Over-reliance on English hinders cognitive science
English is the dominant language in the study of human cognition and behavior: the
individuals studied by cognitive scientists, as well as most of the scientists themselves,
are frequently English speakers. However, English differs from other languages in
ways that have consequences for the whole of the cognitive sciences, reaching far
beyond the study of language itself. Here, we review an emerging body of evidence
that highlights how the particular characteristics of English and the linguistic habits
of English speakers bias the field by both warping research programs (e.g., overemphasizing
features and mechanisms present in English over others) and overgeneralizing observations
from English speakers’ behaviors, brains, and cognition to our entire species.
