2. In Search of Cultural Accommodation, Ethnic Affirmation, and Foreign Language Effects

This paper provides an overview of possible effects of language on behavior and searches for empirical evidence for and against linguistic relativity, cultural accommodation, and foreign language effects. Its contribution to research is threefold: First, it advances theory by comparing, merging, and sharpening existing theories, discussing overlaps and differences. Second, it paves the way for future empirical work on the role of language use by deriving possibilities, limitations, and requirements for empirical research, taking into account several possible effects of language. Third, it explores experimental data from three laboratory experiments, searching for convergent patterns that are predicted by the different theories.