Does using a foreign language reduce mental imagery?

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Psycholinguistics
• Moral Psychology

Background:

• Hayakawa and Keysar (2018) proposed that reduced mental imagery in a foreign language explains foreign language effects on moral judgment.
• This theory suggests moral choices become more utilitarian when made in a foreign language due to less vivid imagery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To re-evaluate the explanation for foreign language effects on moral judgment.
• To test whether reduced language comprehension, rather than reduced mental imagery, better explains these effects.
• To critique the experimental paradigm used by Hayakawa and Keysar (2018).

Main Methods:

• Analysis of the experimental paradigm used in Hayakawa and Keysar (2018).
• Comparison of alternative explanations for observed results.
• Discussion of a new experimental paradigm for testing mental imagery.

Main Results:

• The key results from Hayakawa and Keysar (2018) are better explained by reduced language comprehension in a foreign language.
• The original study's paradigm may not adequately test the hypothesis of reduced mental imagery.
• Alternative explanations and experimental designs are proposed.

Conclusions:

• Reduced language comprehension, not diminished mental imagery, likely underlies foreign language effects on moral decision-making.
• The experimental approach in Hayakawa and Keysar (2018) requires re-evaluation.
• Further research using refined paradigms is needed to fully understand the cognitive mechanisms involved.