Hello!

Let's talk about the trolley problem.

The trolley problem is a moral dilemma aimed at figuring out whether someone is more utilitarian or emotional.

It goes like this.

There's a runaway trolley barreling down a railway. Further down the tracks there are five people tied up and unable to move. They will die once the trolley reaches them.

You are stood on a footbridge with an innocent bystander. You can push him off the bridge, blocking the trolley and killing him, but saving the other 5 people. Or you can do nothing and the 5 people will die.

There are no legal implications. It's not a trick question. What do you do?

What do most say?

If you said no to pushing the man, join the crowd.

Most studies agree. The majority of people choose not to intervene and kill the man. The utilitarian option isn't the popular one.

In one study we see just 18% of people choosing to kill the man. Broken down by country, 0% of Koreans chose to kill the man.

This makes sense.

In most parts of the world, to kill is one of the worst crimes. Not only laws, but also religions, societies and other moral and belief systems agree.

Words such as "kill" and "die" carry a lot of power and negative meaning across the language spectrum.

The language effect

But what about when asked in a foreign language? Does another language affect how people behave in this dilemma?

Surprisingly, the answer is yes.

When the trolley problem is presented to people in a second language – one they speak well – people answer less emotionally.

The 18% of people choosing to kill the man jumps to a surprising 44%. English to Spanish jumps from 28% to 44%. English to French jumps from 20% to 33%. Even 7.5% of the Koreans now say that would intervene and kill the man.

The study concludes:

"People’s moral judgments and decisions depend on the native-ness of the language in which a dilemma is presented, becoming more utilitarian in a foreign language".

This brings up some interesting questions:

1. Are members of a Jury in a second language less swayed by emotional arguments?
2. When resolving conflicts, does a second language reduce the impact of emotions and facilitate more logical decision-making?
3. Are creativity and problem solving improved in another language?

I don't know about you, but I'm not short of reasons to learn new languages. And yet out of the blue, now I have another.

Learn a new language and expand your ability to think differently.