The Bilingual Advantage in Computer Programmers

Like bilinguals, expert computer programmers successfully manage two or more separate lexicons, grammars and divergent concepts, avoiding inadvertent transfer between the two. Numerous studies of novice programmers indicate that they struggle to do achieve this division; transfer from natural language creates bugs (e.g. Soloway and Spohrer, 1989; Witschital, 1995). The present study therefore considers whether the “bilingual advantage” in executive control is found in computer programmers.

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All of the computer programmers who participated in the study acquired their computer programming languages during adolescence; importantly, bilinguals who acquired their second language during adolescence have been found to exhibit the bilingual advantage. Two groups of programmers, with differing levels of experience, were studied in order to provide an indication of the extent of programming language experience required to produce an advantage. In order to provide a baseline comparison, two groups of age-matched and IQ-matched controls also took part.

The results of the ANT supported the first hypothesis: programmers recorded faster global RTs than monolingual controls, and this difference was significant. Both adolescent and young adult programmers’ groups recorded faster global RTs than both of the control groups. The young adult professionals recorded the fastest RTs, while the young adult controls recorded the slowest RTs; higher levels of experience and expertise were associated with greater executive control advantages over age-matched controls. Contrary to the second hypothesis, there was no significant difference in conflict effect. The results suggest that computer programmers may benefit from greater efficiencies in conflict monitoring network, the same mechanism thought to be responsible for the bilingual advantage.

The results of the Stroop test are more difficult to interpret. Contrary to predictions and to the ANT results, young adult programmers recorded the slowest response times; the difference was significant in the congruent condition. Largely as a result of this slow response in congruent conditions, the young adult programmers’ group recorded a positive Stroop effect; they responded more quickly in incongruent than congruent conditions. A significantly slower global RT for programmers does not fit with the predictions of the study. One study from the bilingual literature is relevant: using the (admittedly quite different) spatial Stroop test, Bialystok, Craik and Luk (2008) found that bilinguals outperformed monolinguals on interference effect but not on global RT. This was the result of bilinguals responding 50ms more slowly than monolinguals on congruent trials (they were just 10ms faster than monolinguals on incongruent trials). So, whilst the slow reaction times by programmers in the congruent condition were not predicted, they are not entirely at odds with findings relating to the bilingual advantage. It should also be noted that in a neuroimaging study, Waldie, Badzakova-Trajkov, Milivojevic, and Kirk (2009) failed to find a significant difference in the performance of young adult monolinguals and bilinguals in a very similar Stroop colour-word task; however, they did find evidence that different areas of the brain were active during this task.

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Overall, the present study has put forward a strong argument for the possibility 46 that the “bilingual advantage” in executive control may also be found in computer programmers. The results of the study provide some evidence in support of that argument – there was a statistically significant advantage for the programming group in the ANT. However, the results of this small study are far from conclusive, and further research is needed before clear evidence of an association between computer programming and executive control can be claimed. The annual Young Rewired State event, which occurs in August, offers the opportunity to access large numbers of young coders; over 500 under 19s participated this year. There are also ample opportunities for prospective studies, for example, a new computer science GCSE will be available in schools from September and, in the younger age group, the organization Code Club aims to run computer programming courses in half of the UK’s primary schools.

Manifests in tasks involving executive function, but not in other bilingual tasks. More research needed.