Second Language Translates Into Clearer Thinking

Second Language Translates Into Clearer Thinking:

New research finds people make more rational financial decisions when they consider their options using their second language.

Would you like to think more rationally, especially where your finances are concerned? Did you learn a second language in school — say, Spanish?

If so, University of Chicago researchers have a suggestion for you: Use Español.

A research team led by psychologist Boaz Keysar reports using one’s second language reduces or eliminates certain biases that otherwise infiltrate our decision-making. Specifically, our aversion to potential loss — a bias that can lead us to pass up promising opportunities for potential gains — diminishes as we ponder options in a language learned later in life.