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RER-LX: A new scale to measure reduced emotional resonance in bilinguals’ later learnt language

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 October 2023

Wilhelmiina Toivo ,
Christoph Scheepers Open the ORCID record for Christoph Scheepers [Opens in a new window]  and
Jean-Marc Dewaele Open the ORCID record for Jean-Marc Dewaele [Opens in a new window]
Wilhelmiina Toivo*
Affiliation:
School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
Christoph Scheepers*
Affiliation:
School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
Jean-Marc Dewaele
Affiliation:
Department of Languages, Cultures and Applied Linguistics, Birkbeck University of London, London, UK
*
Corresponding author: Wilhelmiina Toivo University of Glasgow School of Psychology and Neuroscience Room 518B Boyd Orr building University Avenue, Glasgow G12 8QW E-mail: wilhelmiina.toivo@glasgow.ac.uk Christoph Scheepers University of Glasgow School of Psychology and Neuroscience Room 550 62 Hillhead Street, Glasgow G12 8QB E-mail: christoph.scheepers@glasgow.ac.uk
Corresponding author: Wilhelmiina Toivo University of Glasgow School of Psychology and Neuroscience Room 518B Boyd Orr building University Avenue, Glasgow G12 8QW E-mail: wilhelmiina.toivo@glasgow.ac.uk Christoph Scheepers University of Glasgow School of Psychology and Neuroscience Room 550 62 Hillhead Street, Glasgow G12 8QB E-mail: christoph.scheepers@glasgow.ac.uk
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Abstract

In two online survey studies (N = 688 and N = 247, respectively) we developed and validated a new psychometric scale for measuring emotional resonance reduction in bilinguals’ LX (“later learnt language”) relative to their L1 (“first language”). The final scale, dubbed RER-LX (for Reduced Emotional Resonance in LX), comprises 15 items and possesses a number of desirable psychometric properties. It yields good test reliability (expected alpha between 0.8 and 0.9), produces near-normally distributed test scores, and exhibits content validity in terms of its underlying factor structure. Moreover, it correlates well with the only other instrument previously used for the same purpose (BEQ subscale comprising BEQ-swearing, BEQ-feelings and BEQ-anger). However, compared to the BEQ items, RER-LX has significantly better discriminant validity in relation to LexTALE, a widely used measure of proficiency in English as a second language. Our new scale will be useful to researchers studying bilingualism and emotion.

Keywords

bilingualismmultilingualismemotionpsychometrics
Type
Research Article
Information
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , Volume 27 , Issue 3 , May 2024 , pp. 434 - 446
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

This article has earned badges for transparent research practices: Open Data and Open Materials. For details see the Data Availability Statement.

The online version of this article has been updated since original publication. A notice detailing the changes has also been published at DOI https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728923000792

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