[Perceptual and cognitive characteristics of metaphorical pain language]

This study investigated the perceptual and cognitive characteristics of metaphoric and onomatopoeic descriptions of physical pain. Ninety-eight Japanese pain descriptors were identified from previous pain studies and the World Wide Web. Four hundred and thirty-six Japanese undergraduates were asked to indicate for each descriptor: (a) body locations; (b) temporal (duration, interval repetition, and frequency), spatial (movement, depth, area, volume) and magnitude (strength) levels; and (c) ratings on seven semantic differential scales for cognitive evaluation. Correspondent analysis and principal component analysis indicated good correspondence between the perceptual and cognitive characteristics. Cluster analysis revealed that the 98 descriptors fall into eleven clusters that appear to be associated with different underlying metaphors for pain (e.g., the body as a container that experiences pain as the result of damage from an object or weapon). These results are discussed in terms of the relationship between the metaphors people use to describe their pain experience and the potential for bodily-basis conceptualization of pain.