encoding language in bilingual individuals reduces the effects of PI. We adopt a 2 (English vs. Spanish) by 3 (Control vs. Shift vs. Translate) factorial design, recruiting both Spanish dominant and English dominant bilinguals. Participants are instructed to memorize words from four lists and then recall them. In the Control condition, all four lists present words in the same language. In the language Shift condition, words on the last list are presented in the other language relative to the first three. In the Translate condition, participants are asked to mentally translate the words on the fourth list. We expect participants in the mental translation condition to show a larger reduction in PI compared to those in the Control and Shift groups, resulting in higher recall of words from the last list. The findings have implications for the understanding of bilingual processing as well as the cognition processes underlying the effects of PI.
Investigating Proactive Interference Effects After Switching Encoding Language in Bilingual Individuals
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Created on 8/9/2023
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Honors Project
- Language: English
- Date: 2023
- Keywords
- Proactive Interference, bilingualism, Cognitive psychology, psychology, memory, cognition, bilingual