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About this survey

How does life-long bilingualism contribute to cognitive reserve?

We would like to invite you to take part in a study on the impact of bilingualism on cognitive reserve.

There is strong evidence that certain factors, such as, an active lifestyle or education, foster cognitive reserve, a compensatory mechanism which slows down the age-related decline of cognitive skills (e.g. Meng & D’arcy, 2012). Recently, some studies suggested that life-long bilingualism may contribute to cognitive reserve and therefore, delay the onset of dementia (Del Maschio, Sulpizio, Gallo, Fedeli, Weekes & Abutalebi, 2018). Here, we are further investigating how dual language use may favour successful aging.

If you decide to take part to this study, you will be asked to answer some  simple biographical questions, such as age, gender etc. Next, you will be requested to participate in the a task, which will examine your cognitive skills. Further, you will be given a test measuring your general intelligence and abstract reasoning, followed by a short assessment of your English proficiency level. Finally, you will be required to provide some information about your health , social network and education. You can withdraw at any point of the study by closing your browser and all your data will remain anonymous.

You can participate if you speak English as your second language, at least to some extent. You do not necessarily need to be highly proficient in your second language. We are only recruiting people who are aged 60 and above.

We will securely store the data that we collect, and only allow access to the research team. We will comply with the GDPR in our dealings with the data.

The study is being carried out as part of a collaborative project of Northumbria University’s Psychology department and the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at Higher School of Economics. We will delete all data that we collect within approximately  six months following the completion of the project.

This study has been approved by the Northumbria University Psychology Department Research Ethics Committee.

If you have any questions or would like further information, please contact any of the following:

Research Team: Andriy Myachykov, Federico Gallo, Joanna Kubiak (w18019446@northumbria.ac.uk)

Ethics Approval contact (including concerns, complaints): hl.ugethics@northumbria.ac.uk

Data Protection Officer at Northumbria University (the Data Controller): Duncan James (dp.officer@northumbria.ac.uk)

GDPR information: The legal basis for the study’s personal data processing is that the research is being conducted in the public interest, and/or is necessary for scientific and historical research purposes. You have the right to access your data upon request. Contact the Information Commissioner’s Office for further information, and/or complaints about the University’s processing of personal data: https://ico.org.uk/

Contact information

Information about this study:

Contact email: w18019446@northumbria.ac.uk

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CONSENT

If you would like to take part in this study, please read the statement below and click ‘I agree’

I understand the nature of the study, and what is required from me.  I understand that after I participate I will receive a debrief providing me with information about the study and contact details for the researcher.  I understand I am free to withdraw from the study at any time, without having to give a reason for withdrawing, and without prejudice. I agree to provide information to the investigator and understand that my contribution will remain confidential. I also consent to the retention of this data under the condition that any subsequent use also be restricted to research projects that have gained ethical approval from Northumbria University. 







Important data protection information

When you start, this survey will store your answers and browser information on the PsyToolkit server.The responsibility for this survey rests entirely with the researcher(s) listed above. Click here if you do not want to participate now.