Relation between creativity, executive functions and bilingualism

Pınar Karataş, Aslı Aktan-Erciyes

Abstract


This paper discusses the association between bilingualism and creativity considering the contribution of executive functions in this relationship. The studies which investigated the relationship between bilingualism, creativity and executive functions are reported. In the psychology literature, divergent thinking and creativity are synonymous concepts (Guilford, 1967). Previous research findings indicate that bilingual individuals outperform monolingual participants in divergent thinking tasks. Most studies compromise the positive impact of bilingualism on figural creativity, whereas there are some controversial findings in bilingual advantages on verbal creativity. Those studies that control bilingualism (L2 proficiency) found that bilingualism and verbal creativity are positively associated. Bilingualism and executive functions are also positively related. Some studies demonstrate a negative relationship between bilingualism and executive functions which may result from not controlling L2 proficiency over a standardized measure. The previous findings declared a positive relationship between creativity and executive functions. Most of the studies only use the inhibitory control subcomponent of the executive functions. Few studies investigate the relation between working memory and cognitive flexibility, and creativity. Likewise, there needs to be further examination on the relationship between specific subcomponents of executive functions and specific creativity types (like verbal and figural).

Keywords


creativity; bilingualism; divergent thinking; executive functions; childhood

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References


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