English language dominance may bias findings across the cognitive sciences
In short: Researchers suggest that the dominance of English in scientific research may be distorting our understanding of human cognition. Because many studies focus on English speakers, the field may be overemphasizing specific linguistic mechanisms and overgeneralizing these findings to the entire human species.
The authors argue that the specific characteristics of English and the habits of its speakers create a bias that warps research programs. They suggest that by focusing on English, cognitive science may be overlooking features present in other languages and incorrectly applying English-specific observations to all humans.
Why it matters: Cognitive science must account for linguistic diversity to avoid overgeneralizing English-specific traits to all humans.
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Sources
- Source: Research: Blasi et al. (2022). Over-reliance on English hinders cognitive science. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. · other-oa
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