Not When But Whether: Modality and Future Time Reference in English and Dutch

Area of Science:

• Linguistic relativity
• Cognitive psychology
• Behavioral economics

Background:

• Previous research linked obligatory future time reference (FTR) marking to greater temporal discounting.
• This hypothesis overlooked the role of modal structures and their potential impact on probability discounting.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how FTR language structures influence subjective ratings of temporal distance and probability.
• To test the hypothesis that obligatory FTR marking affects economic decision-making through temporal or probability discounting.

Main Methods:

• Elicited FTR language and subjective ratings from English and Dutch speakers.
• Compared ratings of temporal distance and probability for present vs. future tense statements.
• Analyzed the use of modal verbs (e.g., 'may', 'might') and their relation to certainty.

Main Results:

• Present vs. future tense framing did not affect temporal distance ratings.
• English speakers perceived future statements as more temporally proximal than Dutch speakers.
• Both groups associated future tenses with high certainty, suggesting less discounting.
• English speakers used more low-certainty modal terms than Dutch speakers.

Conclusions:

• The link between FTR and psychological discounting may stem from modal structures and probability discounting, not future tense and temporality.
• Obligatory future tense marking might reduce, rather than increase, discounting due to perceived certainty.