Task 9 Flashcards
Thibodeau et al. Metaphors we think with. The role of metaphors in reasoning
In an experiment by Thibodeau the role of metaphors in reasoning and future conducting information was conducted through contrasting two metaphors for crime
Participants were cued with two contrasting metaphors ( crimecas beast and crime as virus) for crime embedded in a story about a crime problem. Afterwards they were asked to suggest a way to solve the crime problem. Choosing either enforcement or reform as a longterm solution for reducing the crime rate.
The results show, that people that were cued with the beast metaphor do suggest enforcement strategies as an approach for reducing the crime rate whereas participants that were cued with the virus as a metaphor would approach the crime rate with reforms.
The findings further show through which mechanisms metaphors influence reasoning. Metaphors do create a a frame of consistent knowledge which does lead to people choosing structurally consistent inferences.
–> people do not recognize the effect of metaphors
Sapir Whorfian Hypothesis
This hypothesis does state that the certain language a person speaks influences the way in which a person thinks about reality.
The hypothesis was tested through examining the ways in which color labels differentiated in different languages. Some languages have a 10 different color labels while in other languages people differentiate among 4 color labels.
The research that was conducted tested whether these differences in language affect the way in which the colors are stored in episodic memory.
How language shapes thought
Lera Beroditsky
Research has show how languages shape the thought and action of people that speak this language.
This is also true for quite fundamental dimensions such as space, time, causality and relationships to others.
- Language shapes the way in which people remember/ define time.
- The kuuk direct in terms of absolute cardinal directions.
Cardinal directions are used in every day language and in order to communicate properly one has to always stay oriented. - western: describing the future as being in front and the past as being in the back of a person
in the Aymara language this is the other way around.
–> this changes even the body gestures of the persons
- The structures of languages can make it easier or harder for us to learn new things. The structure of language does influence the way in which we remember things.
- It is for instance easier to learn the 10 base numbers than other numbers.
- Some languages do reveal these structures more than others.
- language can influence how quickly children learn if they are male of female.
Hebrew children learn it one year earlier than finnish children and english children are in the middle.
Conclusion:
Teaching people new color words, for instance, changes their ability to discriminate colors. And teaching people a new way of talking about time gives them a new way of thinking about it.
–> this is why gendern exists!
The moral foreign language effect Cipolletti et al. 2016
the Foreign language effect extends to moral judgment
moral reasoning can be improved through the usage of foreign languages by making the decisions more deliberate and systematic. Keysar, Hayakawa ( 2012) have presented this when it comes to prudential reasoning.
Native Speakers of korean are more likely to make a bet fair coin when presented with the bet in English than when they are presented in their native language with it.–> which does show a reduced tendency towards loss aversion.
Very interesting. People with brain damage in areas that are related to emotion regulation are less likely to experience loss aversion and are more likely to accept the positive expected value bets.
When making a decision in a foreign language the emotional responses are not triggered and type 2 can process without getting interrupted by sudden emotional type 1 responses.
speaking foreign languages can reduce emotional reactions and therefore reduce biases.
Greene illustrates the difference of type 1 ( emotional judgements) and type 2 judgements ( associated with higher executed functioning) is shown in how people respond to the trolley dilemma.
Type 1 is more deontological –> people react more emotional than rational in the trolley dilemma
Type 2 is utilitarian
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trolley example in native vs non native language –> difference in the second part with the bridge.
Their findings show that the trolley experiment second part (throwing a person from a bridge in order to save other people) is answered differently by people using a non native language.
–> less emotionality which would interfere with utilitarian reasoning due to the FLE
