The aim of this study is to systematically examine the relationship between bilingualism and attention, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and working memory. Accordingly, studies investigating the relationship between bilingualism and attention, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and working memory were reviewed. The systematic review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. English-language studies published between 2006 and 2025 were identified through searches of the PubMed, PsycARTICLES, and ScienceDirect databases. Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 31 quantitative studies were included in the review. Most studies were conducted with infant and child samples, whereas a limited number involved adults and older individuals. The findings indicate that the bilingual advantage is particularly evident in selective attention, attention-based inhibition, and cognitive flexibility. Bilingual individuals were found to demonstrate superior performance in suppressing distracting stimuli and switching between tasks. In contrast, findings related to response inhibition and simple working memory tasks were more inconsistent. In the domain of working memory, the bilingual advantage was found to emerge particularly in complex tasks requiring high levels of executive control. Furthermore, some studies suggested that early exposure to a second language and frequent active language switching may strengthen cognitive advantages. In conclusion, the findings suggest that bilingualism does not confer a generalized superiority across all cognitive functions; rather, it appears to support specific executive function processes. To achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the cognitive effects of bilingualism, future studies are encouraged to examine variables such as age of language acquisition, language proficiency, frequency of language use, and language-switching experience in greater detail. Keywords: Bilingualism, Executive Functions, Attention, Inhibition, Cognitive Flexibility, Working Memory
Tuğba BOZYİĞİT (Fri,) studied this question.