Low foreign language proficiency reduces optimism about the personal future. Issue 1 (January 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Oganian, Yulia; Heekeren, Hauke R; Korn, Christoph W
• Other Names: Costa Albert guest-editor.; Duñabeitia Jon Andoni guest-editor.; Keysar Boaz guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Quarterly journal of experimental psychology. Volume 72:Issue 1(2019)
• Page Start: 60
• Page End: 75
• Publication Date: 2019-01
• Subjects: Decision-making biases -- apparent irrationalities -- foreign language effects -- optimism -- self; Psychology, Experimental -- Periodicals; Psychophysiology -- Periodicals; Psychology, Comparative -- Periodicals; 150.72405
• DOI: 10.1177/1747021818774789
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1747-0218

Abstract

Optimistic estimates about the personal future constitute one of the best-described and most-debated decision biases related to emotion. Nevertheless, it has been difficult to isolate manipulations that reduce optimistic estimates. Eliciting estimates in a foreign language is a promising candidate manipulation because foreign language use alters decision biases in scenarios with emotional components. Consequently, we tested whether foreign language use reduces optimistic estimates. In a laboratory experiment, participants ( n = 45) estimated their probability of experiencing life events either in their native language or a foreign language, in which they were highly proficient. We found no differences in these estimates or in the updating of these estimates after receiving feedback about the population baseline probability. Importantly, three online experiments with large sample sizes ( n s = 706, 530, and 473) showed that using a foreign language with low proficiency reduced comparative optimism. Participants in the online experiments had diverse proficiency levels and were matched on a variety of control metrics. Fine-grained analyses indicated that low proficiency weakens the coupling between probability estimates and rated arousal. Overall, our findings suggest that an important decision bias can be reduced when using a foreign language with low proficiency.