Bilinguals on the footbridge: the role of foreign-language proficiency in moral decision making

• Published in: Bilingualism (Cambridge, England) Vol. 28; no. 3; pp. 816 - 831
• Main Authors: Teitelbaum Dorfman, Federico, Kogan, Boris, Barttfeld, Pablo, García, Adolfo M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Cambridge University Press 01.05.2025
• Subjects: Review; foreign-language proficiency; modulating factors; moral foreign-language effect; footbridge dilemma; bilingualism

Socio-cognitive research on bilinguals points to a moral foreign-language effect (MFLE), with more utilitarian choices (e.g., sacrificing someone to save more people) for moral dilemmas presented in the second language (L2) relative to the first language. Yet, inconsistent results highlight the infl...