Hayakawa and Keysar (2018) observed the FLE where moral dilemmas presented in L2 settings increased the rate of utilitarian choices compared to those in L1 settings. The authors conducted two studies examining the relationship between mental imagery and L2. The first study asked participants to find the odd one out among words of everyday objects in L1 and L2 by two conditions: shapes or categories. They found a higher error rate in L2 settings for the shapes condition, concluding that this was due to a lack of ability to imagine the objects. In the other study, they had participants rate the vividness of the scene and characters of the moral dilemmas in L1 and L2 settings. Compared to the L1 settings, L2 settings rated the sacrificial character and overall vividness lower. Hayakawa and Keysar suggested that this may be due to more cognitive resources used to read in L2, leaving less for mental imagery. In contrast, as L1 processing is automatic, more resources can be allocated to creating mental imagery. 
1.2 Mental Imagery
Mental imagery is often referred to as a "weaker form of visual perception" projected inside the mind during the lack of a visual stimulus (PEARSON et al., 2015). Mental imagery can elicit intense emotional responses similar to that of visual perception. The studies presented below highlight the importance of mental imagery in emotion.