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.