The influence of language on decision-making

This thesis gives an insight on classical experiments and the relevancy of them in Dutch society. Dutch students are indeed prone to effects of framing and ambiguity aversion. However, the main research question of this thesis is whether a change in language type leads to students deciding differently on classical economic questions. A survey testing for violations of expected utility was implemented to test for rationality between subjects. The main finding of the research is that the language type does not lead to subjects behaving more or less rationally. While subjects do violate expected utility and are not always rational, language type did not make a significant difference on the decisions made. The only influence a change in language type had was during emotional heavy questions. Students take a more utilitarian approach to moral heavy questions when this is asked in a non-native language.