Foreign Language Learning Enhances Cognitive flexibility, which Facilitates Reported Perspective-taking: Evidence from PISA 2018

Abstract

Multilingual speakers have often been found to be superior in taking another person’s perspective. Also, females are commonly found to have enhanced perspective-taking (PT) abilities compared with males, with male PT being generally more easily affected by external factors. Research on bilingual advantages has been widely verified in children, adults, and the elderly. However, few researchers have paid attention to the bilingual advantages and perspective-taking in adolescents. Perspective-taking skills are often associated with positive behaviors such as prosocial behavior and understanding others. In this study, we used a large and representative sample derived from the 2018 PISA survey to examine the relationship between bilingual experience, perspective-taking, and cognitive flexibility. The moderating effect of cultural individualism was also analyzed. The results of multi-level structural equation modeling (MSEM) indicate that: (1) foreign language learning is positively associated with perspective-taking and cognitive flexibility after controlling for individual-level and country-level demographic variables; (2) cognitive flexibility mediated the association between foreign language learning and perspective-taking; (3) the moderating effect of cultural individualism is significant. Specifically, in collectivist (vs. individualist) countries/societies, there is a stronger association between foreign language learning and perspective-taking.