Honesty Speaks a Second Language

Abstract

Theories of dishonest behavior implicitly assume language independence. Here, we investigated this assumption by comparing lying by people using a foreign language versus their native tongue. Participants rolled a die and were paid according to the outcome they reported. Because the outcome was private, they could lie to inflate their profit without risk of repercussions. Participants performed the task either in their native language or in a foreign language. With native speakers of Hebrew, Korean, Spanish, and English, we discovered that, on average, people inflate their earnings less when they use a foreign language. The outcome is explained by a dual system account that suggests that self-serving dishonesty is an automatic tendency, which is supported by a fast and intuitive system. Because using a foreign language is less intuitive and automatic, it might engage more deliberation and reduce the temptation to lie. These findings challenge theories of ethical behavior to account for the role of the language in shaping ethical behavior.

Intuitive Honesty Versus Dishonesty: Meta-Analytic Evidence

“…Foreign-language manipulations ( k = 11) were included because recent evidence suggests that completing a study in one’s native language (vs. in a foreign language) can induce an intuitive mind-set (Bereby-Meyer et al, 2018; Geipel, Hadjichristidis, & Surian, 2016).…”

“…For example, correlational studies have revealed that impulsivity—the tendency to decide intuitively—is positively associated with academic cheating (Anderman, Cupp, & Lane, 2009) and that when people are drained of the cognitive resources required for deliberation they are more likely to engage in workplace deviance (Christian & Ellis, 2011) and unethical behavior (Barnes, Schaubroeck, Huth, & Ghumman, 2011). Experimental work has similarly revealed that restraining participants’ deliberate thinking through cognitive load (e.g., Welsh & Ordonez, 2014), time pressure (Shalvi, Eldar, & Bereby-Meyer, 2012), mental or physical depletion (e.g., Kouchaki & Smith, 2014), priming of intuition concepts (e.g., Zhong, 2011), or conducting experiments in a native language (vs. a foreign language; Bereby-Meyer et al, 2018) increases self-serving dishonesty. Together, these findings suggest the following: Dishonesty is intuitive.…”

And sympathy is what we need my friend—Polite requests improve negotiation results

“…As can be seen in Fig 3, the likelihood to engage in future deals was slightly lower for requesting (Mean = 4.97, SD = 1.0, 95% CL [4.68, 5.26]) than for demanding a discount (Mean = 5.1, SD = 3.8, 95% CL [4.84, 5.41]). Thus, unlike in Study 1 and 2, H1b was not supported, suggesting that foreign language had a weaker effect on behavior relative to native language [82].…”

The effect of readability and language choice in management accounting reports on risk-taking: an experimental study

“…Another positive effect of foreign language use was found in the domain of self-regulation. People tend to order healthier deserts in a restaurant (Klesse et al 2015) and are less willing to lie in a foreign language (Bereby-Meyer et al 2017).…”