Inconsistent findings in studies that have examined whether there is a bilingual cognitive advantage in comparison to monolinguals, have caused a bilingual advantage debate. In addition, the...Show moreInconsistent findings in studies that have examined whether there is a bilingual cognitive advantage in comparison to monolinguals, have caused a bilingual advantage debate. In addition, the available evidence in published work that bilinguals may have a cognitive advantage, may have resulted from publication bias. The aim of the present study was to see whether there is a bilingual advantage and whether there is a publication bias in the linguistic scientific world with regards to studies that used the Simon task to research the effect of bilingualism. Therefore, a meta-analysis was conducted and 40 Simon task studies were included. The findings of the meta-analysis resulted only in weak evidence for the bilingual advantage, since only a small effect size was found for bilinguals showing faster Reaction Times than monolinguals. Furthermore, evidence for a publication bias was found, but the Test for Moderators showed that studies earlier published are mostly contributing to the effect size. An explanation for this can be that these studies were conducted at the time when the common belief was that bilinguals had an advantage, resulting in the publication of only large, positive effect sizes.Show less
