A Systematic Review on the Association Between Bilingualism and Theory of Mind in Adulthood
Previous research on the relationship of bilingualism and theory of mind has largely focused on children. However, several recent studies of the theory of mind have found differences in theory of mind processing among older populations, namely adults. Given that language has been found to play an im...
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MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| author | Rowena J. Xia Brian W. Haas |
| author_facet | Rowena J. Xia Brian W. Haas |
| author_sort | Rowena J. Xia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Previous research on the relationship of bilingualism and theory of mind has largely focused on children. However, several recent studies of the theory of mind have found differences in theory of mind processing among older populations, namely adults. Given that language has been found to play an important role in the successful theory of the mind task performance of adults, it is valuable to understand the relationship of the language ability of bilingualism and theory of mind in adults. The specific focus is on studies comparing monolinguals and bilinguals in a theory of mind assessment for an adult sample. In this systematic review, we reviewed and analyzed these studies and conducted a meta-analysis. Among the studies included for meta-analysis (k = 7), we found a significant small-to-medium effect size (<i>d</i> = 0.429, <i>p</i> < 0.0001), indicating a bilingual advantage among adults. A variety of different measures for theory of mind were included in these studies. More studies are required to better understand the relationship between multiple language processing and social cognition among adults to better understand this gap in the literature. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-deb9c19bcc1b4647a116729569a73aa5 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-328X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Behavioral Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-deb9c19bcc1b4647a116729569a73aa52025-08-20T03:26:53ZengMDPI AGBehavioral Sciences2076-328X2025-06-0115681510.3390/bs15060815A Systematic Review on the Association Between Bilingualism and Theory of Mind in AdulthoodRowena J. Xia0Brian W. Haas1Department of Psychology, Concordia College, Moorhead, MN 56562, USADepartment of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USAPrevious research on the relationship of bilingualism and theory of mind has largely focused on children. However, several recent studies of the theory of mind have found differences in theory of mind processing among older populations, namely adults. Given that language has been found to play an important role in the successful theory of the mind task performance of adults, it is valuable to understand the relationship of the language ability of bilingualism and theory of mind in adults. The specific focus is on studies comparing monolinguals and bilinguals in a theory of mind assessment for an adult sample. In this systematic review, we reviewed and analyzed these studies and conducted a meta-analysis. Among the studies included for meta-analysis (k = 7), we found a significant small-to-medium effect size (<i>d</i> = 0.429, <i>p</i> < 0.0001), indicating a bilingual advantage among adults. A variety of different measures for theory of mind were included in these studies. More studies are required to better understand the relationship between multiple language processing and social cognition among adults to better understand this gap in the literature.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/15/6/815bilingualismtheory of mindadulthood |
| spellingShingle | Rowena J. Xia Brian W. Haas A Systematic Review on the Association Between Bilingualism and Theory of Mind in Adulthood Behavioral Sciences bilingualism theory of mind adulthood |
| title | A Systematic Review on the Association Between Bilingualism and Theory of Mind in Adulthood |
| title_full | A Systematic Review on the Association Between Bilingualism and Theory of Mind in Adulthood |
| title_fullStr | A Systematic Review on the Association Between Bilingualism and Theory of Mind in Adulthood |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Systematic Review on the Association Between Bilingualism and Theory of Mind in Adulthood |
| title_short | A Systematic Review on the Association Between Bilingualism and Theory of Mind in Adulthood |
| title_sort | systematic review on the association between bilingualism and theory of mind in adulthood |
| topic | bilingualism theory of mind adulthood |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/15/6/815 |
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