The Role of Familiarity and Context Strength in Metaphor Processing

The function of metaphor framing, deliberate or otherwise, in a social world

Metaphor and the Social World ◽

10.1075/msw.7.2.06thi ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 270-290 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Paul Thibodeau

Keyword(s):

Framing Effects ◽

Social World ◽

Target Domain ◽

Primary Motivation ◽

The Social ◽

Metaphor Theory ◽

Metaphor Processing ◽

Pragmatic Dimension

Abstract Metaphor frames highlight certain aspects of a target domain and deemphasize others, thereby encouraging specific patterns of inference. A recent series of studies (Reijnierse, Burgers, Krennmayr, & Steen, 2015; Steen, Reijnierse, & Burgers, 2014), however, raises questions about the role of metaphor in communication and reasoning by (a) failing to find metaphor framing effects on a series of policy judgments, (b) critiquing the methods that have been used to test for metaphor framing effects, and (c) arguing that current theories of metaphor processing fail to consider the social-pragmatic dimension of metaphor in communication. Here, I reflect on these concerns and present novel analyses of data collected by Steen and colleagues, which reveal metaphor framing effects in these studies but fail to support a prediction of Deliberate Metaphor Theory (DMT): that extended metaphors are more likely to be remembered. DMT attempts to situate metaphor framing effects more intentionally along a social-pragmatic dimension; developing and testing the theory was a primary motivation of the studies conducted by Steen and colleagues. I discuss the implications of these findings and offer a perspective on how DMT can help grow our knowledge of the function of metaphor in a social world.

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The role of animacy in metaphor processing of Mandarin Chinese: An Event-Related Potential (ERP) study

Journal of Neurolinguistics ◽

10.1016/j.jneuroling.2020.100915 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 56 ◽

pp. 100915

Author(s):

Haojie Ji ◽

Senqing Qi ◽

Shiyang Xu ◽

Jinxin Chen ◽

David Yun Dai ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mandarin Chinese ◽

Event Related Potential ◽

Metaphor Processing

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The Role of Context in Processing Chinese Three-Character Verb–Object Metaphors: An Event-Related Potential Study

Psychological Reports ◽

10.1177/0033294118779929 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 122 (4) ◽

pp. 1327-1348 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Xiaolu Wang ◽

Wei Zheng ◽

Lingxuan Zhao ◽

Yuqiu Liu ◽

Binyao Huang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Event Related Potential ◽

Contextual Effect ◽

Priming Condition ◽

Semantic Access ◽

Key Factor ◽

Target Probe ◽

Metaphor Processing ◽

Prime Target ◽

Integration Stage

Whether and how context plays a role in metaphor processing remains a controversial issue. One major theory on metaphor comprehension, the graded salience hypothesis (GSH) model, emphasizes salience as the key factor determining the precedence of semantic access. Using event-related potential technique, the present study examined Chinese metaphors to investigate whether the salient meaning is always processed first regardless of context. The experiment employed a Prime-Target-Probe paradigm. Three-character Chinese verb–object metaphors were used as the Target proceeded by one of the three contexts (the Prime): (1) metaphorical context priming the Target’s metaphorical meaning, (2) literal context priming the Target’s literal meaning, and (3) irrelevant context as the control condition. The Target was then followed by the Probe, which was always related to the Target (except in the filler condition). Forty participants were asked to judge whether the Target and the following Probe were semantically related. The N400 elicited by the Target showed no contextual effect. The N400 amplitude elicited by the Probe was smaller in the metaphorical priming condition compared with the literal priming condition, while the N400 in the irrelevant control condition was between the other two conditions, demonstrating a clear context effect. In addition, an unexpected P240 component also showed the similar graded pattern. Our results mostly support the GSH model, indicating that the salient meaning invariantly gets activated first before the activation of the nonsalient meaning at the lexical access stage. However, context does play a role in a parallel way either facilitating or suppressing this interpretation in the latter meaning integration stage.

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What is said by a metaphor

Pragmatics & Cognition ◽

10.1075/pc.21.2.03mar ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 304-328 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Fernando Martínez-Manrique ◽

Agustín Vicente

Keyword(s):

Direct Access ◽

What Is Said ◽

Form Part ◽

Metaphor Processing ◽

Figurative Interpretation ◽

Instrumental Role

Contextualist theorists have recently defended the views (a) that metaphor-processing can be treated on a par with other meaning changes, such as narrowing or transfer, and (b) that metaphorical contents enter into “what is said” by an utterance. We do not dispute claim (a) but consider that claim (b) is problematic. Contextualist theorists seem to leave in the hands of context the explanation about why it is that some meaning changes are directly processed, and thus plausibly form part of “what is said”, while some others are not. While granting the role of context in this respect, we contend that there are elements that play an instrumental role in providing direct access to the metaphorical content, namely, the conventionality of the expressions and the salience of the concepts involved. We will start by criticizing Recanati’s and Relevance Theory’s accounts of metaphor. Then we examine the claims of Carston’s and Giora’s two-process accounts that set the stage for a revision of the main elements involved, namely, the properties of conventionality and salience. Finally we examine a number of representative examples, explaining why some cases involve a direct access to the metaphorical content and others require an intermediate non-figurative interpretation.

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Spacious Environments Make Us Tolerant—The Role of Emotion and Metaphor

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph181910530 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (19) ◽

pp. 10530

Author(s):

Chenjing Wu ◽

Fuqun Liang ◽

Xiaoling Liang ◽

Chuangbing Huang ◽

Hua Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Moral Judgment ◽

Physical Environment ◽

Positive Emotions ◽

Moral Judgments ◽

Mediation Effect ◽

Rating Score ◽

Metaphor Processing ◽

New Evidence ◽

The Relationship

The physical environment plays an important role in moral cognition. Previous research has demonstrated that the physical environment affects individual moral judgment. Investigators have argued that the environment influences moral judgment through emotion and cognition, such as during metaphor processing. Following the intensification of urbanization and increases in population size, the phenomenon of a narrow environment has become more common. However, the relation between environmental spaciousness and moral judgment has not been thoroughly examined. We examined the effect of environmental spaciousness (spaciousness vs. narrowness) on moral judgments in Experiment 1 and Experiment 2. Results showed that participants report a higher rating score of moral judgment in more spacious environments compared with narrow environments. We further explored the roles of emotion and metaphor in the relation between environmental spaciousness and moral judgments. We found support for a partial mediation effect of emotion in the relationship between environmental spaciousness and moral judgment. The results also supported an association between the concept of spaciousness and tolerant cognition. Spacious environments may elicit positive emotions and more tolerant cognition, which in turn influences moral judgment. These results provide new evidence for the influence of the environment on moral judgments, and more attention may be warranted to incorporate this relationship in environmental design.

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Processing Metaphors in the Elderly: Does Valence Matter?

Psychology of Language and Communication ◽

10.1515/plc-2017-0017 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 352-379

Author(s):

Marlena Bartczak

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Cognitive Functioning ◽

Elderly People ◽

Age Groups ◽

The Elderly ◽

Complex Variables ◽

Age Group ◽

Metaphor Processing ◽

Crucial Part

Abstract Much evidence from theory and research points towards difficulties in processing metaphors by elderly people. These difficulties are usually associated with working memory and inhibitory control deficits observed in this age group, as these very functions play a crucial part in efficient metaphor processing. However, results of research on understanding metaphorical content by elderly people are inconclusive. The following article reviews studies showing that metaphor processing relies on a set of complex variables, which might explain the inconclusiveness of previous results. Though we acknowledge the role of interindividual factors (differences in cognitive functioning among the elderly), we focus on the properties of the metaphor stimuli themselves, especially those of conventionalization and valence, as they might influence the processing of verbal metaphors by people in older age groups.

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Economic competition is like auto racing

Metaphor and the Social World ◽

10.1075/msw.4.1.04kre ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 65-89 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Tina Krennmayr ◽

Brian F. Bowdle ◽

Gerben Mulder ◽

Gerard J. Steen

Keyword(s):

Practical Interest ◽

News Article ◽

Target Domain ◽

Economic Competition ◽

Text Design ◽

Textual Representations ◽

Auto Racing ◽

Metaphor Theory ◽

Metaphor Processing

Even though our language is pervaded by metaphor, we do not necessarily think metaphorically. Knowing whether people make conceptual connections between a source and a target domain, and if so under which conditions, is of theoretical as well as practical interest, for example in text design. This paper experimentally investigates under which conditions people build their textual representations of a news article on a metaphorical schema. To disentangle the inconclusive output of recent reaction-time studies, we conduct a memory study. We probe the effect of signaling and conventionality on textual representations — two variables which have been ignored or conflated in previous studies. We find that people are more likely to metaphorically structure their representations of a news article to the extent that it contains novel metaphorical expressions. The inclusion of similes that explicitly signal extended mappings between source and target domains may also act as an aid to integration, although our evidence for this is more equivocal. These findings are discussed in relation to the career of metaphor theory and to the role of deliberateness in metaphor processing.

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Language statistics and individual differences in processing primary metaphors

Cognitive Linguistics ◽

10.1515/cog-2013-0023 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 24 (4) ◽

pp. 667-687 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Sterling Hutchinson ◽

Max Louwerse

Keyword(s):

Embodied Cognition ◽

Cognitive Linguistics ◽

Response Times ◽

Linguistic Context ◽

Metaphor Comprehension ◽

Conceptual Processing ◽

Temperature Experiment ◽

Language Statistics ◽

Metaphor Processing

AbstractResearch in cognitive linguistics has emphasized the role of embodiment in metaphor comprehension, with experimental research showing activation of perceptual simulations when processing metaphors. Recent research in conceptual processing has demonstrated that findings attributed to embodied cognition can be explained through language statistics. The current study investigates whether language statistics explain processing of primary metaphors and whether this effect is modified by the gender of the participant. Participants saw word pairs with valence (Experiment 1: good–bad), authority (Experiment 2: doctor–patient), temperature (Experiment 3: hot–cold), or gender (Experiment 4: male–female) connotations. The pairs were presented in either a vertical configuration (X above Y or Y above X) matching the primary metaphors (e.g., HAPPY IS UP, CONTROL IS UP) or a horizontal configuration (X left of Y or Y left of X) not matching the primary metaphors. Even though previous research has argued that primary metaphor processing can best be explained by an embodied cognition account, results demonstrate that statistical linguistic frequencies also explain the response times of the stimulus pairs both in vertical and horizontal configurations, because language has encoded embodied relations. In addition, the effect of the statistical linguistic frequencies was modified by participant gender, with female participants being more sensitive to statistical linguistic context than male participants.

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