Hostname: page-component-cb9f654ff-kl2l2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-08-19T03:24:05.882Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Child, would you sacrifice yourself? A study on the Foreign Language Effect in children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 September 2022

Celia Fernández-Sanz ,
Carlos Romero-Rivas  and
Sara Rodriguez-Cuadrado Open the ORCID record for Sara Rodriguez-Cuadrado [Opens in a new window]
Celia Fernández-Sanz
Affiliation:
Departamento Interfacultativo de Psicología Evolutiva y de la Educación, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Carlos Romero-Rivas
Affiliation:
Departamento Interfacultativo de Psicología Evolutiva y de la Educación, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Sara Rodriguez-Cuadrado*
Affiliation:
Departamento Interfacultativo de Psicología Evolutiva y de la Educación, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
*
Address for correspondence: Sara Rodriguez-Cuadrado Facultad de Formación del Profesorado y Educación, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid C/ Francisco Tomás y Valiente, n° 3, 28049, Madrid (Spain) Email: sara.rodriguezcuadrado@uam.es
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The moral foreign-language effect (M-FLE) translates into more utilitarian choices, even when given the option of self-sacrifice. We explore the M-FLE in 85 children, who were presented with seven moral dilemmas varying in utilitarianism, aversiveness, and whether they allowed the option of self-sacrifice; 42 answered to the dilemmas in their native language (Spanish), and 43 in a foreign language (English). Participants were more utilitarian and willing to sacrifice themselves when using their foreign language. Educational and developmental implications are discussed, especially in the context of bilingual education.

Keywords

foreign language effectmoral dilemmasdecision-makingutilitarianismself-sacrificebilingualism

Information

Type
Research Notes
Information
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , Volume 26 , Issue 2 , March 2023 , pp. 446 - 455
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Bialek, M, Paruzel-Czachura, M and Gawronski, B, (2019) Foreign languaje effects on moral dilemmas judgments: An analysis using the CNI model. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology vol. 85, 103855. doi: 10.1016/j.jesp.2019.103855CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brislin, RW (1970) Back-translation for cross-cultural research. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 1, 185–216. doi: 10.1177/135910457000100301CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bucciarelli, M (2015) Moral dilemmas in females: children are more utilitarian than adults. Frontiers in Psychology vol. 6, 1345. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01345CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Caldwell-Harris, CL (2014) Emotionality differences between a native and foreign language: Theoretical implications. Frontiers in psychology 5, 1055.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Circi, R, Gatti, D, Russo, V and Vecchi, T (2021) The foreign language effect on decision-making: A meta-analysis. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 28, 1131–1141. doi: 10.3758/s13423-020-01871-zCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clare, L, Gallimore, R and Patthey-Chavez, GG (1996) Using moral dilemmas in children's literature as a vehicle for moral education and teaching reading comprehension. Journal of Moral Education 25, 325–341. doi: 10.1080/0305724960250305CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Costa, A, Foucart, A, Hayakawa, S, Aparici, M, Apesteguia, J, Heafner, J and Keysar, B (2014) Your morals depend on language. PLOS one vol. 9, e94842. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0094842CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cushman, F, Young, L, and Hauser, M (2006) The role of conscious reasoning and intuition in moral judgment: Testing three principles of harm. Psychological science, 17, 1082–1089. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01834.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Daniele, M and Bucciarelli, M (2016) Age-related differences in moral judgments to moral dilemmas. Mind the Gap: Brain, Cognition and Society, 144.Google Scholar
Del Maschio, N, Crespi, F, Peressotti, F, Abutalebi, J and Sulpizio, S (2022) Decision-making depends on language: A meta-analysis of the Foreign Language Effect. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 1–14. doi: 10.1017/S1366728921001012Google Scholar
Dworazik, N, Kärtner, J, Lange, L and Köster, M (2019) Young Children Respond to Moral Dilemmas Like Their Mothers. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 2683. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02683CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Geipel, J, Hadjichristidis, C and Surian, L (2015) The foreign language effect on moral judgment: The role of emotions and norms. PLOS one vol. 10, e0131529. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0131529CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gold, N, Colman, A and Pulford, BD (2014) Cultural differences in responses to real-life and hypothetical trolley problems. Judgment and Decision making vol. 9, 65–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greene, JD, Nystrom, L, Engell, A, Darley, J and Cohen, J (2004) The neural bases of cognitive conflict and control in moral judgment. Neuron vol. 44, 389–400. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2004.09.027CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hayakawa, S, Costa, A, Foucart, A and Keysar, B (2016) Using a foreign language changes our choices. Trends in Cognitive Sciences vol 20, 791–793. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2016.08.004CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hayakawa, S, Tannenbaum, D, Costa, A, Corey, JD and Keysar, B (2017) Thinking more or feeling less? Explaining the foreign-language effect on moral judgment. Psychological Science 28, 1387–1397. doi: 10.1177/0956797617720944CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ley Orgánica 2/2020, de 29 de diciembre, por la que se modifica la Ley Orgánica 2/2006, de 3 de mayo, de educación. Boletín Oficial del Estado, núm. 340, de 30 de diciembre de 2020, pp. 122868 a 122953. https://www.boe.es/eli/es/lo/2020/12/29/3Google Scholar
Mañas Antón, O. (2019). Datos y cifras de la educación 2019-2020. Consejería de Educación y Juventud. http://www.madrid.org/bvirtual/BVCM050013.pdfGoogle Scholar
Mikhail, J (2011) Elements of moral cognition. Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pellizzoni, S, Siegal, M and Surian, L (2010) The contact principle and utilitarian moral judgments in young children. Developmental Science vol. 13, 265–270. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2009.00851.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Piaget, J (1932) The moral judgement of the child. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.Google Scholar
Rodríguez-Cuadrado, S and Romero-Rivas, C (2021, April 21st–22nd) On the (null) effects of second language processing on self-bias and altruistic/empathic behaviors. [Poster presentation]. Jornadas virtuales SEPEX 2021, Spain.Google Scholar
Romero-Rivas, C, López-Benítez, R and Rodríguez-Cuadrado, S (2022) Would you sacrifice yourself to save five lives? Processing a foreign language increases the odds of self-sacrifice in moral dilemmas. Psychological Reports 125, 498–516. doi: 10.1177/0033294120967285CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stankovic, M, Biedermann, B and Hamamura, T (2022) Not all bilinguals are the same: A meta-analysis of the moral foreign language effect. Brain and Language 227, 105082.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stey, P. C. (2014) Bayesian analysis of children's moral judgments on the trolley cases. University of Notre Dame.Google Scholar
Upright, RL (2002) To tell a tale: The use of moral dilemmas to increase empathy in the elementary school child. Early Childhood Education Journal 30, 15–20. doi: 10.1023/A:1016585713774CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Hugten, J and Van Witteloostuijn, A (2018) The foreign language effect on the self-serving bias: A field experiment in the high school classroom. PloS one 13, e0192143. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0192143CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weller, D and Hansen Lagattuta, K (2013) Helping the in-group feels better: Children's judgments and emotion attributions in response to prosocial dilemmas. Child Development, 84, 253–268. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01837.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yi, JS and Park, S (2003) Cross-cultural differences in decision-making styles: a study of college students in five countries. Social behavior and personality vol. 31, 35–48. doi: 10.2224/sbp.2003.31.1.35CrossRefGoogle Scholar