Do we embody second language? Evidence for ‘partial’ simulation during processing of a second language

Foroni, Francesco

doi:10.1016/j.bandc.2015.06.006

Cited by 58 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 100 publications

(171 reference statements)

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“…It has been argued that the use of a foreign language acquired in contextually less rich classroom settings is less embodied (i.e., not or to a lesser extend inducing simulations of perceived content), resulting in less affect (e.g., Foroni, 2015). Although our experimental design allows no insight into theories of embodiment, we want to note that increased emotion regulation is compatible with findings of reduced motor co-activation for negative stimuli in a foreign language.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The effects of foreign language use have also been discussed in relation to embodied cognition, a theory that posits reactivation of sensory-motor traces during semantic, and in particular emotional processing (Pulvermüller, 2005; Winkielman et al, 2008; Pulvermüller and Fadiga, 2010). It was found that motor activation for neural and positive stimulation was unaffected by foreign language, the effect of negative emotion sentences on facial musculature was reduced in L2 as compared to L1 use (in a vertical stroop task: Dudschig et al, 2014, and for passive exposure to emotional sentences: Foroni, 2015). This finding aligns with other recent reports of reduced impact of negative information when presented in a foreign language (Wu and Thierry, 2013; Jończyk et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Second Language Use Facilitates Implicit Emotion Regulation via Content Labeling

et al. 2017

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Previous studies reported that negative stimuli induced less affect in bilinguals when stimuli were presented in bilinguals’ second, weaker language (L2) than when they were presented in their native language (L1). This effect of L2 use was attributed to increased emotional distance as well as to increased levels of cognitive control during L2 use. Here we investigated how explicit (cognitive reappraisal, i.e., reinterpreting the meaning of the emotional stimulus to alter its emotional impact) and implicit (content labeling, i.e., categorizing the content of the image; and emotion labeling, i.e., naming the emotion induced by the emotional stimulus) emotion regulation strategies are altered in an L2 (English) context in German native speakers with medium to high proficiency in their L2. While previous studies used linguistic stimuli, such as words, to induce affect, here we used images to test whether reduced affect could also be observed for non-linguistic stimuli when presented in an L2 context. We hypothesized that the previously implicated increase in emotional distance and cognitive control in an L2 would result in an L2 advantage in emotion regulation (i.e., leading to less negative emotions compared to an L1 context), by strengthening the effect of linguistic re-evaluation on the evoked emotions. Using a classic emotion regulation paradigm, we examined changes in subjective emotional state ratings during reappraisal, emotion labeling and content labeling in a L1 and L2 context. We found that the strength of evoked affective responses did not depend on the language context in which an image was presented. Crucially, content labeling in L2 was more effective than in L1, whereas emotion labeling did not differ between languages. Overall, evoked responses were regulated most effectively through explicit emotion regulation (reappraisal) in L1 and L2 context. These results demonstrate an L2 advantage effect for emotion regulation through content labeling and suggest that L2 context alters sub-processes implicated in content labeling but not emotion labeling.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Second Language Use Facilitates Implicit Emotion Regulation via Content Labeling

et al. 2017

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“…In line with this, other studies have demonstrated higher SC responses in late bilinguals when they listened to or rated emotional words, phrases, or reprimands in L1 but not in L2 (Harris et al, 2003; Harris, 2004; Caldwell-Harris and Ayçiçeǧi-Dinn, 2009). A recent study extending this line of research indicated that a reduction in embodied responses to L2 might also reflect only partial activation of facial motor resonance (Foroni, 2015). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…This involuntary activation of mimetic muscles, sometimes also called facial muscle resonance, can be measured by electromyography recordings (EMG) from probes placed directly above the facial muscle of interest (Cacioppo and Petty, 1981). The range of emotional stimuli to which the mimetic muscles automatically react includes facial expressions (e.g., Dimberg et al, 2000), emotional tone (Quené et al, 2012), as well as emotional words and sentences (e.g., Foroni and Semin, 2009, 2013; Davis et al, 2015; Foroni, 2015; Fino et al, 2016). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Considering this latter finding, and bearing in mind that an L2 has been found to only partially evoke facial motor resonance (Foroni, 2015), the question arises as to whether such a presumable ‘disembodiment’ of L2 (see also Pavlenko, 2012) might also reflect in diminished affective processing and a weakened EEM effect for emotional L2 words. Several introspective reports, surveys, interviews, and clinical observations suggest that people remain emotionally distant from an L2 if it was not learned during early childhood 1 (see Caldwell-Harris, 2015, for a recent review).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Embodiment and Emotional Memory in First vs. Second Language

et al. 2017

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Language and emotions are closely linked. However, previous research suggests that this link is stronger in a native language (L1) than in a second language (L2) that had been learned later in life. The present study investigates whether such reduced emotionality in L2 is reflected in changes in emotional memory and embodied responses to L2 in comparison to L1. Late Spanish/English bilinguals performed a memory task involving an encoding and a surprise retrieval phase. Facial motor resonance and skin conductance (SC) responses were recorded during encoding. The results give first indications that the enhanced memory for emotional vs. neutral content (EEM effect) is stronger in L1 and less present in L2. Furthermore, the results give partial support for decreased facial motor resonance and SC responses to emotional words in L2 as compared to L1. These findings suggest that embodied knowledge involved in emotional memory is associated to increased affective encoding and retrieval of L1 compared to L2.

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