Abstract
This study investigated the effects of inference requirements on the comprehension of metaphors and on the recognition of implicitly and explicitly stated metaphor components (topics, vehicles, grounds). Forty undergraduates were administered a computer-controlled comprehension task (using proportional metaphors), a recognition memory task (using key terms from the proportional metaphors), and a metaphor interpretation task. Analysis of latency and error data provided support for levels-of-processing memory theory. Better memory appeared to result from cognitive effort rather than time-on-task or semantic elaboration. Evidence supported a view of metaphor processing as similar to literal language processing. Little support was found for either the salience imbalance theory of metaphor or for a strong interactionist theory. Findings from metaphor interpretations supported a holistic rather than an analytic approach to the processing proportional metaphors.
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