The early processing of metaphors and similes: Evidence from eye movements

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Psycholinguistics
• Linguistics

Background:

• Understanding figurative language, such as metaphors and similes, is crucial for effective communication.
• The cognitive processes underlying the interpretation of different figurative forms remain an active area of research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how the surface form (wording) of nominal metaphors and similes impacts early reading processing.
• To examine the role of familiarity and reading ability in metaphor comprehension.

Main Methods:

• An eye movement study was conducted where participants silently read nominal metaphors (e.g., knowledge is a river) and similes (e.g., knowledge is like a river).
• Reading times and regression patterns were analyzed to assess processing difficulty.
• Experiment 1 included familiarity as a factor, while Experiment 2 examined reading ability.

Main Results:

• Metaphors consistently showed longer reading times and a higher proportion of regressions compared to similes.
• Familiarity influenced later metaphor effects in Experiment 1 but not in Experiment 2.
• Reading ability did not significantly modulate the observed metaphor effects in Experiment 2.

Conclusions:

• Readers appear to revise their initial interpretations of metaphors before proceeding, suggesting initial processing is not fully figurative.
• The findings indicate that interpreting apt, familiar nominal metaphors is a cognitively demanding process, despite its speed.
• Surface form significantly affects the cognitive effort required for understanding figurative language.