Can You Make Better Decisions If You Are Bilingual?

Studies have shown that “framing bias,” a phenomenon in which two different presentations of the same decision-making problem provoke answers, is reduced foreign language (the Foreign Language effect, FLe). Three explanations emerged to account for difference. First, cognitive enhancement hypothesis states lower proficiency FL leads more deliberate processing, reducing framing bias. Second, contradicting previous, overload hypothesis, load actually induces speakers make less rational decisions FL. Finally, emotionality suggests an emotional connection (FL), causing increase processing. Previous FLe research has involved both and non-FL such as highly proficient acculturated bilinguals. Our study extends this program population heritage Spanish (HS speakers), whose second (English) dominant who comparable resonances their languages. We compare emotion-neutral emotion-laden tasks: if causes FLe, it should only be present tasks, but caused by load, across tasks. Ninety-eight HS speakers, with varying degrees Spanish, exhibited biases battery bias appeared cognitive-emotional purely consistent previous studies. presentation (and proficiency) did not significant effect on responses purely-cognitive Disjunction fallacy task: better second, language, result neither nor hypothesis. Moreover, higher significantly improved rate correct responses, indicating our results are