Cognitive advantage in bilingualism: an example of publication bias?
- PMID: 25475825
- DOI: 10.1177/0956797614557866
Cognitive advantage in bilingualism: an example of publication bias?
Abstract
It is a widely held belief that bilinguals have an advantage over monolinguals in executive-control tasks, but is this what all studies actually demonstrate? The idea of a bilingual advantage may result from a publication bias favoring studies with positive results over studies with null or negative effects. To test this hypothesis, we looked at conference abstracts from 1999 to 2012 on the topic of bilingualism and executive control. We then determined which of the studies they reported were subsequently published. Studies with results fully supporting the bilingual-advantage theory were most likely to be published, followed by studies with mixed results. Studies challenging the bilingual advantage were published the least. This discrepancy was not due to differences in sample size, tests used, or statistical power. A test for funnel-plot asymmetry provided further evidence for the existence of a publication bias.
Keywords: bilingualism; executive functions; inhibition; publication bias.
© The Author(s) 2014.
Comment in
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Publication Bias and the Validity of Evidence: What's the Connection?Psychol Sci. 2015 Jun;26(6):944-6. doi: 10.1177/0956797615573759. Epub 2015 May 5. Psychol Sci. 2015. PMID: 25944774 No abstract available.
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The connection is in the data: we should consider them all.Psychol Sci. 2015 Jun;26(6):947-9. doi: 10.1177/0956797615583443. Epub 2015 May 5. Psychol Sci. 2015. PMID: 25944775 No abstract available.
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