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Article published In:
Translation, Cognition & Behavior
Vol. 3:2 (2020) ► pp.241–262

The early presence and developmental trend of interpreter advantages in cognitive flexibility

Effects from task differences and L2 proficiency

ORCID logo | Guangdong University of Foreign Studies
ORCID logo | Zhejiang University

Findings about interpreter advantages in cognitive flexibility have been discrepant. To examine whether task differences and interpreters’ L2 proficiency contributed to the discrepancy, we tested two groups of university students (interpreting trainees vs. control participants) with two color-shape switching tasks differing in stimulus valence (univalent vs. bivalent). The results showed that: (1) only the univalent task detected a switch cost advantage for the interpreter group, indicating the task condition for observing interpreting trainees’ early advantage in local switching ability (as indexed by switch cost); (2) only the interpreter group with an advanced L2 proficiency showed a marginally significant mixing cost advantage over the control group, indicating a tendency toward an advantage in more global and sustained control. These findings suggest tentative explanations for the discrepant results in the literature and conditions for the presence and development of interpreter advantages in cognitive flexibility.

Keywords: cognitive flexibility, interpreter advantage, switch cost, mixing cost, stimulus valence
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Switch cost or mixing cost advantages
      • Factor 1: Task differences
      • Factor 2: L2 proficiency
    • 1.2The present study
  • 2.Methods
    • 2.1Participants
    • 2.2Materials and tasks
    • 2.3Procedure
  • 3.Results testing Hypothesis 1
    • 3.1Data trimming
    • 3.2Group matching
    • 3.3Statistical analyses
    • 3.4The univalent task
      • Switch cost
      • Mixing cost
    • 3.5The bivalent task
      • Switch cost
      • Mixing cost
  • 4.Results testing Hypothesis 2
    • Switch cost
    • Mixing cost
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Note
  • References
Published online: 10 November 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/tcb.00043.zha
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2021. Review and Commentary on the Interactive Effects of Interpreting Experience and Executive Control. Modern Linguistics 09:02 ► pp. 283 ff. DOI logo

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