Abstract
Figurative language use involves the appropriate relatings of normally discrepant domains of knowledge. The present study determined whether college students could match a picture of the literal content of a proverb with a one-sentence target scenario which instantiated an interpretation of the proverb. More specifically, the subjects chose between a target scenario and a foil scenario designed to be a poorer instance of the interpretation. The results indicated that the subjects were successful despite the wide discrepancy in literal meaning between the pictures and scenarios. Supporting studies determined that this finding could not be attributed to response (scenario) bias or to certain characteristics of the pictures or of the scenarios alone. Apparently, the all important interaction between these materials induced the subjects to construct abstract ideas which served to relate the materials figuratively. Idea construction was heuristically described as involving analogic processes.
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The research was supported, in part, by a grant from the University Research Council of the University of Cincinnati to K. Voegtle.
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Honeck, R.P., Voegtle, K. & Sowry, B.M. Figurative understanding of pictures and sentences. J Psycholinguist Res 10, 135–154 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01068034
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01068034