Foreign and Regional Languages Make You Less Deontological

Francesca Peressotti; Greta Pianezzola; Marta Battistutta; Michele Miozzo

doi:10.5334/joc.346

Foreign and Regional Languages Make You Less Deontological

Journal of Cognition

Volume 7 (2024): Issue 1

By: Francesca Peressotti , Greta Pianezzola, Marta Battistutta and Michele Miozzo

Open Access

|Jan 2024

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that foreign languages can change people’s responses to moral dilemmas, making them more likely to choose harm (e.g., to kill one individual in order to save a few lives). Regional languages have also been shown to make sacrificial choices more likely. Regional languages are typically acquired early and used routinely among family and acquaintances, thus differing from foreign languages that are typically acquired later and used rather sporadically. Using a process dissociation procedure, we show in the present study that regional and foreign languages weaken the contribution of the deontological view in similar ways. Furthermore, the effects of both languages were modulated by proficiency, so that less proficient bilinguals showed a stronger decrease of the deontological tendency. These similarities suggest that the effects induced by both languages stem from what these languages have in common. Both languages are not experienced in contexts critical in forging moral views (e.g., public institutions, media, schools). We propose that the effects of foreign and regional languages stem from the lack of experience in such contexts.

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Articles in this issue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/joc.346 | Journal eISSN: 2514-4820

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Language: English

Submitted on: Mar 13, 2023

Accepted on: Jan 12, 2024

Published on: Jan 29, 2024

Published by: Ubiquity Press

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 1 issue per year

Keywords:

bilingualism,

moral decisions,

process dissociation procedure,

foreign language effect

© 2024 Francesca Peressotti, Greta Pianezzola, Marta Battistutta, Michele Miozzo, published by Ubiquity Press
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Volume 7 (2024): Issue 1