THE IMPACT OF FOREIGN-LANGUAGE INFORMATION PROCESSING ON DEONTOLOGICAL JUDGMENTS: THE CONCEPT OF THE «MORAL FOREIGN-LANGUAGE EFFECT»

Abstract

The article addresses the impact the impact of foreign-language information processing on deontological judgments in the context of the phenomenon known as the moral foreign-language effect. The focus of the study is on the mechanisms through which the use of a non-native language modifies emotional engagement, access to moral norms, and decisionmaking patterns in situations involving moral dilemmas. The paper synthesizes findings from interdisciplinary research on this issue, which indicate that processing morally salient information in a foreign language promotes decisions that are less emotional, more utilitarian and rational, more psychologically distanced from the deontological choice situation, and less deontological than decisions made in one’s native language. The factors that determine the choice between utilitarian and deontological evaluations are established, including the level of foreign-language proficiency; the presence of «personal vs. Impersonal» intervention in imagined choice scenarios involving deontological dilemmas; the presence or absence of an emotional component in the dilemma; the focus on the outcomes of the decision; the evaluation of consequences in terms of economic gain or loss; the specificity of the ethical scenarios proposed for resolution; the altruistic traits of the participants; and possible differences between cultural models of morality. In outlining future research directions, particular attention is paid to the role of educational practice as a potential moderator of the moral foreign-language effect, which may either reduce emotional distancing and bring closer the moral reasoning associated with L1 and L2, or, conversely, enhance the rationalization of moral decisions, depending on the nature of the educational influence. The theoretical synthesis makes it possible to identify the interaction of cognitive, linguistic, and socio-psychological factors that shape deontological judgments under conditions of foreign-language information processing and to outline prospects for further research in the fields of moral cognition, multilingualism, and education.