Bilingual Proficiency and Memory: An Associative Strength Approach

描述(由申请人提供)：尽管计算表明，世界上超过一半的人口是双语的(Harris&McGhee-Nelson，1992)，但人类记忆理论很少涉及双语或语言熟练程度。事实上，目前，现有的数据不足以将双语熟练程度纳入长期记忆模型。这项研究的重点是揭示双语和语言水平影响言语记忆的机制。言语记忆的表现在很大程度上取决于各种认知联想的强弱。在拟议的研究中，一种理论是基于这样的观点，即这些不同类型的联想的强度随着双语熟练程度的不同而不同，或者对于双语较流利的人(L1)和较少流利的语言(L2)来说。每个具体目标都侧重于一种不同类型的关联的属性。具体目的1是通过测试L2编码片段是否比L1片段更有特色来检验这一假设，即形成新的词汇-语境联系的能力在第二语言中比在第一语言中更强。具体地说，实验1A和1B将考察来源识别性能，而实验2将检验列表辨别性能。如果假设是正确的，那么在这些任务中，双语者在二语中的表现将比在一语中更好。具体目标2是通过检验研究中形成的时间关联的指标来检验这一假设，即形成新的时间关联的能力在第二语言中相对于第一语言是减弱的。实验3将检查排练模式，实验4将检查在学习中连续呈现的项目在测试中被连续回忆的趋势。如果假设是正确的，那么第一语言单词将比第二语言单词被更频繁地排练，并且在研究序列中达到更远的点。此外，连续学习的第一语言单词比连续学习的第二语言单词更容易被连续回忆。具体目的3是检验这一假设，即二语中利用已有语义联系的能力相对于一语而言有所减弱。实验5将考察列表组织在多大程度上有助于回忆成绩，以及在回忆输出中的语义聚集度。如果假设是正确的，那么组织在第二语言中的帮助将低于第一语言，而语义聚集对第二语言的帮助将弱于第一语言。这五项拟议的实验将在英语和西班牙语占主导地位的西班牙语-英语双语者和单语英语对照组中进行。随着具体目标的实现，我们将对联想属性有一个更全面的了解，这些属性对于发展一种可信的双语熟练程度和记忆理论至关重要。所获得的信息将使我们能够进一步发展一种理论，其基础是语言熟练程度对所调查的不同类型的协会的优势进行调节。这一理论将与其他记忆理论一起用来解释一系列双语记忆现象。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Despite calculations suggesting that that more than half of the world's population is bilingual (Harris & McGhee-Nelson, 1992), theories of human memory rarely address bilingualism or language proficiency. In fact, at present, existing data are insufficient to allow the incorporation of bilingual proficiency into models of long- term memory. The proposed research focuses on uncovering the mechanisms by which bilingualism and language proficiency impact verbal memory. Verbal memory performance depends in large part upon the strengths of various types of cognitive associations. In the proposed research, a theory is developed based on the idea that the strengths of these different types of associations vary as a function of bilingual proficiency, or for a bilinguals more fluent language (L1) and less fluet language (L2). Each specific aim focuses on the properties of a different type of association. Specific Aim 1 is to test the hypothesis that the ability to form new word-context associations is stronger in L2 than in L1 by testing whether L2 encoding episodes are more distinctive than L1 episodes. Specifically, Experiments 1A and 1B will examine source recognition performance, and Experiment 2 will examine list discrimination performance. If the hypothesis is correct, then bilinguals will exhibit better performance in L2 than in L1 for these tasks. Specific Aim 2 is to tst the hypothesis that the ability to form new temporal associations is diminished in L2 relative to L1 by examining indicators of the temporal associations formed at study. Experiment 3 will examine rehearsal patterns, and Experiment 4 will examine the tendency for items presented consecutively at study to be recalled consecutively at test. If the hypothesis is correct, then L1 words will be rehearsed more often and to a further point in the study sequence than L2 words. Also, L1 words studied consecutively will be more likely to be recalled consecutively than L2 words studied consecutively. Specific Aim 3 is to test the hypothesis that the ability to utilize pe-existing semantic associations is diminished in L2 relative to L1. Experiment 5 will examine the extent to which list organization helps recall performance and the degree of semantic clustering in recall output. If the hypothesis is correct, then organization will help less in L2 than in L1, nd semantic clustering will be weaker for L2 than for L1. The five proposed experiments will be conducted with English-dominant and Spanish-dominant Spanish-English bilinguals and monolingual English-speaking comparison groups. With the specific aims accomplished, we will have a more complete picture of the associative properties that are critical to developing a plausible theory of bilingual proficiency and memory. The information obtained will allow us to further develop a theory based on the idea that language proficiency moderates the strengths of the different types of associations under investigation. This theory will be used in conjunction with other theories of memory to explain a range of bilingual memory phenomena.