Lingua Franca Use as a Hidden Barrier to Conflict Resolution
Leigh Burnett
When international negotiation faces a communication barrier a solution is to use a lingua franca that is native to neither side, presumably putting the parties on equal footing through the use of a common language. Here we show that despite common belief, using a lingua franca erects hidden barriers to conflict resolution. In three studies in which native Hebrew speaking Israelis evaluated an outline for a peace building proposal, they consistently perceived it less favorably when it was in English than when it was presented in their native Hebrew. The use of the lingua franca elicits a less positive emotional response as compared to the use of a native language, thereby reducing how favorably the proposal was evaluated as being for their side. This has implications for cross-national negotiation in diplomacy as well as commerce.
Environmental influences on thought content and connectedness
Kathryn Schertz
Exposure to natural environments, compared to urban environments, has generally been shown to be beneficial for positive affect, pro-social thinking, and feelings of
connectedness. As most studies use pre- and post-exposure testing, the time course of these changes in thoughts and feelings is unclear. Additionally, individual differences, such as trait impulsivity, which may mediate the relationship between environmental exposure and changes in affect and cognition, are less well understood. I will present a study where we investigated these questions by surveying participants at three timepoints during a one hour walk in both a natural and urban environment. Our results showed that differences between positive affect and environmental connectedness were detected by the first survey time point (20 minutes), and most differences remained significant throughout the entire walk. We did not replicate the association of trait impulsivity with changes in positive affect. However, exploratory analysis uncovered several other traits that should be further investigated as individual difference measures that may influence whether an individual reaps the benefits of spending time in natural environments.