Lying in a Foreign Language Is Easier
Most people don't find it more difficult to lie in a foreign language than in their native tongue. However, things are different when telling the truth: This is clearly more difficult for many people in a foreign language than in their native one.
This 1 conclusion is the result of a study conducted by two psychologists from the University of Würzburg: Kristina Suchotzki and Matthias Gamer. The two scientists presented their2 in Journal of Experimental Psychology.
Their findings could be important for a lot of processes in which the trustworthiness of certain people must be 3. In such situations, reports by non-native speakers tend to be considered as less4 even though they may be truthful. Their discovery also explains another 5, namely that people communicating in a foreign language are generally considered as less trustworthy.
There are two research 6 to predict differences between deception and truth telling in a native compared to a second language.
Research from cognitive (认知的) load theory suggests that lying is more difficult in a foreign language. "Compared to truth telling, lying is a cognitively more 7 task," Kristina Suchotzki explains. Adding a foreign language imposes an additional cognitive 8 which makes lying even more difficult.
Lying is easier in a foreign language: This should be true according to the emotional distance hypothesis (假设). This assumption is based on the fact that lying is 9 more emotions than staying with the truth. Liars have higher stress levels and are more tense. Research shows that compared to speaking in a native language, communicating in a second language is less 10arousing. Accordingly, this 11 emotional arousal would promote lying.
To settle this question, the Würzburg psychologists conducted a number of experiments in which up to 50 test persons had to complete specific tasks. They were asked to answer a number of questions—sometimes 12 and sometimes deceptively both in their native language and in a foreign language. Some questions were 13; other questions were clearly emotional.
The results show that it usually takes longer to answer emotional questions. Answers in the foreign language also take longer. And generally, it takes longer to tell a lie than to tell the truth. However, the time differences between deceptive and truthful answers are less 14 in a second language than in the native language.
The data suggest that the increased cognitive effort is responsible for the prolongation (延长) of the truth 15 in the foreign language. The reason why this prolongation almost does not exist in lying can be explained with the emotional distance hypothesis: The greater emotional distance in a foreign language thus "cancels out" the higher cognitive load when lying.
