People routinely encounter TV, radio and web messages that compare an abstract and complicated issues to a simpler, more concrete concept. For example, a new report that the economy veered off course compares the abstract economy to a simpler vehicle, while the headline "Banks Tighten Their Grip" compares complicated banking policies to physical grasping. The current project is based on conceptual metaphor theory, which predicts that metaphors are not simply a matter of words: rather, they are a tool of thought that people use to understand abstract concepts. It is expected that metaphorical framings are not simply interpreted as mere figures of speech, but have an important and predictable influence on how people think and feel about issues.
Eight experiments test the hypothesis that exposure to metaphorical framing will lead people to form attitudes toward an issue by drawing on their knowledge of the concrete concept to which it is compared, despite the fact that the issue and the concrete concept are unrelated.
One important implication of metaphorical framing theory is that metaphorical framing will have a greater or lesser impact on attitudes depending on how the person initially understands the attitude. The proposed experiments therefore test the hypothesis that volunteers who are initially led to focus on vague and complicated aspects of an issue will be more likely to rely on a metaphorical framing to form their attitudes than are volunteers who are initially led to focus on clear and simple aspects of the issue. The proposed experiments also test the hypothesis that metaphorical framings are less influential when they do not match a person?s prior conceptualization of the topic.
Overall, the proposed research will help us better understand how everyday communications, many of which are based on metaphors, influence everyday thinking. In addition, students will receive training and experience in conducting scientific research.
