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Related Concept Videos

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Language is a unique communication system that uses words and systematic rules to organize and transmit information. Unlike other forms of communication, which may involve postures, movements, odors, or vocalizations, language relies on symbols and grammar. This makes human communication distinct from that of other species, who also communicate but do not use language in the same way humans do.
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Language, whether spoken, signed, or written, consists of specific components: lexicon and grammar. The lexicon is the vocabulary of a language, comprising its words. Grammar is the set of rules used to convey meaning through the lexicon. For example, English grammar adds “-ed” to most verbs to indicate past tense. Words are formed by combining phonemes, which are the basic sound units of a language. Different languages have different sets of phonemes (e.g., “ah” vs.
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Related Experiment Video

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Foreign Accent and Forensic Speaker Identification in Voice Lineups: The Influence of Acoustic Features Based on Prosody
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Low foreign language proficiency reduces optimism about the personal future.

Yulia Oganian1,2,3, Hauke R Heekeren1,4, Christoph W Korn1,5

  • 11 Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology (2006)
|May 10, 2018
PubMed
Summary

Using a foreign language, especially with low proficiency, can reduce optimistic bias in personal future estimates. This finding offers a novel strategy for mitigating cognitive biases related to emotional decision-making.

Keywords:
Decision-making biasesapparent irrationalitiesforeign language effectsoptimismself

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Decision Science
  • Linguistics

Background:

  • Optimistic bias regarding personal future events is a well-documented decision bias linked to emotions.
  • Existing methods to reduce this bias have proven difficult to isolate and implement effectively.
  • Foreign language use has been shown to alter decision-making biases, particularly those involving emotional components.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether using a foreign language can reduce optimistic bias in personal future estimates.
  • To determine if proficiency level in a foreign language influences its effect on optimistic bias.
  • To explore the psychological mechanisms underlying the potential reduction of optimistic bias through foreign language use.

Main Methods:

  • A laboratory experiment with 45 participants estimating life event probabilities in their native or a highly proficient foreign language.
  • Three large-scale online experiments (N=706, 530, 473) utilizing foreign language use with varying proficiency levels.
  • Fine-grained analyses examining the relationship between probability estimates, arousal, and foreign language proficiency.

Main Results:

  • No significant difference in optimistic estimates was found when using a highly proficient foreign language in the laboratory experiment.
  • Online experiments demonstrated that using a foreign language with low proficiency significantly reduced comparative optimism.
  • Low foreign language proficiency was associated with a weakened link between probability estimates and self-reported emotional arousal.

Conclusions:

  • Foreign language use, particularly with low proficiency, serves as an effective manipulation to reduce optimistic bias.
  • The effect of foreign language on cognitive biases may depend on the level of proficiency and its impact on emotional processing.
  • This research provides a novel, practical method for mitigating a common decision-making bias.