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Foreign and Regional Languages Make You Less Deontological.

Francesca Peressotti^1,2, Greta Pianezzola¹, Marta Battistutta¹

¹Dipartimento di Psicologia dello Sviluppo e della Socializzazione, University of Padua, Italy.

Journal of Cognition

|February 5, 2024

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Using a different language, whether foreign or regional, can make people more likely to make utilitarian choices in moral dilemmas. This effect is stronger in individuals less proficient in the language, suggesting a shared cause related to context.

Keywords:

bilingualism foreign language effect moral decisions process dissociation procedure

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Area of Science:

Psycholinguistics
Moral Psychology
Cognitive Science

Background:

Bilingualism has been shown to influence moral decision-making, with foreign languages increasing utilitarian choices.
Regional languages, typically acquired early and used in close social circles, also impact moral judgments.
The distinct acquisition and usage patterns of foreign versus regional languages raise questions about the underlying mechanisms of their influence on moral cognition.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the similar effects of foreign and regional languages on moral decision-making.
To examine whether the weakening of deontological tendencies by both language types is comparable.
To explore the role of language proficiency in modulating these effects.

Main Methods:

A process dissociation procedure was employed to quantify the influence of deontological and utilitarian considerations.
Participants' responses to moral dilemmas were analyzed based on the language used (foreign vs. regional).
The impact of language proficiency on moral decision-making was assessed.

Main Results:

Both foreign and regional languages similarly weakened the deontological tendency in moral decision-making.
Language proficiency modulated the effects, with lower proficiency correlating with a stronger decrease in deontological inclination.
The findings suggest a common mechanism underlying the influence of both language types on moral judgments.

Conclusions:

The shared impact of foreign and regional languages on moral choices may stem from their infrequent use in formal contexts (e.g., education, media) that shape moral views.
Lack of exposure to these contexts, rather than specific language characteristics, could be the primary driver of the observed effects.
Bilinguals' moral reasoning is sensitive to the socio-cultural contexts associated with their languages.