Executive functions, not bilingualism or cultural differences, predict visuospatial perspective-taking in young adults
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Bilingual speakers have been found to outperform monolingual speakers in tasks which involve taking others’ perspectives. This research examined whether bilingualism improves young adults’ performance on visuospatial perspective-taking (VPT) tasks, independently of culture and executive function (EF). Sixty-three East Asian and 61 European bilingual adults, as well as 60 English monolingual adults took part in level-1 VPT tasks (judging what others can see), level-2 VPT tasks (judging how others can see something) and EF tasks. They also filled in questionnaires about their social and language background, cultural orientation and acculturation. Groups did not differ in terms of VPT, suggesting that adult VPT is not affected by bilingualism or cultural orientation. Hierarchical regression revealed that VPT performance was predicted by EF skills, but not by individual differences in bilingualism or culture.
Authors: Yifan Wang, Ian A. Apperly, Andrea Krott
Institution: University of Birmingham
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,550
OpenAlex ID: W4416721120