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mrpg writes:

From mrpg comes an interesting story about how communicating in a foreign language can influence decision making.

If you could save the lives of five people by pushing another bystander in front of a train to his death, would you do it? And should it make any difference if that choice is presented in a language you speak, but isn't your native tongue?

Psychologists at the University of Chicago found in past research that people facing such a dilemma while communicating in a foreign language are far more willing to sacrifice the bystander than those using their native tongue. In a paper published Aug. 14 in Psychological Science, the UChicago researchers take a major step toward understanding why that happens.

"Until now, we and others have described how using a foreign language affects the way that we think," said Boaz Keysar, the UChicago psychology professor in whose lab the research was conducted. "We always had explanations, but they were not tested directly. This is really the first paper that explains why, with evidence."

[...] "We discovered that people using a foreign language were not any more concerned with maximizing the greater good," said lead author Sayuri Hayakawa, a UChicago doctoral student in psychology. "But rather, were less averse to violating the taboos that can interfere with making utility-maximizing choices."

Journal Reference: Sayuri Hayakawa, David Tannenbaum, Albert Costa, Joanna D. Corey, Boaz Keysar. Thinking More or Feeling Less? Explaining the Foreign-Language Effect on Moral Judgment. Psychological Science, 2017; 095679761772094 DOI: 10.1177/0956797617720944

Original Submission