Schizotypy and Theory of Mind in a second language: Evidence from German-English bilinguals.

The Foreign Language Effect (FLE) proposes that adults behave more rationally in a second-language rather than mother-tongue context. In a series of perspective-taking experiments we investigated the potential for a reduced effect of egocentrically biasing privileged information in German-English adult bilinguals when it was presented in their second language. We also investigated whether the apparently deleterious effects of high schizotypal traits on perspective taking would be reduced in the same fashion, following evidence that both patients with schizophrenia and healthy individuals report fewer traits and symptoms in a second language context. Contrary to expectations, bilinguals performed similarly on both versions of the perspective taking task. In follow-up experiments, we found only very limited evidence in support of both a deficit in perspective taking with high schizotypy, or its modulation through language context. Finally, results from a carefully controlled comparison of schizotypy questionnaires, one in English and another in German, showed no evidence that bilinguals reported fewer traits in their second language. We discuss these results in the context of potential boundary effects to the FLE, whereby inferences may be required to be emotional for an effect of language to emerge. Furthermore, we interpret these data as suggesting that the link between schizotypy and language context may be weaker or less reliable than hitherto supposed.