In:Bilingualism through the Prism of Psycholinguistics: In honour of Albert Costa
Edited by Mikel Santesteban, Jon Andoni Duñabeitia and Cristina Baus
[Bilingual Processing and Acquisition 17] 2023
► pp. 265–285
Chapter 9Fear conditioning and bilingualism
Published online: 1 September 2023
https://doi.org/10.1075/bpa.17.09ort
https://doi.org/10.1075/bpa.17.09ort
Abstract
There is evidence that the emotional reactivity
in a foreign language is reduced as compared to native languages.
This differential emotional reactivity has effects in various
cognitive domains, as revealed by the so-called foreign language
effect on decision-making. This opens doors to the potential use of
foreign languages in scenarios where a modulation of the role of
emotional involvement would be desirable, like conflict resolution,
healthy choices, or psychotherapy. The current chapter focuses on
whether fear acquisition and extinction can be modulated by the
language context in which people are set. With the lead of Prof
Albert Costa, we explored whether this emotional distance could
modulate fear conditioning and fear extinction, essential mechanisms
for the understanding and treatment of different mental disorders.
Our findings provided evidence that certain verbal conditioning
processes may be affected by language context, opening the avenue to
the potential use of a foreign language in clinical contexts.
Article outline
- Behind the foreign language effect
- Foreign language and emotions
- Foreign language effect in exposure therapy
- Leading to new studies
- The effect of foreign language in fear acquisition
- The effect of foreign language in fear extinction
- General conclusions
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