ArticleThe international journal of bilingualism : cross-disciplinary, cross-linguistic studies of language behavior2021
Why not both? Rethinking categorical and continuous approaches to bilingualism.
Article in The international journal of bilingualism : cross-disciplinary, cross-linguistic studies of language behavior, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Changes in Native Sentence Processing Related to Bilingualism: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Pooled it
- Multifactorial approaches to study bilingualism in the aging population: Past, present, future.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Pooled it
- Examining Neurodiversity in Bilingual Development Research: Recent Insights Through an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Lens.International journal of language & communication disordersPooled it
- Modulations of the P3b effect as a function of bilingual language experience.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Bilingual Families Align Their Languages During Naturalistic Interactions: Evidence from Two Bilingual Communities.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Bilingualism and Aging: Their Impact on Speech Perception in Noise Using the AzBio Sentence Test.Journal of the American Academy of Audiology · 2026Article
- Deconstructing bilingualism and its sociocultural determinants in cognitive aging and Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Review
- Bilingualism Enhances Metalinguistic Awareness in Autism: Extending the Two-Dimensional Grammaticality Judgment Task.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2026Article
- Associations Between Second-Language Proficiency and Executive Functions in Autistic and Neurotypical Children.Open mind : discoveries in cognitive science · 2026Article
- Effects of Bilingualism on Executive Function of Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Scoping Review.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Revisiting perceptual sensitivity to non-native speech in a diverse sample of bilinguals.Infant behavior & development · 2024Article
- Testing theories of the vocabulary spurt with monolingual and bilingual infants.Developmental psychology · 2024Article
- A Novel Dual-Language Touch-Screen Intervention to Slow Down Cognitive Decline in Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Innovation in aging · 2024Article
- Re-Examining Labels in Neurocognitive Research: Evidence from Bilingualism and Autism as Spectrum-Trait Cases.Brain sciences · 2022Review
- What Is a Language? Who Is Bilingual? Perceptions Underlying Self-Assessment in Studies of Bilingualism.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Bilingualism is always cognitively advantageous, but this doesn't mean what you think it means.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Infants' Knowledge of Individual Words: Investigating Links Between Parent Report and Looking Time.Infancy : the official journal of the International Society on Infant StudiesArticle
- Experience-Sensitive Effects on Temporal Profiles of Social Attention in Early Childhood.Infancy : the official journal of the International Society on Infant StudiesArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
AIMS AND
objectivesBilingualism is a complex construct, and it can be difficult to define and model. This paper proposes that the field of bilingualism can draw from other fields of psychology, by integrating advanced psychometric models that incorporate both categorical and continuous properties. These models can unify the widespread use of bilingual and monolingual groups that exist in the literature with recent proposals that bilingualism should be viewed as a continuous variable. APPROACH: In the paper, we highlight two models of potential interest: the factor mixture model and the grade-of-membership model. These models simultaneously allow for the formation of different categories of speakers and for continuous variation to exist within these categories. We discuss how these models could be implemented in bilingualism research, including how to develop these models. When using either of the two models, researchers can conduct their analyses on either the categorical or continuous information, or a combination of the two, depending on which is most appropriate to address their research question.
conclusionsThe field of bilingualism research could benefit from incorporating more complex models into definitions of bilingualism. To help various subfields of bilingualism research converge on appropriate models, we encourage researchers to pre-register their model selection and planned analyses, as well as to share their data and analysis scripts. ORIGINALITY: The paper uniquely proposes the incorporation of advanced statistical psychometric methods for defining and modeling bilingualism. SIGNIFICANCE: Conceptualizing bilingualism within the context of these more flexible models will allow a wide variety of research questions to be addressed. Ultimately, this will help to advance theory and lead to a fuller and deeper understanding of bilingualism.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.