Language-dependent emotions in heritage and second language bilinguals: When physiological reactions deviate from feelings

Abstract

Whether bilinguals show language-dependent emotions often depends on the emotion measure used. Here, we examine if differences between automatic pupil reactions and self-reported feelings in response to an emotional narrative presented in a first, second, or heritage language (HL) indicate different stages of emotion processing. German HL speakers of Russian and Turkish ( n = 72) and German second language (L2) speakers of English and French ( n = 89) listened to a video-based emotional narrative in German or their other language and rated how they felt about it (arousal and valence). We contrasted pupil diameter during the video with a language-specific baseline. Age of acquisition, language use frequency in emotional contexts, and language proficiency were used to verify that HL speakers were balanced simultaneous and L2 speakers unbalanced sequential bilinguals. Linear mixed-effects models were fitted to the pupillometry data and ordinal logistic models to the self-report data. HL speakers showed similar automatic reactions in both languages but rated the German narrative less emotional. L2 speakers showed weaker automatic reactions in L2 yet rated the narrative similar in both languages. This reversed pattern confirmed that automatic and conscious emotion measures tap into different stages of bilingual emotion processing. Furthermore, language-dependent emotions in self-reports seem to be linked to sociocultural frames that go beyond the scope of context and processing-based explanations. The study is among the first to systematically examine discrepancies between automatic and conscious measures of bilingual language-dependent emotions with different types of bilinguals and within one experimental paradigm. The findings imply that theories of bilingual emotions need further development to explain consistently and explicitly why language-dependent emotional reactions vary with bilingualism and emotion measures. Methodologically, the findings advocate for multi-measure approaches to enhance the validity of future research.