The Foreign Language Effect on Physician Decision Making

Abstract

Nearly 30% of all physicians in the US are immigrants from another country. Because of this, along with the globalization of societies today, physicians often come across decisions they have to make in their non-native language. The Foreign Language Effect (FLE) is the effect of the context of language on the decision-making process. Specifically, moral judgment may be affected depending on the language in which a medical-ethical dilemma is presented. This study examined whether the FLE was observed in native Japanese and French speakers when confronted with two medical ethical questions. Participants were given the questionnaire in a randomized order in either their L1 or L2, which was English. A FLE was observed with Japanese physicians, as there was a difference in responses to the ethical questions ( p-value= 0.001); whereas with French physicians, no FLE was found (p-value= 0.23). It is possible that the use of a logographic language(Japanese)  versus a non-logographic language(French)  is what creates the FLE in physician decision-making. In general, the use of a logographic language compared to a non-logographic language in a clinical setting may lead to an adverse effect on the moral decision-making process.