An investigation into the foreign language effect in moral dilemmas*

Authors : Tolga Zeybek, Filiz Rızaoğlu

Pages : 33-42

View : 49 | Download : 60

Publication Date : 2024-06-28

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Recent research suggests that late bilinguals’ decisions might be less influenced by emotionality and be characterized by more logical thinking in a foreign language. This phenomenon has been named the foreign language effect. This study aims to understand to what extent this effect is seen in Turkish-English bilinguals’ decisions about moral dilemmas through presenting the dilemmas in English or Turkish. To this end, 173 bilinguals responded to moral dilemmas in a survey in either language. A group of monolinguals (n=102) also responded to the dilemmas as a comparison group. In a second study, 63 Turkish-German heritage speakers were asked to indicate their decisions on moral dilemmas presented in German, Turkish, or in their foreign language, English. In both studies, the rate of the utilitarian responses, associated with more logical thinking was higher in the more emotional dilemma presented in the foreign language; however, the difference was not statistically significant.
Keywords : Ahlaki ikilemler, yabanci dil etkisi, ikidillilik, miras dil