Behavioral economists have documented the all too many ways that humans are predictably irrational. Emotions and biases often just get the better of us. In a new study in
however, psychologists found that people forced to think in a foreign language made more rational decisions. C'est vrai! Psychologists took classic scenarios from behavioral economics and posed them to students in their native and foreign languages. Here's an example of one:
There's a disease epidemic sweeping through the country, and without medicine, 600,000 people will die. You have to choose one of two medicines to make: If you choose medicine A, 200,000 people will be saved. If you choose medicine B, there is a 1/3 chance of saving 600,000 people and a 2/3 of saving no one. Which medicine do you choose?
Most people would go with A, the less risky bet, because we're risk-averse when the choice is ...
