This study explored the role of similarity of affective meaning between the elements of metaphors (an X is a Y) in the evaluation of metaphor. Similarity was measured by subjects' ratings of the metaphor elements on the Evaluation, Potency, and Activity factors of the semantic differential technique (Osgood, Suci, & Tannenbaum, 1957). To determine evaluation scores, other subjects ranked the metaphors on a Q-sort task for goodness, vividness, meaningfulness, strangeness, and interestingness. Only a positive linear relationship was found between similarity and evaluation. Similarity on Activity was most strongly related to the positive evaluation of the metaphors.
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