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Visual and Verbal Metaphors: Developmental Interactions
Author(s) -
Dent Cathy,
Rosenberg Lois
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1990.tb02836.x
Subject(s) - psychology , metaphor , similarity (geometry) , action (physics) , cognitive psychology , developmental psychology , communication , linguistics , artificial intelligence , computer science , philosophy , physics , quantum mechanics , image (mathematics)
This study investigated developmental changes in children's abilities to comprehend visual metaphors as measured by their use of verbal metaphor. The visual metaphors were compound objects, e.g., a top with features of a ballerina (head and skirt). 30 participants at each of 4 ages—5, 7, 10, and adult—described objects ordered in pairs; half described standard objects and the other half corresponding compound objects (half stationary, and half moving, e.g., spinning). Total metaphoric descriptions reached the adult frequency by age 7 for compound objects, but increased from 5 to 10 to adult for standard objects. For all but the youngest children, moving objects were more likely to be described using action vehicles. These results indicate that from 5 to 7 children improve in the ability to understand visual metaphors, which display topic‐vehicle interaction; from 5 through 10 to adulthood they improve in the ability to comprehend metaphoric similarity.