Metaphor analysis.docx

1、Metaphor analysisTitle: Metaphor AnalysisAbstract: The analysis of metaphors is a classical research theme in linguistics, but has received very little attention in psychological research so far. Metaphor analysisas conceptualized in cognitive linguisticsis proposed here as a qualitative method for

2、psychological research for several reasons. Metaphors are culturally and socially defined, yet they also represent a basic cognitive strategy of analogical problem solving. Metaphors are context-sensitive, yet at the same time they are abstract models of reality much in the same way as mental models

3、 and schemata in cognitive psychology. The multifaceted properties of metaphors allow for the study of micro-interactions between cognition and culture in open and qualitative research designs. They also enable the bridging of the gap between quantitative-experimental and qualitative approaches in p

4、sychology. Because metaphors are of high plausibility in everyday experience, metaphors are a valuable tool for interventions in applied fields of research such as organizational and work psychology. Key words: metaphor analysis, analogy, cognitive linguistics, context-sensitivity, mental models, sc

5、hemata, cognitive anthropology, distributed representation, tacit knowledge Definition of MetaphorMetaphors are analogies which allow us to map one experience in the terminology of another experience and thus to acquire an understanding of complex topics or new situations (VOSNIADOU & ORTONY 1989).

6、The definition of the metaphor used here differs from our everyday understanding of the metaphor, which refers to it as a linguistic ornament with examples like Hercules is a lion. In the fields of cognitive linguistics, the metaphor is defined as an analogy (LAKOFF 1987, LANGACKER 1987): A metaphor

7、 consists of the projection of one schema (the source domain of the metaphor) onto another schema (the target domain of the metaphor). What is projected is the cognitive topology of the source domain, that is the slots in the source domain as well as their relation with each other (LAKOFF & JOHNSON

8、1980, LAKOFF 1993). Metaphor Analysis as a Multifaceted Research PerspectiveFor several reasons, metaphor analysis allows for a multifaceted research perspective:(1) Metaphors influence information processing:Metaphors not only enable the reflection and communication of complex topics and the antici

9、pation of new situations, the use of different metaphor models also affects further perception, interpretation of experiences and possibly also subsequent actions (GENTNER & GENTNER 1983). Metaphors thus have not only instrumental value for self-reflection, anticipation and communication, but also a

10、n important function as mind settings, which influence our cognition of the self and the world (MOSER 1998, p.65, OTTATI, RHOADS & GRAESSER 1999). 11 (2) Metaphors are a reliable and accessible operationalization of tacit knowledge:In research on tacit knowledge and tacit expertise, not only the rep

11、resentation but also the accessibility of tacit knowledge is an important issue (NEUWEG 1999, STERNBERG & HORVATH 1999). Metaphors are a linguistic manifestation of tacit knowledge, which is easily accessible because metaphorical expressions cannot be avoided in everyday or professional language. Ac

12、cording to the methodological standards in psychological reliability measures, metaphors can be reliably operationalized (MOSER 1998, p.79, OTTATI, RHOADS & GRAESSER 1999). 12 (3) Metaphors are holistic representations of understanding and knowledge:Metaphors are an example of distributed representa

13、tion of complex knowledge and analogical problem-solving. Compared to propositional representations, it is argued that mental models, and thus also metaphors, allow for a more holistic representation of understanding and knowledge (SCHNOTZ 1988). As the metaphor model success is a path(see above) sh

14、ows, using metaphorical expressions such as career steps, trying to find the right path, etc., not merely documents how someone understands his or her present situation, but also indicates a more general understanding of success, which favors certain problem-solving skills more than others. 13 (4) C

15、onventional metaphors are examples of automated action:Like language in general, conventional metaphors have been learned in social interaction as part of general language competence. Once learned, conventional metaphors become subconscious and are used automatically just like most other linguistic

16、features. Only conscious effort and attention can change or help to unlearn automated language behavior like the use of conventional metaphors. Therefore, it can be assumed that the use of metaphors is relatively free of self-presentation strategies, which is an important aspect for many psychologic

17、al research questions. Moreover, recent studies have shown that automated processes are very important in action regulation and responsible for the automated and subconscious activation of goals and motives (BARGH & BARNDOLLAR 1996, DWECK 1996). Metaphor analysis can be used to assess the structure

18、and content of the implicit theories responsible for these automated and subconscious processes. 14 (5) Metaphors reflect social and cultural processes of understanding:Metaphors represent general cognitive abilities of analogical reasoning, which can be understood in the terms of schema theory and

19、the theory of mental models in cognitive psychology. Yet at the same time, metaphors are context-sensitive and reflect social and cultural processes of understanding and self-definition. As studies about the self-concept have shown (MOSER 1998), metaphorical expressions used in narrative interviews

20、to describe oneself can be differentiated on different levels. On the one hand, the metaphor source domains used to talk about the self seem to be very limited. Only 22 metaphor source domains were reliably identified to describe a large corpus of 4,000 metaphorical expressions, with the most freque

21、nt eight metaphor source domains already describing 68% of all metaphorical expressions used. The metaphors identified most likely represent the shared cultural understanding of the self. On the other hand, significant differences in frequency could be found within these 22 metaphor source domains,

22、depending on gender, professional education and preferred life styles of the subjects interviewed. On a third level, individual preferences in metaphor use were found. These individual differences were analyzed quantitatively (frequency of different metaphor source domains)as well as qualitatively i

23、n single case studies (for further details, see MOSER 1998). 15 (6) Combining quantitative and qualitative approaches to metaphor use:Within a large text corpus of metaphorical expressions as described above (MOSER 1998), typical patterns of metaphor use in combination with certain topics can only b

24、e detected through the quantitative analysis of the categorical data. Statistical procedures used by the author include powerful tools for the analysis of categorical data such as configuration-frequency-analysis and correspondence analysis. Both procedures would also merit more attention in the con

25、text of qualitative research than they receive to date. While the quantitative analysis of metaphors reveals general tendencies in metaphor use, the full potential of metaphor analysis can only be reached when combining it with a qualitative approach. The qualitative approach enables the analysis of

26、 metaphor use in context and understanding the function of metaphorical expressions in the context of a narrative text or in the context of a biographical reconstruction. The combination of qualitative metaphor analysis with content analysis and narrative text analysis proved to be especially fruitf

27、ul for the understanding of situational, biographical and social functions of metaphor use (see MOSER 1998). A third methodological approach to the metaphor, which is currently used by the author, is the study of metaphors in experimental laboratory research. 16 Fields of ApplicationAs research abou

28、t the self shows (MOSER1998), it is possible to combine a cognitive understanding of metaphor with a research scope in individual, social and cultural differences in metaphor use and mental models of the self. At the same time, it proved to be very useful to combine qualitative as well as quantitati

29、ve approaches to metaphor analysis. 17 Like many other key concepts in psychological research, the self is a classical research topic for metaphor analysis, because people can only speak metaphorically about the complex and abstract matter of the self. Analyzing metaphors thus not only gives access

30、to the tacit knowledge and mental models which shape the individual understanding of the self, but also to the cultural models provided by language to express individuality, self-concept and the inner world. As described above, the analysis of metaphors showed that only very few metaphor models were

31、 used altogether, independently of the topics people talked about and regardless of the self-concept aspect they referred to (MOSER 1998, 1999a, 1999b). Apart from this culturally shared level of understanding of the self, there were also significant social differences in metaphor use, such as profe

32、ssional experience, future orientation (career plans, preferred relationship model), and gender. On the individual level, certain habitually-preferred metaphor models of the self could be assessed, as well as differences in metaphor use for different self-concept aspects (ideal vs. actual, ought, ne

33、gative, social self, self change or gender role). These results could only be obtained through the triangulation of quantitative and qualitative methods, which allowed the analysis of statistically significant overall tendencies in a large data set as well as qualitative differences in single case studies. For further d