Multilingualism and cognitive performance

The main file in the data is BS_dataset.csv, which contains all the data used for the analyses as reported in the Brain Sciences manuscript. The .R files document the code for the creation of BS_dataset.csv, as well as the code to run the linear regression models and the code to run the PLS regression. Two .rda files list the flanker and WCST test performance, and one .rda file contains a composite measure of the use of different languages across social domains. Summary from abstract article: Cognitive advantages for bilinguals have inconsistently been observed in different populations, with different operationalisations of bilingualism, cognitive performance, and the process by which language control transfers to cognitive control. This calls for studies investigating which aspects of multilingualism drive a cognitive advantage, in which populations and under which conditions. This study reports on two cognitive tasks coupled with an extensive background questionnaire on health, wellbeing, personality, language knowledge and language use, administered to 387 older adults in the northern Netherlands, a small but highly multilingual area. Using linear mixed effects regression modeling, we find that when different languages are used frequently in different contexts, attentional control is observed. However, in a PLS regression model targeting also other influential factors, multilingualism (in terms of language usage), contributes marginally to the total model. We discuss these findings in light of previous studies that try to uncover more about the nature of bilingualism and the cognitive processes that may drive an advantage. With an unusually large sample size our study advocates for a move away from dichotomous, knowledge-based operationalisations of multilingualism and offers new insights for future studies at the individual level