Author: Annabelle Soto  

Mentor: Sarah Grey 

College: Fordham College at Rose Hill 

Presentation Type: Poster, Rotunda 

This literature review examines creativity and bilingualism research, specifically addressing design related and conceptual discrepancies. It discusses the potentially mediating factors between bilingualism  and creativity, while highlighting the dynamic nature of the bilingual experience, and pointing to the  importance of an individualized approach to this research. Bilingualism is linked to divergent thinking,  which is a largely associative form of thinking that often serves as an indicator of creativity. However,  research on divergent thinking has largely focused on children, and has studied the mediating factors  between bilingualism and creativity through the oversimplified comparison of bilinguals to monolinguals.  Furthermore, bilingualism research on creativity has displayed a general lack of consideration for 

sociolinguistic and individual differences in the bilingual experience, which may affect the relationship  between creativity and bilingualism. Not only is the inclusion of sociolinguistic and sociocultural factors  in bilingualism and creativity research critical, but the inclusion of underrepresented groups is needed. In  light of past research’s gaps and limitations, this review proposes a future research study that utilizes the  unique linguistic profiles of Spanish-English heritage bilinguals to assess individual differences in  creativity. This study aims to help uncover nuanced social and cognitive aspects of bilingualism, and this  review overall helps generate a better scientific understanding of how different cognitive abilities can be  influenced by a variety of bilingual experiences.