Hadjichristidis, C orcid.org/0000-0002-9441-6650, Geipel, J and Surian, L (2019) Breaking Magic: Foreign Language Suppresses Superstition. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 72 (1). pp. 18-28. ISSN 1747-0218
Abstract
In three studies we found that reading information in a foreign language can suppress common superstitious beliefs. Participants read scenarios either in their native or a foreign language. In each scenario, participants were asked to imagine performing an action (e.g., submitting a job application) under a superstitious circumstance (e.g., broken mirror; four-leaf clover) and to rate how they would feel. Overall, foreign language prompted less negative feelings towards bad-luck scenarios, less positive feelings towards good-luck scenarios, while it exerted no influence on non-superstitious, control scenarios. We attribute these findings to language-dependent memory. Superstitious beliefs are typically acquired and used in contexts involving the native language. As a result, the native language evokes them more forcefully than a foreign language.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © Experimental Psychology Society 2017. This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published in The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology by Taylor & Francis on 24 August 2017 and by SAGE on 1 Jan 2018, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2017.1371780 |
Keywords: | superstition, bilingualism, emotions, language, the foreign language effect |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Business (Leeds) > Management Division (LUBS) (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 22 Aug 2017 09:52 |
Last Modified: | 05 Feb 2019 00:28 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Taylor & Francis/SAGE |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/17470218.2017.1371780 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:120417 |