The magical realism of metaphor: cross-cultural comparisons in use of metaphor in cognition
Wallheimer, Kay L.
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/16471
Description
Title
The magical realism of metaphor: cross-cultural comparisons in use of metaphor in cognition
Author(s)
Wallheimer, Kay L.
Issue Date
2010-06-22T19:37:12Z
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Cohen, Dov
Department of Study
Psychology
Discipline
Psychology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
M.A.
Degree Level
Thesis
Keyword(s)
Culture
Metaphor
Latinos
Cross-cultural
Abstract
Three experiments explore the hypothesis that due to linguistic and cultural factors, metaphor usage – or thinking in terms of what something is like – differs across cultures. In Experiment 1, a lexical decision task supported the hypothesis that perception of what something is like tends to be faster and more automatic in Latino participants than in Anglo participants. In Experiment 2, Anglo participants were less able to solve a problem framed metaphorically than Latino participants were. To ensure that a preference for metaphor is not applicable to all bilingual populations, we included bilingual Asian participants in Experiment 3. In this study, Latino participants rated arguments presented with metaphors as more persuasive than arguments that did not have metaphors, while the opposite pattern was found in Anglo and Asian participants. The findings from these three studies provide support for the hypothesis that the Latino preference for metaphor is real and pervasive. Implications in the domains of education and public health interventions are briefly noted.
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