Resisting persuasion in cases of ideological conflict: The role of foreign language processing

Abstract

We corroborate findings showing a disparity in one’s willingness to update political beliefs in the face of counterevidence among bilinguals, examining the role of the Foreign Language effect (FLe) on belief maintenance. 133 Liberal English-Spanish bilinguals and 70 English monolinguals showed that belief change on political issues is lesser than on nonpolitical issues following counterevidence. Bilinguals, however, showed greater change in the second language (L2) compared to the first and greater belief change than the monolinguals overall. The second language also led to slower reading and rating times across all conditions, which corresponded with greater belief change. Among bilinguals using their L2, those most likely to show belief change reported having a less meaningful connection to the foreign language.