The auditory foreign-language effect of moral decision making in highly proficient bilinguals

Previous research has shown that people make systematically different decisions when faced with a moral dilemma in a native than in a foreign language [e.g. Costa, A., A. Foucart, S. Hayakawa, M. Aparici, J. Apesteguia, J. Heafner, and B. Keysar. 2014. “Your Morals Depend on Language.” PLoS One 9 (4): e94842]. The aim of the current study is to test the limits of this so-called Foreign-Language Effect by examining (1) whether it holds for highly proficient bilinguals of a closely related language pair (i.e. Dutch-English), and (2) whether it can be replicated in an auditory setting. In Experiment 1, 60 Dutch-English bilinguals read moral dilemmas in Dutch or in English, whereas in Experiment 2, a different sample of 60 Dutch-English bilinguals listened to the same dilemmas. After reading or listening, participants’ task was to indicate whether the proposed action was appropriate or not. The results showed that the Foreign-Language Effect was absent in Experiment 1, but present in Experiment 2. These findings aid in understanding the robustness of the Foreign-Language Effect, revealing that in some contexts it may be overcome and/or inhibited, whereas in others it may be enhanced.