How Foreign Language Influences Subjective Judgments of Future Events

A wealth of studies has supported the influence of language on decision making. Meanwhile, researchers are also keen on the mechanisms behind the Foreign Language Effect. There is growing literature revealing the relationship between emotionality and language as well as the link between psychological distance and language. The present study investigates how foreign language influences subjective probability judgment of future events and whether such effect is influenced by the valence of the events (positive and negative). Previous research suggests that reduced emotionality in a foreign language explains language effects on decision making. Therefore, we further tested whether foreign language reduces anticipated feelings of future events and consequently decreases probability judgments. Results based on 281 native Chinese speakers with a good comprehension of English as a foreign language confirmed our hypothesis. Subjective probability judgments of positive and negative future events was reduced when using foreign English than native Chinese. However, foreign English did not reduce anticipated emotion, nor did it explain the foreign language effect on probability judgments. One possible explanation is that foreign language increases a subjective feeling of distance, which increases hypotheticality and hence reduces the probability that positive and negative future events will occur.