Symmetries of comprehension-based language switch costs in conflicting versus non-conflicting contexts

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of contexts (i.e., non-conflicting context versus conflicting context) on bilingual language switch costs during language comprehension.

Thirty-two unbalance Chinese-English bilinguals completed a modified comprehension-based language-switching task in two contexts. They made a judgement about the colour meaning of the word. In the non-conflicting context all words were presented in white ink, while in the conflicting context the words were printed in an inconsistent ink colour.

Reaction time and accuracy data were analysed using mixed-effects models.

Results showed that the switch costs were larger in the conflicting context than in the non-conflicting context. Further, in the non-conflicting context an asymmetrical switch cost with larger costs for the second language was observed as compared to symmetrical switch costs in the conflicting context.

This is the first study that indicates that bilingual comprehension-based language control adapts flexibly depending on the context, just as during bilingual production.

These findings supported and expanded the classic adaptive control hypothesis.