Interaction and Analogy in the Comprehension and Appreciation of Metaphors

Abstract

Two experiments tested a theory of information processing in metaphoric comprehension and appreciation. According to this theory, certain kinds of metaphors are based upon underlying analogies, and the processing components used to interpret these metaphors are highly similar to those used in the interpretation of analogies. A difference in the two kinds of information processing, however, is in an interaction of tenor and vehicle in the interpretation of a metaphor; a comparable interaction is not as likely in the interpretation of the domain (first half) and range (second half) of an analogy. In the first experiment, modelling of latencies for comprehending analogies and corresponding metaphors showed that information processing was similar, but not identical, in the two tasks. In the second experiment, comparisons between different metaphoric forms showed that the proposed theory could account for ratings of the aptness and comprehensibility of various metaphors, and that making clearer the identities of the terms of the analogy underlying a metaphor and the nature of interaction between tenor and vehicle increases both the aptness and the comprehensibility of a metaphor.

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