Language influences perception of impulsive tendencies of depressed individuals

• Thinking in East Asian languages led to rating depressed people more impulsively. • Impulsivity subscales related to language differently when paired with depression. • Acculturation and self-construal did not impact impulsivity perception. Impulsivity, particularly when triggered by emotions, is a significant predictor of various forms of psychopathology. However, most impulsivity research has been conducted in Western cultures. This study assessed whether culture influences perception of a depressed individual’s impulsive behavioral tendencies. Vignettes of depressed individuals were used to examine 124 bilingual people’s (English and Japanese or Korean or Mandarin) ( M age =32.37 years; 57% male) perception of a depressed individual’s impulsivity, when language and vignette character name were varied. Impulsivity perception was measured using the five subscales of the UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale - Short Form. Acculturation and self-construal were covaried. Reading and thinking in East Asian languages (compared to English) led to a depressed individual being perceived as more likely to lose control under negative emotion, to seek sensation, and to not think before acting. When the vignette character had a typical English name, participants perceived them as less likely to persevere. Acculturation and self-construal were not significant covariates. One impulsivity subscale was dropped due to its poor reliability in two East Asian Languages. Ecological validity was restricted by the vignette methodology, the assessment of impulsivity perception rather than behavior, and the geographical distribution of the sample. Findings support how culture influences perception of impulsive tendencies of depressed individuals differently when thinking about a cultural context (name) and when thinking within a cultural context (language).