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Do metaphorical sharks bite? Simulation and abstraction in metaphor processing.

Hamad Al-Azary1, Albert N Katz2

  • 1Department of Humanities, Social Sciences and Communication, Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, MI, USA. halazary@ltu.edu.

Memory & Cognition
|November 3, 2020
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Metaphor comprehension differs by familiarity. Low-familiar metaphors activate bodily actions through simulation, while high-familiar metaphors access abstract concepts through abstraction, supporting embodied and abstract representations in cognition.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Science
  • Linguistics
  • Psychology

Background:

  • Metaphor comprehension theories propose either sensorimotor simulation or abstract property access.
  • The sensorimotor view suggests metaphors activate embodied experiences.
  • The abstract view posits metaphor processing relies on conceptual features.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how metaphor familiarity influences processing mechanisms.
  • To contrast simulation-based versus abstraction-based metaphor comprehension.
  • To determine the role of sensorimotor and abstract properties in understanding figurative language.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized cross-modal lexical priming to examine metaphor processing.
  • Compared priming effects for low-familiar and high-familiar metaphors.
Keywords:
MetaphorPsycholinguisticsSemantic primingSpeech perception

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  • Assessed priming of bodily-action associates versus abstraction associates.

    • Main Results:

    • Low-familiar metaphors (e.g., highways are snakes) primed bodily-action associates (slither) but not abstraction associates (danger).
    • High-familiar metaphors (e.g., lawyers are sharks) primed abstraction associates (killer) but not bodily-action associates (bite).
    • Findings indicate distinct processing routes based on metaphor familiarity.

    Conclusions:

    • Metaphor processing is not monolithic; it depends on familiarity.
    • Low-familiar metaphors are processed via simulation (embodied cognition).
    • High-familiar metaphors are processed via abstraction, supporting dual representation theories.