The Foreign Language Effect on Moral Judgment: The Mediation of Psychological Distance and the Moderation of Foreign Language Proficiency

doi:10.12139/j.1672-0628.2023.01.019

Abstract

Abstract:

Previous findings of the moral foreign-language effect (MFLE) were not consistent. In recent years, Gawronski’s team developed a CNI model to analyze moral judgment. Combining the construal-level theory (CLT) with the CNI model, this study first answered the controversial question of whether the MFLE existed or not, and then attempted to explore the possible mechanism and condition of the effect. The results of Experiment 1 showed that compared with NL, participants who made the moral judgment in the FL had a higher ratio of utilitarian judgment. The results of Experiment 2 indicated that when the utilitarian tendency was taken as the indicator of moral judgment, language could indirectly influence individuals’ moral judgments through the completely mediating effect of psychological distance. In Experiment 3, the results showed that foreign language proficiency moderated the first part of the mediation model, that is, the influence of language on psychological distance. The results reveal the significant influence of language on moral judgment, and verify the mediating role of psychological distance and the moderating role of foreign language proficiency, which expands the possible explanation of the mechanism of the MFLE.

Key words: moral foreign-language effect, psychological distance, foreign language proficiency, CNI model

摘要：

结合建构水平理论，基于多项式加工树构建算法，通过3个实验验证道德外语效应，并尝试探究道德外语效应的可能机制及其边界。实验1的结果表明中文为母语、英文为外语的个体的道德判断受语言的影响。与母语条件相比，外语条件下个体的道义论道德判断更少。实验2的结果进一步表明心理距离可以完全中介语言对道德判断的影响。实验3发现外语熟练度可以调节语言对心理距离的影响。研究结果再次验证了道德外语效应，并表明心理距离的中介作用和外语熟练度的调节作用，拓展了道德外语效应发生机制的可能解释。

关键词: 道德外语效应, 心理距离, 外语熟练度, CNI模型

CLC Number:

B849

Peng WU, Chanchan FENG, Qi ZHANG. The Foreign Language Effect on Moral Judgment: The Mediation of Psychological Distance and the Moderation of Foreign Language Proficiency[J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2023, 21(1): 130-137.

吴鹏, 冯婵婵, 张琪. 道德判断的外语效应：心理距离的中介与外语熟练度的调节作用[J]. 心理与行为研究, 2023, 21(1): 130-137.

Figures/Tables 8

References

	李嘉华, 郑莹, 杨静二语熟练水平对汉英双语者二语词汇通达中一语自动激活的影响. 外语教学与研究, 2018, 50 (1): 101- 113.
	李明晖, 饶俪琳解释水平视角下的道德判断. 心理科学进展, 2017, 25 (8): 1423- 1430.
	李琪. (2013). 汉语和英语的不同形式心理距离差异研究 (硕士学位论文). 西南大学, 重庆.
	徐科朋, 杨凌倩, 吴家虹, 薛宏, 张姝玥 CNI模型在道德决策研究中的应用. 心理科学进展, 2020, 28 (12): 2102- 2113.
	徐同洁, 刘燕君, 胡平, 彭申立. (2018). 道德两难困境范式在心理学研究中的使用: 回顾与展望. 中国临床心理学杂志, 26(3), 458–461, 457.
	闫春平, 申鲁军, 杨世昌, 吕欣, 张亚茹. (2017). 不同情绪状态下心理距离对大学生道德判断的影响. 中国临床心理学杂志, 25(2), 251–254, 250.
	尹军, 关旭, 花蕊, 张锋审慎加工对形成道德判断外语效应的作用. 应用心理学, 2018, 24 (4): 323- 333. DOI
	袁方舟, 叶琴, 牟芳艳, 七十三. (2021). 权力感对道德判断的影响及其理论解释: 基于CNI模型的视角. 心理学探新, 41(6), 540–546.
	云祥. (2020). 权力感对道德困境判断的影响: 基于CNI模型的分析. 心理与行为研究, 18(4), 544–551.
	曾笑雨, 马燚娜多项式模型在道德判断研究中的应用. 科学通报, 2020, 65 (19): 1912- 1921.
	郑岱华. (2007). 文化适应模式与汉语作为第二语言习得效果的相关研究 (硕士学位论文). 北京语言大学.
	朱麟, 刘瑾茹, 李静, 刘聪慧道德外语效应及其调节变量: 来自元分析的证据. 心理科学进展, 2022, 30 (1): 32- 50.
	Białek, M., Paruzel-Czachura, M., & Gawronski, B. Foreign language effects on moral dilemma judgments: An analysis using the CNI model. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 2019, 85, 103855. DOI
	Čavar, F., & Tytus, A. E. (2018). Moral judgement and foreign language effect: When the foreign language becomes the second language. Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development, 39(1–2), 17–28.
	Circi, R., Gatti, D., Russo, V., & Vecchi, T. The foreign language effect on decision-making: A meta-analysis. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 2021, 28 (4): 1131- 1141. DOI
	Conway, P., & Gawronski, B. Deontological and utilitarian inclinations in moral decision making: A process dissociation approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2013, 104 (2): 216- 235. DOI
	Costa, A., Corey, J. D., Hayakawa, S., Aparici, M., Vives, M. L., & Keysar, B. The role of intentions and outcomes in the foreign language effect on moral judgements. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 2019, 72 (1): 8- 17. DOI
	Costa, A., Foucart, A., Hayakawa, S., Aparici, M., Apesteguia, J., Heafner, J., & Keysar, B. Your morals depend on language. PLoS ONE, 2014, 9 (4): e94842. DOI
	Costa, A., Vives, M. L., & Corey, J. D. On language processing shaping decision making. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2017, 26 (2): 146- 151. DOI
	Degner, J., Doycheva, C., & Wentura, D. It matters how much you talk: On the automaticity of affective connotations of first and second language words. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 2012, 15 (1): 181- 189. DOI
	Del Maschio, N., Del Mauro, G., Bellini, C., Abutalebi, J., & Sulpizio, S. Foreign to whom? Constraining the moral foreign language effect on bilinguals’ language experience. Language and Cognition, 2022, 14 (4): 511- 533. DOI
	Fecher, N., & Johnson, E. K. (2018). The native-language benefit for talker identification is robust in 7.5-month-old infants. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 44(12), 1911–1920.
	Gawronski, B., Armstrong, J., Conway, P., Friesdorf, R., & Hütter, M. Consequences, norms, and generalized inaction in moral dilemmas: The CNI model of moral decision-making. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2017, 113 (3): 343- 376. DOI
	Geipel, J., Hadjichristidis, C., & Surian, L. How foreign language shapes moral judgment. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 2015, 59, 8- 17. DOI
	Geipel, J., Hadjichristidis, C., & Surian, L. Foreign language affects the contribution of intentions and outcomes to moral judgment. Cognition, 2016, 154, 34- 39. DOI
	Greene, J. D., Morelli, S. A., Lowenberg, K., Nystrom, L. E., & Cohen, J. D. (2008). Cognitive load selectively interferes with utilitarian moral judgment. Cognition, 107(3), 1144–1154.
	Greene, J. D., Sommerville, R. B., Nystrom, L. E., Darley, J. M., & Cohen, J. D. (2001). An fMRI investigation of emotional engagement in moral judgment. Science, 293(5537), 2105–2108.
	Grosjean, F. (2010). Bilingual: Life and reality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
	Hayakawa, S., & Keysar, B. Using a foreign language reduces mental imagery. Cognition, 2018, 173, 8- 15. DOI
	Hayakawa, S., Tannenbaum, D., Costa, A., Corey, J. D., & Keysar, B. Thinking more or feeling less? Explaining the foreign-language effect on moral judgment. Psychological Science, 2017, 28 (10): 1387- 1397. DOI
	Jackendoff, R. (1987). Consciousness and the computational mind. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
	Kahraman, H., & Kırkıcı, B. Letter transpositions and morphemic boundaries in the second language processing of derived words: An exploratory study of individual differences. Applied Psycholinguistics, 2021, 42 (2): 417- 446. DOI
	Keysar, B., Hayakawa, S. L., & An, S. G. The foreign-language effect: Thinking in a foreign tongue reduces decision biases. Psychological Science, 2012, 23 (6): 661- 668. DOI
	Körner, A., Deutsch, R., & Gawronski, B. Using the CNI model to investigate individual differences in moral dilemma judgments. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2020, 46 (9): 1392- 1407. DOI
	Lemhöfer, K., & Broersma, M. Introducing LexTALE: A quick and valid lexical test for advanced learners of English. Behavior Research Methods, 2012, 44 (2): 325- 343. DOI
	Liberman, N., & Trope, Y. The psychology of transcending the here and now. Science, 2008, 322 (5905): 1201- 1205. DOI
	Moshagen, M. multiTree: A computer program for the analysis of multinomial processing tree models. Behavior Research Methods, 2010, 42 (1): 42- 54. DOI
	Mrkva, K., Travers, M., & van Boven, L. Simulational fluency reduces feelings of psychological distance. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 2018, 147 (3): 354- 376. DOI
	Schumann, J. H. Social distance as a factor in second language acquisition. Language Learning, 1976, 26 (1): 135- 143. DOI
	Segalowitz, N. (2010). Cognitive bases of second language fluency. New York: Routledge.
	Shin, H. I., & Kim, J. Foreign language effect and psychological distance. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 2017, 46 (6): 1339- 1352. DOI
	van Boven, L., Kane, J., McGraw, A. P., & Dale, J. Feeling close: Emotional intensity reduces perceived psychological distance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2010, 98 (6): 872- 885. DOI
	Žeželj, I. L., & Jokić, B. R. Replication of experiments evaluating impact of psychological distance on moral judgment. Social Psychology, 2014, 45 (3): 223- 231. DOI

指标	M±SD	1	2	3	4	5
1.参数C	0.15±0.17
2.参数N	0.39±0.37	0.03
3.参数I	0.50±0.33	−0.03	0.04
4.功利主义	0.45±0.29	0.45**	−0.60**	−0.46**
5.参数U	0.18±0.28	0.66**	−0.01	−0.10	0.61**
6.参数D	0.66±0.31	−0.07	0.75**	0.47**	−0.76**	−0.07

指标	M±SD	1	2	3	4	5
1.参数C	0.15±0.17
2.参数N	0.39±0.37	0.03
3.参数I	0.50±0.33	−0.03	0.04
4.功利主义	0.45±0.29	0.45**	−0.60**	−0.46**
5.参数U	0.18±0.28	0.66**	−0.01	−0.10	0.61**
6.参数D	0.66±0.31	−0.07	0.75**	0.47**	−0.76**	−0.07

组别	C		N		I
组别	M	95%CI	M	95%CI	M	95%CI
母语	0.11	[0.07, 0.16]	0.41	[0.35, 0.46]	0.51	[0.46, 0.55]
外语	0.13	[0.09, 0.18]	0.27	[0.21, 0.32]	0.48	[0.44, 0.52]

组别	C		N		I
组别	M	95%CI	M	95%CI	M	95%CI
母语	0.11	[0.07, 0.16]	0.41	[0.35, 0.46]	0.51	[0.46, 0.55]
外语	0.13	[0.09, 0.18]	0.27	[0.21, 0.32]	0.48	[0.44, 0.52]

组别	C		N		I
组别	M	SD	M	SD	M	SD
母语	0.15	0.16	0.46	0.37	0.52	0.37
外语	0.16	0.17	0.33	0.36	0.47	0.30
总计	0.15	0.17	0.39	0.37	0.50	0.33