263. The Foreign Language Effect: How Thinking in English Can Improve Your Decision Making and Memories! (English Vocabulary Lesson)
Sep 25, 2023
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Discover how thinking in a foreign language can enhance decision-making and memory. Explore the impact of thinking in a second language on decision-making and biases. Learn about the benefits of learning a foreign language on decision-making, memory, empathy, and cognitive flexibility. Understand the advantages of thinking in English and sharing feedback.
Thinking in English can improve decision-making by making individuals more rational and less biased.
Speaking in a foreign language, like English, can enhance memory recall and reduce the creation of false memories.
Deep dives
The Foreign Language Effect: How Language Shapes Thinking
Speaking a second language, such as English, can have significant effects on thought processes and decision-making. The "foreign language effect" suggests that using a foreign language can make individuals more rational, improve financial decision-making, and impact moral judgments. Studies have shown that people tend to act more utilitarian in their second language and are more willing to take risks when making decisions. Additionally, using a foreign language can reduce biases, such as the bias blind spot and the sunk cost fallacy. Thinking in English can also affect memory, reducing the creation of false memories and lessening emotional distress when recalling traumatic events. Overall, learning a foreign language, like English, can lead to objective thinking, improved decision-making, and various cognitive benefits.
Linguistic Determinism: Shaping Thoughts through Language
Linguistic determinism suggests that the language we speak can influence and even determine our thought processes, worldviews, and cognitive abilities. The theory includes linguistic relativity, which proposes that language can influence thoughts and perceptions to some degree, and a stronger version of linguistic determinism, suggesting that language entirely determines thought. Although controversial, evidence supports the notion that language influences the way we see and understand the world. For example, the vocabulary and structure of a language can shape how colors are perceived or described. However, the foreign language effect focuses on the general experience of changing language rather than specific language features.
Research and Findings on the Foreign Language Effect
Studies have highlighted the various effects of speaking in a foreign language. Research shows that when using a second language, people are more likely to make decisions based on utilitarianism, exhibit less risk aversion in financial choices, and avoid fallacies like the sunk cost fallacy. Bilingual individuals may also experience reduced egotism and a greater awareness of their own limitations. Furthermore, thinking in a foreign language can lead to improved memory recall and a lower incidence of false memories. Overall, the foreign language effect sheds light on the ways language can shape cognition and decision-making, offering potential benefits to English learners seeking to enhance their thinking abilities.
Did you know that using, speaking in, and thinking in foreign and second languages can have real and significant affects on your thought processes and decision-making?
In other words, thinking in English can make you more objective, better at making financial decisions, and help you remember things in detail.
This is the Foreign Language Effect: let’s take the rest of this episode to discuss it in detail!