When Abstract Concepts Rely on Multiple Metaphors: Metaphor Selection in the Case of Power

Abstract

The study examines metaphor selection for the same abstract concept when multiple concrete dimensions are available for use. Drawing on the power concept, four studies investigated the roles of attention and visual features of concrete dimensions in metaphoric mapping. In Studies 1 and 2, two concrete dimensions (vertical space and size) were visually connected to power-related target words simultaneously, and one was salient. Attention driven by stimulus saliency allowed the attended concrete dimension to have a higher activation level and to be used. In Studies 3 and 4, the attended and the non-attended concrete dimensions were presented separately, and the latter was visually associated with power-related target words. This time, the attended dimension did not have an activation advantage, allowing the non-attended dimension to be used for metaphoric mapping simultaneously. The findings suggest that attention is important, but not necessary, and that features of concrete dimensions can guide metaphor use.