Foreign Language Effect on the Judgment of Bullshit: Interplay of Language, Emotions and Meaning

AbstractForeign language effect (FLE) refers to the observed differences in responding to judgment and decision-making problems presented in a native (L1) or a foreign language (L2). The present research aimed to investigate whether L2 use could impact the judgment of bullshit statements, and, if so, whether the mechanisms behind the FLE could rely on emotionality. Bullshit is a form of meaningless material that is grammatically and syntactically correct and has been studied in empirical psychology. We conducted two studies with participants differing in L2 proficiency. The participants were instructed to evaluate the profoundness of positive, negative, and neutral bullshit and intelligible statements in their L1 (Serbian) and L2 (English). The results suggest that individuals are generally more prone to accept the profundity of emotionally charged bullshit, whereas L2 use mainly impacts the judgment of less proficient speakers – it could diminish their ability to detect neutral nonsense and refute the profundity of negative intelligible statements. This implies that FLE depends on valence, meaning, and their interaction. We discuss findings within Dual Process accounts of reasoning, noting that both emotional involvement and the use of L2 lead to quick, intuitive processing. Therefore, to sound profound, use emotional words or a foreign language.