The phenomenon in which a non-native (foreign) language influences
decision-making is known as the foreign language effect (KEYSAR;
HAYAKAWA; AN, 2012). The foreign language effect (FLE) was initially
observed with gambling scenarios written in native and foreign languages
(KEYSAR; HAYAKAWA; AN, 2012). Compared to native languages, situations
written in foreign languages made participants more willing to take
risky bets. They were also less influenced by the framing manipulation,
where the wording was changed to either highlight the loss or gain
(KEYSAR; HAYAKAWA; AN, 2012). Keysar and colleagues speculated that
using a second language required a much slower and more deliberate
thinking process, influencing their decision-making skills (KEYSAR;
HAYAKAWA; AN, 2012).
Another possible cause for the FLE is based on the phenomenon that words
in a second language (L2) are less emotionally charged compared to those
in a first language (L1), resulting in less emotional impact (CHENet al. , 2015; SHEIKH & TITONE, 2015). Geipel et al. (2015)
studied judgment toward moral actions against the participant’s cultural
norms in either their native or foreign language, such as cheating and
eating insects. The participants reacted to the acts more harshly in
their native language. Kühne and Gianelli (2019) have suggested that
this harsher reaction results from the environment where the language
was obtained. Namely, L1 is connected and reinforced through perception
and physical action from an early age and thus has more vivid and
emotional connections, whereas L2 is often taught through textbooks,
memorization, and symbol manipulation in classroom settings.
The FLE has recently been observed in moral dilemmas. Moral Dilemmas are
hypothetical scenarios where a large number of people are at risk of
being harmed. However, the reader is provided with the option to
sacrifice a smaller number of people to save the larger group. There are
two choices presented in this scenario: utilitarian and deontological.
Utilitarian ideas agree that sacrifices should be made since saving more
people is for the greater good. In contrast, deontological ideas suggest
that purposely harming someone is inappropriate, no matter the outcome.
Hayakawa and colleagues (2017) found that dilemmas in second languages
had a higher rate of utilitarian choices, while native languages had a
higher rate of deontological choices (HAYAKAWA et al. , 2017).
Though there are many different speculations for the cause of FLE,
Hayakawa and Keysar (2018) proposed that the quality of mental imagery
plays an essential role in the phenomenon. They found that in addition
to the higher utilitarian rate in second-language (L2) settings, the
imagery vividness of the dilemma scenario was rated lower (HAYAKAWA;
KEYSAR, 2018). They concluded that foreign language elicits weaker
mental imagery, which dampened their emotional reactions during L2
reading. The decrease in imagery decreases the adverse emotional
reaction towards the concept of sacrificing, increasing the acceptance
of the utilitarian decision.
The current study examines how using mental imagery while reading a
moral dilemma scenario in a second language can influence the choice of
utilitarian or deontological responses. We hypothesize that using mental
imagery will increase the story’s vividness, resulting in an increase in
deontological decisions for L2 moral dilemmas. In addition, the study
will address whether imagery directions will change the level of L2
story immersion.