Abstract
Language and culture are important constructs linked to many other areas of mental processing. An emerging body of empirical research supports the idea that speaking multiple languages and/or experiencing multiple cultures may have a positive impact on social-cognitive processing. In this study we sought to better understand these associations by carrying out a large-scale meta-analysis and review. We pooled the results of 38 empirical studies focused on the association between either bilingualism or multicultural experience with social-cognitive processing. We observed a significant estimated pooled effect for bilingualism (d = 0.404, p < 0.0001) as well as for multicultural experience measures (r = 0.222, d ≈ 0.455, p < 0.0001). These findings indicate that both language and culture are important factors related to social cognition, especially within the domain of intergroup perceptions. Implications of these findings are discussed, including suggestions for future research.
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The datasets used during this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Xia, R.J., Haas, B.W. The effect of bilingualism and multicultural experience on social-cognitive processing: a meta-analytic review. J Cult Cogn Sci 8, 47–64 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41809-023-00138-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41809-023-00138-y