To Avoid Stupid Mistakes, Think in French

Would you take a bet that offered you an even chance of winning $12 and losing $10? If you’re like most people, you would not. But what if someone offered you the bet in French? New research in the journal Psychological Science suggests that, assuming you understand French, you would.

What is going on here? The explanation is not—as a France-bashing wag might suggest—that it’s always good to bet against the French. The same effect appears when wagers are presented in Japanese, Spanish—even English, if it’s a person’s second language. Instead, says Boaz Keysar, a University of Chicago psychologist and the paper’s lead author, thinking in a non-native language seems to make people more rational.