Digits switch differently: Evidence of divergent cognitive control mechanisms in picture and digit language switching among ab initio learners

Bilinguals simultaneously activate both languages during comprehension and production, requiring cognitive control to manage cross-language interference. Language-switching naming tasks using pictures or digits are traditionally employed to study this control. However, comparisons of these stimuli are scarce, raising critical questions about whether they engage similar cognitive processes. Importantly, assuming their equivalency risks overlooking key aspects of bilingual language control mechanisms. To investigate this, 192 native Chinese speakers learned Turkish words under seven conditions designed to manipulate semantic and associative relationships: unrelated pictures, semantically and associatively related pictures, as well as digits and magnitudes presented either sequentially or randomly. After learning the words to criterion accuracy, participants completed a language-switching picture-naming task. Results revealed larger switching costs for digits than unrelated pictures, an effect absent for magnitudes or other picture types. These findings suggest that digit naming may bypass semantic processing pathways, diverging from the top-down processes typically engaged in picture and magnitude naming. This divergence highlights key differences in cognitive processing and emphasizes the need for caution when comparing stimuli in language control research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).