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decision making
You make more rational decisions in a foreign language.
A 2012 study found that people are significantly less biased when making decisions in a second language.
Processing information in a non-native tongue forces a slower, more deliberate analytical mode. This added cognitive friction helps bypass the immediate emotional gut reactions that often lead to poor choices. You still feel the same emotions, but they do not weigh as heavily on your judgment.
Fluency is not always an advantage for clarity.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Keysar, Hayakawa, & An, 2012, Psychological Science
- What the check found
- The study (Keysar, Hayakawa, & An, 2012) specifically demonstrates that using a foreign language reduces loss aversion and framing biases. While 'less biased' is a generalization, it is contextually accurate.
- Confidence
- Well replicated
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.