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People make decisions using both logic and emotions, but using a foreign language can lead to more rational decision-making as there are fewer emotional connections. In a University of Chicago study, respondents were more likely to accept a bet when deciding in a foreign language than in their native language. Researchers suggest that habitual use of a foreign language may lead to less biased and myopic decision-making.
There are two forces at work during decision making. One is systematic and analytical and involves using logic and reasoning to reach an informed decision. On the other hand, emotions also play a role in the decision-making process, resulting in choices influenced by internal biases and preferences and less rooted in logic. In a University of Chicago project, researchers wanted to compare how people make decisions when they consider a problem in their native language versus thinking about it in a second language. They found that people tend to be more rational and less risk averse when making decisions in a foreign language, as fewer emotional connections are involved.
The emotional baggage of language:
University of Chicago researcher Sayuri Hayakawa explained that people cannot dissociate their native language from their emotions, which confuses logical thinking. Fewer emotions equals a more rational thought process.
In one test, respondents were given $15 USD and asked whether to bet $1 on a coin toss, where they would earn $1.50 if they won, but lose $1 if they lost. If they took all 15 bets, the odds of making money would be in their favor. Respondents were presented with this situation in English, their first language, and then in Spanish, their second language.
Respondents accepted the bet more often when deciding in a foreign language, 71 percent to 54 percent. “People who habitually make decisions in a foreign language may be less biased,” concluded Hayakawa, adding that they appeared to demonstrate “less myopic loss aversion.”
