Using a Foreign Language Changes Our Choices

Hayakawa, Sayuri; Costa, Albert; Foucart, Alice; Keysar, Boaz

doi:10.1016/j.tics.2016.08.004

Cited by 145 publications

(157 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…At the same time the need to inhibit native language representations leads to enhanced cognitive control (Gao et al, 2015; Jończyk et al, 2016). While the first approach suggests that second language effects should be confined to the processing of verbal material, the latter predicts effects of second language not only during linguistic tasks, but also for other cognitive tasks in second language settings, in line with recent findings (Hayakawa et al, 2016; Oganian et al, 2016). This suggests that the cognitive control of emotional responses, namely emotion regulation, might also be enhanced during L2 use, a possibility that has not yet been addressed.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 74%

“…Previous research explored emotional word processing in an L2 (Caldwell-Harris, 2015) as well as the effects of L2 use on other cognitive domains such as decision making under risk and morality judgments (Hayakawa et al, 2016). In the present study we aim to extend this research by investigating the effect of L2 use on emotion regulation, a process at the interface of cognitive and affective processing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Second Language Use Facilitates Implicit Emotion Regulation via Content Labeling

et al. 2017

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Previous studies reported that negative stimuli induced less affect in bilinguals when stimuli were presented in bilinguals’ second, weaker language (L2) than when they were presented in their native language (L1). This effect of L2 use was attributed to increased emotional distance as well as to increased levels of cognitive control during L2 use. Here we investigated how explicit (cognitive reappraisal, i.e., reinterpreting the meaning of the emotional stimulus to alter its emotional impact) and implicit (content labeling, i.e., categorizing the content of the image; and emotion labeling, i.e., naming the emotion induced by the emotional stimulus) emotion regulation strategies are altered in an L2 (English) context in German native speakers with medium to high proficiency in their L2. While previous studies used linguistic stimuli, such as words, to induce affect, here we used images to test whether reduced affect could also be observed for non-linguistic stimuli when presented in an L2 context. We hypothesized that the previously implicated increase in emotional distance and cognitive control in an L2 would result in an L2 advantage in emotion regulation (i.e., leading to less negative emotions compared to an L1 context), by strengthening the effect of linguistic re-evaluation on the evoked emotions. Using a classic emotion regulation paradigm, we examined changes in subjective emotional state ratings during reappraisal, emotion labeling and content labeling in a L1 and L2 context. We found that the strength of evoked affective responses did not depend on the language context in which an image was presented. Crucially, content labeling in L2 was more effective than in L1, whereas emotion labeling did not differ between languages. Overall, evoked responses were regulated most effectively through explicit emotion regulation (reappraisal) in L1 and L2 context. These results demonstrate an L2 advantage effect for emotion regulation through content labeling and suggest that L2 context alters sub-processes implicated in content labeling but not emotion labeling.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Second Language Use Facilitates Implicit Emotion Regulation via Content Labeling

et al. 2017

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“…The use of a foreign language affects not just moral choice but decision making more broadly (for a review, see Hayakawa, Costa, Foucart, & Keysar, 2016). To the extent that our findings generalize beyond moral dilemmas, they generate further predictions about the boundary conditions for the effect of foreign-language use on decision making more broadly.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

Thinking More or Feeling Less? Explaining the Foreign-Language Effect on Moral Judgment

et al. 2017

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Would you kill one person to save five? People are more willing to accept such utilitarian action when using a foreign language than when using their native language. In six experiments, we investigated why foreign-language use affects moral choice in this way. On the one hand, the difficulty of using a foreign language might slow people down and increase deliberation, amplifying utilitarian considerations of maximizing welfare. On the other hand, use of a foreign language might stunt emotional processing, attenuating considerations of deontological rules, such as the prohibition against killing. Using a process-dissociation technique, we found that foreign-language use decreases deontological responding but does not increase utilitarian responding. This suggests that using a foreign language affects moral choice not through increased deliberation but by blunting emotional reactions associated with the violation of deontological rules.

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“…One of the most important factors is the social diversity of language use including adaptations to interactional contexts [63]. Bilingualism effects may depend on whether bilingualism occurs in a home or familial versus formal or work context, along with social situation and psychological distancing effects [41,[64][65][66]. The bilinguals in this report used English outside the home and at work, but often their native language at home.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…In this study, there was collateral verification of "routine daily use" proficiency among the bilinguals. Bilingualism in dementia may also be affected by factors such as immigration status, as well as acculturation, education, specific L1 language groups, and other variables [16,31,41,62,[64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72]. All of the bilingual participants in this study were immigrants.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Bilingualism Delays Expression of Alzheimer’s Clinical Syndrome

Mendez¹,

Chavez²,

Akhlaghipour³

2019

Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord

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Objective: To evaluate the effects of bilingualism on the emergence of Alzheimer's clinical syndrome. Background: Studies have proposed an increase in cognitive and neural reserve from the management and control of two languages, with a consequent delayed expression of dementia. Methods: In a clinic with a large immigrant population, we identified 253 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) with intermediate or high evidence of AD pathophysiological process. These patients were reviewed for demographic variables, native language (L1) other than English, ages of onset and presentation, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), digit spans, word fluencies, naming, and memory. Results: Among these patients, 74 (29.2%) were bilinguals with various L1s (Farsi, Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Arabic, others). When compared to the 179 monolingual AD patients, those who were bilingual had significant delays in ages of onset and presentation of approximately 4 years (p = 0.003). These delays persisted despite bilinguals having worse MMSE scores on presentation. There were no significant group differences on other variables except for worse naming in English among bilinguals versus monolinguals. Caregiver/informants reported that 66 (89.2%) of the 74 bilingual AD patients had gradually regressed to the predominant use of their L1. Conclusions: In line with published reports worldwide, we found that bilingualism delays the expression of Alzheimer's clinical syndrome. We also found frequent reversion to the first learned language. These findings suggest that, among bilinguals, the availability of an L1 "back-up" either facilitates compensation or masks emergence of the early symptoms of dementia.

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Using a Foreign Language Changes Our Choices

Cited by 145 publications

References 12 publications

Second Language Use Facilitates Implicit Emotion Regulation via Content Labeling

Second Language Use Facilitates Implicit Emotion Regulation via Content Labeling

Thinking More or Feeling Less? Explaining the Foreign-Language Effect on Moral Judgment

Bilingualism Delays Expression of Alzheimer’s Clinical Syndrome

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