Date on Honors Thesis

Spring 5-1-2025

Major

Psychology

Minor

Spanish; Social and Behavioral Sciences

Examining Committee Member

Patrick Cushen, PhD, Advisor

Examining Committee Member

Megan St. Peters, PhD, Committee Member

Examining Committee Member

Thomas Crawford, PhD, Committee Member

Abstract/Description

This study investigates language familiarity and executive function within individuals who are fluent in or actively learning a second language, demonstrating whether bilingualism influences working memory performance and controlled attention. The study population consisted of undergraduate students attending Murray State University. Three groups were evaluated: students with a low-experience level in a second language (100 level classes), a high-experience group (200 level classes and beyond), and a separate control group of monolingual students without college-level language experience. All groups completed assessments of working memory performance and controlled attention by engaging in the Symmetry Span task and the Simon task. In contrast to the hypothesis, no differences were found between language experience groups on cognitive task performance. Additionally, task performance did not correlate with any kind of self-reported foreign language fluency.

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