Abstract

Language is considered an important precursor for executive function (EF) development, with advantages shown for bilinguals. The current study explored the impact of early bilingual language experience (spoken and sign language) on executive functions. Participants were deaf college students with cochlear implants. Participants language experiences were diverse. They varied in American Sign Language (ASL) and English proficiency, reported various ages for sign language acquisition, and reported different ages of implantation. Results indicate that age of acquisition, age of implantation, and English and ASL proficiency have no effect on these participants’ performance on the Color Trails Test, a measure of EF. Future recommendations would be to use a more robust measure of EF to detect differences among deaf individuals.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Executive functions (Neuropsychology)--Testing; Deaf college students--Psychology; Bilingualism--Psychological aspects; Cochlear implants--Psychological aspects

Publication Date

9-15-2016

Document Type

Thesis

Student Type

Graduate

Degree Name

Experimental Psychology (MS)

Department, Program, or Center

Psychology (CLA)

Advisor

Peter C. Hauser

Advisor/Committee Member

Tina Sutton

Advisor/Committee Member

Karen Emmorey

Comments

Physical copy available from RIT's Wallace Library at QP405 .C66 2016

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

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