Late Bilinguals Are Sensitive to Unique Aspects of Second Language Processing: Evidence from Clitic Pronouns Word-Order.

In two self-paced reading experiments we asked whether late, highly proficient, English-Spanish bilinguals are able to process language-specific morpho-syntactic information in their second language (L2). The processing of Spanish clitic pronouns' word order was tested in two sentential constructions. Experiment 1 showed that English-Spanish bilinguals performed similarly to Spanish-English bilinguals and revealed sensitivity to word order violations for a grammatical structure unique to the L2. Experiment 2 replicated the pattern observed for native speakers in Experiment 1 with a group of monolingual Spanish speakers, demonstrating the stability of processing clitic pronouns in the native language. Taken together, the results show that late bilinguals can process aspects of grammar that are encoded in L2-specific linguistic constructions even when the structure is relatively subtle and not affected for native speakers by the presence of a second language

Do people have a preference for increasing or decreasing pain? An experimental comparison of psychological and economic measures in health related decision making

This paper investigates preferences for different health profiles, especially sequences of increasing and decreasing pain. We test conflicting predictions in terms of preferences over two painful sequences. The QALY concept relevant for the determination of different levels of health-related quality of life implies indifference, whereas behavioral theories find preferences related to ordering, following the peak-end-rule. Using an experimental design with real consequences we generate decisions about painful sequences induced by the cold pressor test. The results are compared with hypothetical choice data elicited using standard methods. We find that hypothetical methods reveal decisions in line with the peak-end-rule. However when it comes to real consequences of their decisions, subjects are on average not willing to pay for that preference

Determining risk preferences for pain

The QALY concept is the commonly used approach in research to evaluate the efficiency of therapies in cost utility analysis. We investigate the risk neutrality assumption for time of the QALY concept: can time be included as a linear factor? Various studies show that this assumption does not hold empirically. However, the results are based on hypothetical questionnaires rather than decisions with real consequences. Experimental economists argue that experiments are necessary to avoid hypothetical bias. Our study provides the first experimental analysis of health related decision making. Using the cold pressor test we can analyze decisions when subjects face real consequences. Analog to the hypothetical studies, our experimental results of real decisions provide no linear time preferences. In conclusion, the QALY concept needs to be modified by a weighting factor for time

The influence of lexical and conceptual constraints on reading mixed-language sentences: Evidence from eye-fixation and naming times

In two experiments, we explored the degree to which sentence context effects operate at a lexical or conceptual level by examining the processing of mixed-language sentences by fluent Spanish-English bilinguals. In Experiment 1, subjects\u27 eye movements were monitored while they read English sentences in which sentence constraint, word frequency, and language of target word were manipulated. A frequency x constraint interaction was found when target words appeared in Spanish, but not in English. First fixation durations were longer for high-frequency Spanish words when these were embedded in high-constraint sentences than in low-constraint sentences. This result suggests that the conceptual restrictions produced by the sentence context were met, but that the lexical restrictions were not. The same result did not occur for low-frequency Spanish words, presumably because the slower access of low-frequency words provided more processing time for the resolution of this conflict. Similar results were found in Experiment 2 using rapid serial visual presentation when subjects named the target words aloud. It appears that sentence context effects are influenced by both semantic/conceptual and lexical information

Determining risk preferences for pain

The QALY concept is the commonly used approach in research to evaluate the efficiency of therapies in cost utility analysis. We investigate the risk neutrality assumption for time of the QALY concept: can time be included as a linear factor? Various studies show that this assumption does not hold empirically. However, the results are based on hypothetical questionnaires rather than decisions with real consequences. Experimental economists argue that experiments are necessary to avoid hypothetical bias. Our study provides the first experimental analysis of health related decision making. Using the cold pressor test we can analyze decisions when subjects face real consequences. Analog to the hypothetical studies, our experimental results of real decisions provide no linear time preferences. In conclusion, the QALY concept needs to be modified by a weighting factor for time.

What is the Source of Bilingual Cross-Language Activation in Deaf Bilinguals?

When deaf bilinguals are asked to make semantic similarity judgments of two written words, their responses are influenced by the sublexical relationship of the signed language translations of the target words. This study investigated whether the observed effects of ASL activation on English print depend on (a) an overlap in syllabic structure of the signed translations or (b) on initialization, an effect of contact between ASL and English that has resulted in a direct representation of English orthographic features in ASL sublexical form. Results demonstrate that neither of these conditions is required or enhances effects of cross-language activation. The experimental outcomes indicate that deaf bilinguals discover the optimal mapping between their two languages in a manner that is not constrained by privileged sublexical associations