Foreign Language Effect on Behavioral Persistence
Takuya Miwa
Department of Psychology
Faculty Supervisor: Gaurav Suri
This research examines how emotional salience of goals influences persistent behavior. Prior work suggests that processing information in a foreign language reduces emotional resonance and promotes more deliberative processing. Study 1 tests whether emotionally salient goal instructions presented in a native language (L1) increase persistence compared to a second language (L2), using the cold pressor task as a behavioral measure of persistence. In this task, participants immerse their hand in cold water and can withdraw at any time, providing a well-established index of pain tolerance and persistence under discomfort . Study 2 applies the same framework to a cognitive task using the Unsolvable Anagram Paradigm. Persistence is conceptualized as sustained effort despite difficulty in goal pursuit . We hypothesize that L1, due to greater emotional salience, will increase persistence in both cognitive and physical domains. Together, these studies aim to clarify how emotional salience of goals influence behavior and choice.