Date of Award
2014
Publication Type
Master Thesis
Degree Name
M.Sc.
Department
Biological Sciences
Keywords
Categorization, Comparison, Concreteness, Metaphor Processing, Semantic Richness
Supervisor
Buchanan, Lori
Rights
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Metaphors can be processed as comparisons or categorizations (Gibbs & Colston, 2012). The quality of metaphor hypothesis suggests that inapt metaphors are processed as comparisons and apt metaphors are processed categorizations (Glucksberg & Haught, 2006). In two experiments, novel metaphors were manipulated on semantic neighbourhood density (SND) and topic concreteness and presented to participants at two reading deadlines that are believed to characterize symmetric (e.g. comparison) and directional (e.g. categorization) processing stages (e.g., Wolff & Gentner, 2011). Participants rated the comprehensibility of metaphors. The results suggest that low SND metaphors are processed as categorizations whereas high SND metaphors are processed as comparisons. In the case of metaphors made up of high SND, an abstract topic is more favourable for categorization than a concrete topic. A new model is proposed to explain how semantic characteristics affect comparison and categorization processes.
Recommended Citation
Al-Azary, Hamad, "Semantic Effects on Metaphor Processing Stages" (2014). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 5240.
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/5240